Gainesville offers a variety of sushi restaurants all over the city. On June 18, celebrate International Sushi Day by going out in the evening at a local Gainesville restaurant for a delicious sushi dinner. Or, pick up some rolls on your way home from work. Any of these five sushi spots will satisfy your desire for delicious sushi.
Dragonfly Sushi and Sake
Located in the Downtown Gainesville area, Dragonfly Sushi and Sake is a popular place for fresh sushi and Asian food. A modern sushi pub, their restaurant’s reputation is built on the creativity in every dish and drink, according to their website.
Dragonfly sushi rolls are full of innovative flavors that bring a classic roll to the next level. The Smoky Dragon roll, a sushi roll filled with salmon krab delight, red onion, tempura flakes, cucumber, avocado, torched tuna, kobachi, lemon zest and eel sauce, is a customer favorite and will delight your taste buds. While the sushi here is on the expensive side, if you’re looking for a luxurious sushi experience head to Dragonfly Sushi and Sake.
They are currently open for dining in, take-out, delivery and curbside pickup. Sunday through Thursday hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturday and Friday they are open from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Rating: 9/10
Bento Asian Kitchen & Sushi
A favorite food spot between classes, Bento Asian Kitchen & Sushi is a go-to for UF students. Reasonably priced and conveniently located across the street from Warrington Business College, Bento offers a lot of different sushi types.
Bento has affordable sushi, ranging from $4 to $12 rolls. Something as simple as a fried avocado roll to a specialty roll such as the Miami roll will satisfy your appetite and give you a delicious meal.
For International Sushi Day, Bento is offering a deal where you can enjoy a free eight piece Spicy Tuna, Mex, or Cucumber Avocado roll with $10 purchase when you order online with code SUSHIDAY, according to their website.
Rating: 8/10
Hana Sushi & Asian Cuisine
If you’re near Celebration Point and starting to build up an appetite, head to Hana Sushi & Asian Cuisine.
Hana Sushi & Asian cuisine aims to serve food in a pleasant atmosphere that'll have you coming back for more, according to their website. Enjoy specialty rolls such as Magic Roll or the Hawiian Roll to celebrate International Sushi Day. I love their sweet potato roll. It is served with tempura battered sweet potato topped with eel sauce. When it’s dipped in YumYum sauce, the flavors are incredible.
Rating: 8/10
Liquid Ginger
Liquid Ginger was established in Downtown Gainesville in 2003 and has been serving sushi ever since. This restaurant offers many lunch sushi specials, such as the Lunch Combo Roll, which serves two sushi rolls with soup and salad.
The sushi here is very flavorful. Anyone will be able to find a roll here since there is a diverse range of types. Liquid Ginger is open Tuesday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Rating: 7/10
Sushi-2-Go
Affordably sushi and ready to go, what could sound better? Located inside the Target Copy across the street from Library West. Sushi-2-Go not only offers quick service but also a plethora of rolls. Fan favorites include the Mexican Roll, a shrimp tempura, mayo, cucumber and fish roe roll, and the Tofu Roll, Tofu, a roll containing fried sweet potato, mayo, avocado, scallions and asparagus.
Due to the pandemic, Sushi-2-Go is serving take-out and delivery at the moment. However, Sushi-2-Go is known for its delivery service and aims to create a breakthrough concept in the fast food and delivery industry, according to their website.
Rating 6/10
Contact Michelle at mholder@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @michellecholder.
Celebrate International Sushi Day with these Gainesville sushi spots.
Michelle Holder is a second-year journalism student at UF minoring in entrepreneurship and a Metro reporter at The Alligator. She is from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. In her free time she enjoys going to coffee shops and reading.
