As a vegan, it can be hard to find a sushi place that I am willing to spend any money at. Â Okinawa is an exception because they have many vegetarian rolls for me to choose from, that after several visits I still have yet to try them all. Â Most sushi places have one or maybe two veggie rolls, but Okinawa puts effort into coming up with several unique and tasty vegetarian options. Â I especially like the avocado and peanut roll as well as the mushroom sashimi. Â
The staff is always friendly and efficient. Â I've been here for romantic dinners as well as more rowdy group affairs and it is nice for both. Â Also, the presentation of the more complex platters is always really pretty.
This was well worth the dining experience, especially since it was our last evening before heading back to Houston. We sat at the sushi bar and asked the waiter what was available that was off the menu. The blue fin tuna was so awesome that we ordered seconds. Â It literally melted in our mouths before the avocado did...yum!!! The waiter recommended other items that were off the menu that were good, with the exception to fish liver which was OK but not exactly my type of taste. Â Oh well have to try things at least once! Â
Overall great experience, the staff was very interactive with my husband and I. We would go back again when we're in town.
Went here w/ a fellow yelper because the Thai place down the street was closed but damn am I glad we did. The parking is a bit sketch but the inside decor was modern yet inviting which I appreciated. I had an iced tea to drink and while you may think that that is pretty standard- it's not. Many restaurants brew them too weak or too strong, there's was perfect and I appreciated the frequent refills.
What really blew me away was the Mango roll and the Crazy tuna roll- both absolutely scrumptious and the perfect portion size. And yes I ate both of the rolls by myself- sorry I'm not sorry.
All in all I was impressed I thought the service, style, tea, and all around delectable dining I will definitely be back after I can afford it.
Unfortunately it is a bit pricey but it's definitely worthwhile if for a nice night out.
Last night Okinawa hit it out of the park! I ordered sushi togo for a party of 24 people. I ordered the food about a month in advance. When I arrived for pick up the chefs were busy making everything fresh. What a relief they didn't just pull it out of a fridge. I had four giant platters. EVERYONE loved how fresh and delicious the sushi was and EVERYONE wanted to know where it was from. Dine in or take out Okinawa is a home run!
Review Source:Don't eat here! My boyfriend took me here yesterday and well.. Sushi was good.. Service was ok. One guy made it sound like he was giving us a deal because his boss wasn't there.. When in all reality it was a deal they had anyways. Â As we were finishing up our meal.. a cockroach climbs up the wall right in front of us We told the people that worked there.. Didn't .seem to concerned..and one lady that worked there said it probably came from the kitchen... Wow.. Really. Completely grossed out from this place. Last thing anyone needs is for cockroaches to be crawling around where the food is.. Raw fish at that... So I don't recommend this place to anyone!
Review Source:This sushi restaurant is such a disappointment. We were very excited when it came to the City Park area, adding a new dimension to the food in the neighborhood. We tried eating here multiple times with the hope of catching the "fresh fish" day, but each time we visited, the restaurant smelled fishy and the rolls, if you strayed from the spicy tuna or spicy salmon, were unpalatable. The sashimi was sub-par at best. Needless to say, despite the fact this is right around the corner, and our favorite food is sushi, we will never visit here again. We'd rather drive elsewhere for good sushi. Sorry, Okinawa, we tried.
Review Source:This is probably one of my least favorite sushi restaurants I have been to, ever. It wasn't terrible, I didn't feel like I was going to die, but the flavor combinations were just not there for me. I think my favorite part of the meal was the side salad, which is the exact same as every other sushi restaurant in Denver. We had a few rolls, and most of them were far too sweet, due to the sauces they were swimming in. I missed the savory element of a sushi roll, and wished that they had more options in that regard. Even the rolls that sounded savory on the menu were covered in a sweet sauce. My least favorite rolls were snow white (bleh), and one that I don't remember the name of- but it was covered in a mango sauce that tasted like frozen mango concentrate that wasn't diluted at all. I will not be returning, simply because there are far better places in Denver to snag sushi at a much lower price point. (Sushi Hai).
Review Source:This is not douse your sushi in soy sauce sushi. Â I ordered the rainbow roll and the salmon sushi. Â This was my first experience and someone told me it was a super good spot, so I tried it! Â I'm always a little hesitant with food on colfax, but the roll and salmon sushi was unbelievably fresh, delicous, and beautiful! I will definetely be going back.
Review Source:We had high hopes for this restaurant, but unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. The staff was friendly and the food was pretty good, but about halfway through our meal we started to notice hair on our plates as well as a layer of dirt forming over everything on the table. Colfax dirt! Yuck! Â We told the waitress, but all she did was close the window above us. No apology. We came home and had to shower because we felt so grimey.
Review Source:went here for a quick lunch with the boyfriend, ordered shu mai $4.50, Â sashimi lunch $12.00 and the 2 roll lunch special $8.50, both came with choice of soup or salad, we chose one of each to share. Miso is always good here, never too salty with just the right amount of tofu, seaweed, and green onions. salad is basically ice berg, a slice of tomtato and cucumber with a sesame dressing, decent. the shu mai was extra yummy, for true shrimp lovers this is spot on! The rolls were yummy as usual, we chose the AAC roll and the spicy yellowtail. the sashimi was delicious and presented in a sexy way, but while the salmon tasted fine, it seemed like it was semi-frozen in the middle (maybe just from lying on ice?) anyhow, that is the only reason to rate it at 4 instead of 5 for this visit. i shall return again and again!
Review Source:Have you ever tried mochi ice cream? Â I hadn't even heard of it until I visited Okinawa and now my cravings for it will never let me forget. Â Do yourself a favor and order it for your dessert. Â You're welcome in advance.
But, you probably care less about green tea ice cream wrapped in a pounded Japanese rice cake and more about the sushi. Â So, about that sushi, it's fresh and presented nicely. Â
I personally prefer ordering rolls over sashimi and fortunately for me, they have an extensive menu, which includes several veggie-roll options. Â Our table enjoyed ordering several rolls (each under $10) and divvying up the pieces, so that we could try a bit of everything - favorites being the spicy yellowtail and spider roll. Â Worth noting for those of you avoiding carbs, Okinawa offers low-carb sushi rolls, where cucumber is subbed in for rice, which I haven't seen elsewhere.
Okinawa is the kind of space that feels welcoming whether you're dining solo (they have a bar), on a date, or with a group. Â I know I'll be back and for more than just the mochi ice cream!
So, Okinawa is the sushi place that is a stone's throw from my home. You'd think I get sick of it...but I don't!
The man who's always there as a server is sweet. He never seems flustered. That's a server skill.
Their happy hour is unbeatable. I also think their vegetarian rolls are super creative - whether or not you're a veg-head, try the avocado and peanut roll. I promise you won't be disappointed!
They're rarely TOO packed to enjoy a meal, but prepare yourself - if you go in for takeout, maybe call ahead and get a pickup time. I waited 45 minutes once, which is slow by any standards.
Came here last night to celebrate one of our many anniversaries . Â Hands down this is the best sushi restaurant we have been to in Denver so far. Â My husband ordered enough sushi and sashimi for 4 but we ate it all!! So good. Â The sashimi is fresh, definitely best anywhere around here and the boat they made us was so pretty! Â The Shrek roll is amazing ah mah gah! Â All in all just fantastic food, vibe is cozy not trendy which I love for sushi. Â So happy we tried this place :)
Review Source:I think it's fair to say that this was easily the best sushi experience I've had in Denver so far. Â The sashimi was fresh, well portioned, and delicious. Â The rolls were fantastic. Â We had the lobster tempura roll and the shrek roll and both were outstanding. Â The place is low key and does not give off that "see and be seen" trendy vibe of some of the other sushi spots in Denver. Â It was a tad on the pricey side, but I suppose that is par for the course for good sushi in a landlocked state. Â Anyway, this place is great and I will be back as soon as I can be.
Review Source:I had a great experience here. The atmosphere was simple and intimate, the sushi was good, the wine was good, the service was just right, and the prices were really reasonable.
We had miso soup, the spicy tuna roll, the spider roll, and edamame. Â The portions were bigger than I expected. Â We also order white tuna sashimi, which was good, but I've had better. That was the only thing that wasn't 5 stars for me, though.
The good:
-Beautiful corner location with big windows
-comfy booths and chairs
-never loud
-good service
-good prices
The bad:
-Terrible distracting over-done artwork and decorations on the ceiling and walls, kinda like Spicy Basil.
-Inconsistency. sometimes I get a salad IN my bento box, sometimes it's on the side, and other times I get both a salad and miso soup. Â I'm never sure what they're going to decide to bring out.
-Sloppy careless chefs. Â Last time I was in the chef didn't bother to cut off the inedible bottom stem of my asparagus. Â Also I've found shrimp that haven't been de-veined and also gotten mold spots on my cucumber garnish.
High-quality sushi that isn't overpriced. The waitress recommended some cold sake that went great with our edamame and hand-rolls. Unlike some of the other sushi restaurants in town, Okinawa's hand rolls have lots of great seafood that isn't all tempura. They also have gluten-free soy sauce and are very knowledgeable about what sauces I needed to have on the side. Â
Great City Park Neighborhood restaurant!
The service was great, the bathrooms were fancy, and the food rocked!
We had some masago/tobiko handrolls, crab and tamago pieces, miso soup, yellowfin tuna collar, asparagus tempura special roll and another really, really spicy special roll.
We left stuffed for a good price and were not too bothered by other patrons.
We hope to return on many occasions and look forward to more great eats!
My fiance and I first tried this place shortly after it opened. Â We both are sushi lovers and love all the interesting rolls that Okinawa does that you can't find anywhere else.
Some of our favorites are the Mango Roll, Angel Roll, Kobe Beef Roll, Snow White Roll, and the Titanic Roll.
We've also always had great service, especially from Thomas!
Highly recommend this place to all of our friends. Â If we want sushi in Denver this is the only place we go.
Yay! I'm the 100th review.
I am in love with this place. It's got great atmosphere, delicious veggie rolls, and awesome service. I kind of abandoned sushi when I became a vegetarian but I have recently rediscovered veggie rolls and they make me so happy. The presentation here alone makes me happy.
Also, their wine glasses are comically enormous. Which is awesome for several reasons.
The price is RIGHT, people!
They have happy hour Monday through Saturday, 2:30-5. During happy hour you can get 2 for 1 beer, wine, or sake, and discounted rolls and appetizers. I've been here three times now for Saturday happy hour and have yet to be disappointed!
On our most recent trek, my favorite sushi buddy and I ordered as follows:
2 glasses of lychee sake each (holy YUM, Batman!!!!)
1 order of Gyoza
2 fried sweet potato rolls (we don't like sharing this one...nomnomnom)
1 rainbow roll
1 titanic roll
1 mango roll
1 order of tobiko
1 order of hamachi
That's A LOT of food, right!!!!!!
And our tab only added up to about $40 for each of us AFTER tip.
We left feeling fat, happy, and not as poor as when we go to Sasa. What's even better is that the quality of the sushi is fantastic.
The only downside is that last time we sat on the patio here, we witnessed a stabbing. However, that is no fault of the restaurants and solely the fault of the creepers on Colfax Avenue.
Okay so I had a beyond phenomenal experience here a few weeks back that I had to share:
I called on a friday night at 7 pm - it was a last minute birthday dinner that was scheduled for another restaurant that didn't work out - for a table for 8. That's right I said a table for 8. We arrived to see several people standing in the doorway waiting for a table and I almost freaked until I looked to the center of the restaurant and saw an empty table for 8 waiting for us!! Â The waitress was fabulous - she handled our huge table with ease and made sure everyone was comfortable and content.
Everyone LOVED the sushi and there was literally nothing left (even though we thought we had ordered WAY too much). The also comped us on some of our drinks (sake/beer) which was so nice considering they did us a HUGE birthday favor. Â
I just love this place and after such a wonderful experience I will continue to be a loyal Okinawa customer. Thanks again Okinawa! :)
Finally, another sushi restaurant in Denver that I actually enjoyed!
I wasn't too sure about the atmosphere at first; it seemed a bit too formal and pretentious for my tastes, but then I sat down. Â Those chairs, oh my. Â I feel ridiculous mentioning chairs in a review, but their chairs are like magic insta-comfort butt-clouds.
Okay, enough about chairs. Â On to the main attraction: Â the SUSHI! Â Presentation has been gorgeous and unique every time we've visited, regardless of what we order. Â Everything is beautifully made and wonderfully fresh. Â I've lost track of everything we've tried so far, but the Golden Roll, King Maki Roll, Black Dragon Roll and Titanic Roll have been some of our favorites. Â Their Sushi for Two boat was great too, and very reasonably priced.
Speaking of prices, their happy hour is pretty damn awesome. Â Cheap appetizers, rolls (including a few special rolls), and two-for-one drinks? Â Yeah, I can deal with that!
Extra points for our last visit. Â We brought my dad along--and my dad doesn't do sushi. Â We were pleasantly surprised to find that Okinawa's kitchen entrees are just as impressive as their sushi. Â My dad ordered the Diver Scallops, which he said were delicious. Â I can't verify that myself, as they disappeared rather quickly, but they certainly looked good!
Gah, now I want to go back again. Â Must find some excuse to go to Denver again soon. Â We do still need to try their live scallops, after all!
The only downside I've run into so far: Â the service isn't quite there at times. Â Some of the servers are friendly and helpful (and even recognize us when we come in), others...just don't measure up.
Watch out Hapa.
We've wanted a non-Hapa sushi option for a long time, and Okinawa is it. Great staff, like truly awesome and great. I haven't like service staff this much in a long time!
The spicy girl, black dragon, ichiban rolls are all good. The Calamari is OMFG good. Â We almost ordered another order of the stuff.
Definitely a popular place.
AMAZING!!!
Amazing sushi and rolls:
Ichiban roll- wow
sweet potato roll - mmmm
Black Volcano - very tasty
Rainbow roll - tasty
eggplant sushi - wow - so good
tamago - pretty good
eel - so so
spicy girl - anh
The calimari was by far the best i've had in a very long time!
Place is cute and small - parking is the suck.
Manager/maitre de/all around do it all guy - he was fabulous - made funny jokes, interacted with the tables - just a great asset to the restaurant.
Definitely a busy place - so go early! No reservation on friday and saturday!
And they aren't a fan of more than 1 sushi order - so try and get it right the first time!
I will definitely be back - this place is great and has amazing sushi!
Came here on a Thursdsy night, I even called to make reservation for 4, by the time we got there, Â the restaurant was completely empty by 7:30, made us wonder why! I told the host that we had a reservation for David, she looked at me confused asked me if I needed a reservation, I was like there's 4 of us! & she brought us to a table finally.
Being the only table there I thought at least food will come out fast, we started eating our sushi 30mins after we placed the order, they completely forgot about our drinks! 3 waiters came to our table telling us it will be ready soon but no one apologized! Our gyoza came out cold, calamari was so oily that we can't even put our finger on! The sushi taste really fishy, white tuna was still half FROZEN!!! Rice on the rolls fell apart right when I landed my chopsticks on there!
We finally had to get up & left to Go Fish! I'll reccomend Go Fish over Okinawa in a heart beat! Better happy hour, better waitstaff & better location!
I'm sorry Okinawa but we will not be returning!
Sweet sassy frassy molassy! This here is some good sushi! It's so good, that apparently it caused me to channel Yosemite Sam when I wrote those last two sentences.
I went here for lunch on a Sunday and, man, I'm glad I did. My dining companion placed the order and when it arrived, my little taste buds jumped for joy.
Quick aside: I have GOT to remember that almost all soy sauce at restaurants have gluten in them. If I can remember that, then I'll avoid the slightly upset stomach that followed this meal. It had NOTHING to do with the food and everything to do with my stupidity.
I think my favorite was the mango roll. Most of my favorite recipes combine sweet and savory into one dish and this sushi roll did the same. I had a couple other rolls, which I can't remember the names of, but they were really tasty too.
And I finished the meal off with a nice cup of tea, which, wonders never cease, was not scaldingly hot when the server brought it to the table. Nothing kills my happy tummy buzz better than a cup of tea that sears my mouth at the first sip.
It's really great to see the Congress/City Park area getting some really great restaurants built in the area and Okinawa definitely comes in at the top in this neighborhood.
So glad I found a decent sushi joint in my new neighborhood! Â I love the ambiance in this little restaurant...and it's a PERFECT location for people-watching on Colfax. Â This girl loves to do some people-watching!
I recommend starting off with the Seaweed Salad...it's delicious and has just the right amount of sesame oil. Â Their sashimi (Salmon is my fave) is fresh and I have yet to dislike any of the rolls I have picked. Â Since I tend to fill myself up on rice like a bird after a wedding, I try to order at least one of their riceless rolls. Â It's rolled up in thinly sliced cucumber, which makes for a fresh, crisp roll. Â The Spiderman, Spicy Girl, Ichiban and Crazy Tuna Rolls are all pretty good...along with your standard Spicy Tuna, Rainbow and Philadelphia. Â I hear the Kobe Beef and Sweet Potato Rolls are to die for. Â Those aren't my typical choices of rolls, but I might have to give them a shot sometime!
The service is sometimes hit or miss. Â Some nights, every single server in house will stop by and check on you several times...it's a bit overwhelming. Â But hey, better than being ignored all night and banished to the corner like Baby at the Summer-end Celebration, I suppose!
I hate when I go somewhere and have a pleasant experience but something feels off about the place.
You guessed it, thats how I feel about Okinawa.
Loved the atmosphere, variety of rolls and entrees for the non sushi lovers out there (AKA communists in my book) and good service.
I got the Spicy Girl and it rocked my world! Â It lived up to the name and was absolutely flavorful, all while clearing up my nostrils. I would have ordered two more rolls if I had on looser pants and wanted to drop some major bills that night. All of the sushi was fantastic, full of flavor and fresh. Their prices for sushi were a little higher than I would normally pay but the quality of their sushi is definitely worth the few extra dollars. And being a FL girl, I'm not willing to take risks on raw fish when I'm landlocked.
But still, something was off and I've been sitting here for 10 minutes writing this review and I still can't figure out what it is that separates it from a four star rating and a five. Guess I will have to go back to see if said thing is still off there, no issues with that since I can always get down with awesome sushi like Okinawa offers!
After watching 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi' last night (awesome doc, check it out), I was craving sushi so I decided to finally try Okinawa. I am a weird sushi fan because I don't eat fish, but what I do love is a restaurant with great vegetarian options.
What I had:
Edamame - hard to screw that up. Just enough salt.
Sweet Potato Roll - One of my favorite things. Delicious and HUGE. Don't order this one if you are on a date because it is hard to eat this and look pretty at the same time.
Avocado and Peanut Roll - I had never had this before but it was pretty tasty. It is basically a roll filled with avocado and Planters honey roasted peanuts. Definitely an American invention but I love peanuts and I love avocado--who knew these two could work together?
Egg Sushi - or something... I had just seen them making this in the film I watched so I figured I would give it a try. The best way that I can describe this solid egg thing is that it tastes like flan but without the sweet component. It's kind of custard-y. Not my favorite but that's just because I am not a huge custard fan.
This place is cool on the inside and has huge windows (kind of weird to be staring at the Arby's across the street). They have dum-dums at the door instead of mints. I obviously can't tell you about their real (fish) sushi, but the vegetarian stuff is pretty good!
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
