Sekisui Midtown

This specific Sekisui location is slowly but surely going downhill. The sashimi platters are a joke compared to their sister location, SPR. The fish was not fresh. The monkfish was just plain rotten. Overpriced for a plate of tiny pieces of fish. The ONLY reason I ate here was to use up my
coupon. I will stick with Sekisui Pacific Rim.

First off, the water filling is so on point at this place and has been for the past 7 years.
The zipang sake, advertised as «light and effervescent» left our tongues tingling with delight.
House cucs (cucumbers) on seaweed salad were perfectly marinated in the sauce and we do not know what that sauce was. Also, the House salad did not disappoint
We were extremely happy with the «Whole Foods» standard ginger on our first plate, and even requested more. but upon arrival, we saw, to our disgust, «Kroger borderline CashSaver» ginger. It was pink.
I’ve never personally worked with Swiss Chard, (but I’ve heard he’s a nice guy) but the Miso soup contained leafy greens that were chopped to a precision only a samurai could have completed.
Speaking of samurais, the Samurai meal was tasty but *not* served on a sword as one would assume.
The serving size was plentiful but the teriyaki sauce comparatively speaking was minimal.
On our first scrumptious sushi roll bite, we noticed the electric house beats… and liked them.
The Dragon roll made us feel icky and we’re not used to feeling that way here. The tiger roll had rubbery damp fried shrimp.
The after spicy squishy fish (as listed on the menu: Spicy Tuna Roll) had some heat, but allowed you to continue tasting all aspects of the meal.
The Jackson 5 roll was classic like a black and white tux.
The Philly roll was simple, smooth, and satisfying.
Salmon and scallions was a crowd favorite. We ended our meal with that and our taste buds had a standing ovation.
Dessert #tobecontinued
Even though I put 4 stars, Philly Tiger Jackson rates his experience a 135.
This just in– I was charged 10 cents for eel sauce with no warning. This is what we in the restaurant review business call an up-​charge.

What to say about Sekisui… hmmmm. Well the sake was good. Though a bit overpriced, as is everything on their menu. I’ve been to the midtown location several times since moving to Belvedere, only to find myself left more disappointed each time. The sushi is way overpriced and each time has tasted like it had been left sitting out for a day or two. The same goes for their shashimi and nigiri. The only thing I find myself enjoying is the Ika Fry, tho still overpriced. mean how can you go wrong with deep fried anything, right? I’d recommend hitting up Robata on Overton Square for your sake drinking and Japanese food fill. No sushi there though. Either way, Sekisui is not your best bet.

Had a great meal with fantastic service. We actually were seated just behind a huge table of like 20 people. Nonetheless our waiter (Evan) was really good at timing our appetizers so that we didn’t get hungry waiting for our sushi. Food was great, service was great… my only complaint was there was a few bugs… maybe knats… not in a gross way but more annoying than anything else. Still the meall was great…

My husband and I decided to give Sekisui a shot for a date night. Sushi, then games at Rec Room. Sounds awesome, right? Wrong.
We arrived and were seated. It had been a comfortable 70 outside all day, but the air was absolutely BLASTING inside, leaving me freezing cold. The music consisted of really loud early 2000’s heavy rock (ala Creed, Nickelback… ew) which absolutely killed the vibe. Our waitress came, brought drinks, and took our orders. We got three rolls to split, plus clear soup to start. The soup was standard, nothing special. It came in a timely manner, which is more than I can say for anything else.
We waited, and waited, and waited. An hour later and our waitress hadn’t come by to update us or check on us at all. I was so hungry I felt sick. We heard other tables, who had just arrived, told that they should order a substantial appetizer, as the sushi line was really backed up. That would have been nice to know. Tables who had arrived after us had received their rolls and were finishing eating.
Finally we had had enough. We got up to leave (which I rarely do at restaurants, especially so late into a meal) and found our waitress standing at the bar. My husband went to give her cash for the soup and she told us she «was just about to come and tell you your rolls were ready. The chef is plating them right now!» I call BS. You hadn’t updated us once so far, but were just about to come and let us know??? I think not. Anyway, her guilt tactic worked, and we decided to stay. It was still a few minutes before they arrived. The rolls were alright, but I honestly can’t remember which ones we ordered to give any more specifics. I was so unimpressed and just fed up at this point that we called it a night and skipped the rest of our plans We got a free dessert, which was nice, but even that (red bean ice cream) wasn’t all that impressive. Just sugary.
Needless to say, you’ll never see me there again.

Sekisui has changed from what I remember. The first delicate piece of raw fish that ever crossed my mouth was here, but that was 25 years ago. The space itself is fractured and a little confusing. Front area is a bar of sorts — but very tight. The restaurant is is kinda odd. Green marble bar w/​neon, Elvis screen prints on the wall. Parts of this restaurant would have been Memphis cool in 1990. The music would have ben cool in 1990 too.
I sat at the sushi bar, which did not help. I had a full view of the sushi prep, the area was dirty and overcrowded. The chef coughed into his hand and then used it to prepare food. I’m pretty sure there is not a Japanese person in this place. The wait service was good, very attentive.
Sekisui roll was tasty with a smoky mayo, but if this is the size of all the rolls — they are on the small side. Be warned. Nigiri had uneven wasabi, and the wasabi was pretty harsh and horseradish-​y. I would not recommend. Rice was disappointing. I understand that Memphis is not exactly sushi heaven, but this was was a total pass.

This is the BEST sushi in Memphis! I love the location & have been so many times. I recommend the Shirashi (sp?): it is a big bowl of sushi rice with different kinds of sushi fish. I ask them to hold the fish eggs though.

It wasn’t all that great. I have eaten here twice and both times were disappointing. I thought it was what I ordered the first time, but nope, it was just really bland. The fish didn’t seem fresh and the soy sauce was NOT KIKOMAN’s!!! It was like red wine vinegar-​tasting. Both times I tried various sushi and both times it was blah. The service was awesome though!!! Scenery was very midtown, but bums kind of bombarded me on the way in and out:/

Evan made the whole night a great experience !!!

Really great sushi! It’s hard to find good sushi in Memphis, but Sekisui is one of my favorites! Great service, low prices, and delicious sushi! Lots of great, original rolls and all fresh and cold! I’m a fan!

This is my favorite location, yellowtail cheek cut fresh (so it’s not always available, but well worth it when it is). Love the happy hour and wine selections (beer is problematic) Menu is fairly easy to navigate if you’re gluten-​free or gluten restricted, like me. The staff is is great, plenty coverage now and they are attentive. The chefs at the back bar are the best. They have fake crab and REAL crab, so look for blue crab or soft shell for the REAL. Can you tell I love this place. I do. And I know what I’m talking about :) Oh and the music selection is great!!!

Was craving über-​healthy food, so sushi it was! After spending 6 wks in Japan a couple years ago, I am a bit of a sushi snob. Fake crab (I’m sorry all of you who like this) makes me physically sick to taste or even smell. And the fake crab-​less rolls I used to enjoy no longer do the trick. So, basically after a few disappointments after my trip, I avoided US «sushi.» Having said that, even Memphis can get sashimi right with the right fish.
I thoroughly enjoyed my sushi selection of tuna, salmon, and white tuna. I asked for a side of cucumber (no, miss, not the cucumber salad — just a literal pile of cucumber slices) and some ponzu sauce, and that and the great weather made for a good evening. The inside, by the way, was FREEZING. I have never been here and didn’t feel like I needed a winter coat. Three stars b/​c 1) no way could we have eaten side had the weather not been awesome, and 2) all I ate was the sashimi, which, as I said, ain’t hard to do. I took about half home and ate on a salad for munch the next day. Awesome.

This is my favorite Sekisui location. Mainly bc it’s the closest to home. The staff is normally friendly and they have specials all the time. Tonight we are trying Monk Fish. I also like their wine and beer selection. For a Japanese restaurant they have good selections and the prices are like $ 4-​$ 5 for beers and $ 7-​$ 9 for wine. Pretty good.

Guys, you left the desserts off of your menu! How can your customers know that your Tempura Cheesecake is one of the best things in town? This is the quintessential sweet treat to have after Movie Night. The sushi is what it is, well prepared and worth coming to midtown, but I cannot give enough praise to an awesome dessert.

This was my go to sushi place since I live downtown, but we got sushi to go today and it was AWFUL, TERRIBLE, HORRID!
The rice was super sticky and rubbery and there was too much rice on the rolls. All the rolls tasted like dough!
I’m sooo disappointed! Please please go back to your quality food!

The bathroom as well as the rest of the place needs to be redone. The bathroom had nats flying around and I saw ants crawling around at he sushi bar. Sushi was ok but nothing great and the tuna roll was anything but fresh. I will probably stay away from this place. Too many other options in town for sushi.

I have not been to this place in years. I am a huge sushi lover but for some reason I always seem to skip this place. No particular reason just kinda forgot about this place. What brought me back was a birthday dinner for one of my girlfriends. She wanted to go so I of course I was excited! I was the first to arrive so I got a table, a drink and waited. The waitress was so sweet and attentive the whole evening. When my friends finally arrived we ordered family style and got 4 sushi rolls and split them. A little taste of everything. I am a bit of a sushi snob and the sushi was so yummy and fresh. For the birthday girl we ordered the deep fried cheese cake and ice cream… it was to die for! It was so delicious I almost ate half of it!
My overall experience was a great one! I am looking forward to my next sushi hankering because I will for sure being going back to this place!!!

One shouldn’t come to Sekisui Midtown expecting the same menu as Sekisui’s poplar location called «pacific rim» or SPR, for short. When I was seated and asked if I’d like to order an appetizer, I denied but inquired if they could make the «tofu with vegetables» dish made by their sister location. When my server kindly replied, «No, this menu is all we have available» — well, that foreshadowed what was to come.
Perhaps I am spoiled by having visited SPR a few times, or that I eat sushi semi-​frequently ( Unilocal gaves me da Sushi badge w00t!), I felt that the menu was quite limited, if I didn’t want anything fried that is. If you’re looking for tempura, you’re in heaven (every other thing on the menu is tempura-​style).
The sushi was very below standard, with a poorly-​made sushi rice and sloppily wrapped in seaweed or sushi rice. Not sure if sushi prices were too expensive, or if lunch entrée prices were super cheap (Insert Futurama Fry meme here), but one of the simplest rolls I had with only 2 ingredients was $ 9.00. My friend’s lunch all together with beef, vegetables, steamed rice, soup, salad, and a drink was only $ 10.00.
The bad ends there.
The overall vibe of the restaurant was quite charming, even though I went for lunch.
Our server was busy but easily-​identifiable as caring and proficient.
My partner’s lunch as I stated was at quite a decent price. I tried his soup and salad, both of which were good.
I definitely see a great potential for this place, and it seemed to be pretty popular.
For now, I“m just going to chalk it up to «ordered the wrong things at the wrong time». I’ll definitely be back, ready to see a dinner menu, and ready to chow down on whatever it is that’s keeping midtowners coming back over and over again.

This is my favorite Sekisui location. I used to prefer Pacific Rim on Poplar, but their service left a bad taste in my mouth… although the service here isn’t that great either. They don’t have enough waitresses at this location and they are constantly running around. Wouldn’t it just be easier to hire someone? On the bright side, this location seems to have fresher sushi? I don’t know how that is possible (since I assume they order from the same place and time) but the food is always better at this one.
And I don’t know why some people are knocking the atmosphere here. Yeah SPR has neon lights but this place has that midtown vibe that is quirky and cool. And I love their patio! If the weather permits, sit outside. I love the twinkle lights!
Definitely get the Ocean Pyramid! All that yummy fish for $ 10? What a bargain! I’m not a roll gal so I can’t speak for those, but I’ve never been disappointed with their sashimi selection. Also a bonus? Their large drink menu!!!

I have mixed feelings about Sekisui. On the one hand, the sushi has consistently been excellent, which is not something to take for granted. On the other hand, the service is completely hit or miss, and the restaurant itself feels very run-​down and cramped to me (I much prefer the club atmosphere of Bluefin, so it may just be personal taste here).
Let’s start with service. The hostesses are usually bimbos, so getting seated can be a challenge, and with the cramped area around the stand, it can get pretty awkward. The servers… well, they vary. Some are reasonably informed and attentive, while others, not so much. If you bring us two spicy tuna hand rolls when we only ordered one, don’t then try to remove the plate you just set down (after a lengthy wait) to go and «fix» it, aka throw one out. The polite thing to do is to just leave it as is and only charge us for one, since you messed up. On the plus side, they have a guy whose sole job is to go around re-​filling water, and boy does he take his job seriously.
The sushi is great, but let me just address a pet peeve I have about sashimi plates. I LOVE sashimi, and I usually get a sashimi plate of some kind and just one roll to go with it. Now, to me, sashimi implies two things: A) raw and B) fish. So it drives me nuts when my sashimi plate inevitably includes cooked shrimp, crab stick, smoked salmon, or, for some reason, soft egg omelet (?!). When I’m paying upwards of $ 20 for a sashimi assortment, I want it to be raw fish, not cheap filler stuff.
I recently attended a large dinner (about 18 people) at Sekisui, and I have to say, I was not very impressed at how they handled it. We were seated in the front area of the restaurant, kind of jammed in, and people kept brushing up against the chalkboard they have up there and getting chalk on their clothes. Our one waitress (who I know to be pretty good), was completely overwhelmed, and drinks, appetizers, cooked entrees, and sushi all came out at what seemed like random intervals — the woman next to me waited half the meal for her drink (a canned champagne… yes, canned), and I heard the waitress telling people who had ordered cooked entress that the kitchen was, yes, out of large plates, out of certain proteins, and that they were «cutting up vegetables now.» This kind of thing does not reassure me about Sekisui’s competence, so it may be a while before I go back.