I popped into Nama for the first time last week around 12 noon to grab a quick bite and sat at the bar. Super friendly and fun bartender took my order. A regular customer and another first-timer showed up and also sat at the bar. Had the best time chatting with the other two women. I ordered a bourbon cocktail, 2 pcs of eel sushi, two rolls off the lunch menu (which came with miso soup and a salad!) and tasted a bite of sushi ceviche which was offered up by my new friend sitting next to me at the bar (she literally insisted I try the ceviche and it was amazing). The fish is very fresh with no "fishy" taste or smell. The lunch specials are a pretty good deal. My total bill was about $50. Great variety of wines and beer. Interesting note on the cocktail menu there is a "bartender's choice" which is whatever cocktail the bartender chooses to make for you. It's like a grab bag for alcohol. Looking forward to my next visit to Nama to try that ceviche dish again.
Chris I.
Came out for a concert and had a craving for mochi. I had been here before, and it was awesome. Decided to stop by the bar and have a drink. Was a bit upset to find out the mochi was discontinued. Now it looks like the only place left is the insanely busy ice cream place across the road. It's a bummer, but I still think this is a great place to unwind and have some sushi or a cocktail.
EM
Fresh and delicious sushi/appetizers every visit. The food is very quick to come out for how busy they always are too! Great service, awesome drinks, and the best date night spot to boot!Parking: State Street Garage is right behind them, and there’s a sky bridge you can take right to their front door on the 3rd floor!
Food was cold and when asked for a remake, my food came back the same but warmed up and burnt. The wait to be remade was 20 minutes. Spoke to the manager and they were not able to fix the situation in an according manner. The waiter then proceeded to be rude to my party after we explained that we know the problem is not with her. This establishment needs improve in all areas.
Alvaro Lhajuj
Rude!!
Food: 1
Pamela Klick
We have always seen this restaurant packed while downtown Knoxville. We were in the area for lunch today and there were no lines so we gave it a try! We ordered drunken noodles and three different types of sushi. The drunken noodles were so salty that we couldn’t eat it. We’ve never had salty drunken noodles before, and we often order it at other restaurants. I typically like to add salt to my meals but this was an excessive amount of salt in the meal. Our waitress told us that they had a new chef and she wondered if that’s the reason. She went and checked with the chef found out they changed the recipe. I definitely wouldn’t order it again. The sushi was also underwhelming. As we were leaving another table of guests called the waitress over to tell her that their dish was unsafe to eat because the egg wasn’t cooked. We told those guests that we didn’t have a good experience either and they responded by saying they’ve never had an uncooked egg in their food at any other Asian restaurants. We definitely will not be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Cassandra Clark
Apparently they start turning people away 45 minutes before closing couldn’t even go to the bar and I was
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Robbe White
Best sushi in Knoxville. My first job as chef, many years agoVegetarian options: Marley roll is fire?Dietary restrictions: GF, vegetarian and Vegan optionsParking: Free on Sundays, otherwise affordableKid-friendliness: Kid's menu and kids eat free on sundays
Someone please explain why you CLOSE at 9pm but you stop letting order (in the restaurant or Togo) at 8:15! If you are going to stop allowing people to enter and order just close at 9pm. This place is slipping, only thing saving them is location.
Service: 1
Heidi Gilson
Went here for dinner recently - you need a reservation to comfortably get in and enjoy yourself. The food was amazing. The person who brought our food and drinks was very nice. Great experience and I’ll go back for special occasions in the future.
Great sushi and they were able to accommodate a large group of us when we called ahead. The service was amazing as well. Highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Edward Chen
It's just okay. Mediocre sushi place with not many other options besides sushi (e.g., ramen). Also sorta expensive for the amount of food served. We will not be coming back as there are better options in Knoxville.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Amy Marano
1st timer! Half price, on selective, sushi on Mondays & Thursdays. Came here for dinner on Monday around 6pm. There was a 20min wait. The hostess was very bland & not welcoming. Our waitress was great. The sushi as THE BOMB ?! I do not eat a lot of sushi but this place was good! We also got a Rainbow roll (not half off), a tempura roll (delicious), soy roll (fabulous), a Cali roll, add cream cheese (wimpest roll but still good, wasnt worthy of a picture lol), and the BB Roll which was the best!! Definitely getting the BB Roll, soy roll & tempura again next time. We also ordered Saki which typically come HOT, we asked for warm, and they brought us one hot and one cold.Atmosphere was cool, that have big TVs up high to watch while u wait and 2 bars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
James Willard
Showed up on a Friday night. As expected there was a 30-40 min wait. Took this time to walk the area.Finally seated and ordered the chefs special roll. First time I’ve ever been asked what I wanted on the roll with it being the chef’s special. Needless to say it was amazing. All my favorites… eel, yellow tail, salmon, tuna. Mmmmmm!They also made us a special roll that was no LONGER on their menu. It was the Yoga roll but it seemed rather plain. Sounded better on the description than it actually was. Not bad but my expectations probably let me down.My son had the drunken noodle with mahi. Spice level 3. Very nice! Not too spicy but enough to make you sweat a little. :)Good beer and wine selection too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Dumplings, Exgirlfriend Roll
I popped into Nama for the first time last week around 12 noon to grab a quick bite and sat at the bar. Super friendly and fun bartender took my order. A regular customer and another first-timer showed up and also sat at the bar. Had the best time chatting with the other two women. I ordered a bourbon cocktail, 2 pcs of eel sushi, two rolls off the lunch menu (which came with miso soup and a salad!) and tasted a bite of sushi ceviche which was offered up by my new friend sitting next to me at the bar (she literally insisted I try the ceviche and it was amazing). The fish is very fresh with no "fishy" taste or smell. The lunch specials are a pretty good deal. My total bill was about $50. Great variety of wines and beer. Interesting note on the cocktail menu there is a "bartender's choice" which is whatever cocktail the bartender chooses to make for you. It's like a grab bag for alcohol. Looking forward to my next visit to Nama to try that ceviche dish again.
Came out for a concert and had a craving for mochi. I had been here before, and it was awesome. Decided to stop by the bar and have a drink. Was a bit upset to find out the mochi was discontinued. Now it looks like the only place left is the insanely busy ice cream place across the road. It's a bummer, but I still think this is a great place to unwind and have some sushi or a cocktail.
Fresh and delicious sushi/appetizers every visit. The food is very quick to come out for how busy they always are too! Great service, awesome drinks, and the best date night spot to boot!Parking: State Street Garage is right behind them, and there’s a sky bridge you can take right to their front door on the 3rd floor!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Edamame, Seaweed Salad, Spicy Tuna, Chef's Choice Roll, bb Roll, California Roll, Sushi, Tempura
Food was cold and when asked for a remake, my food came back the same but warmed up and burnt. The wait to be remade was 20 minutes. Spoke to the manager and they were not able to fix the situation in an according manner. The waiter then proceeded to be rude to my party after we explained that we know the problem is not with her. This establishment needs improve in all areas.
Rude!!
Food: 1
We have always seen this restaurant packed while downtown Knoxville. We were in the area for lunch today and there were no lines so we gave it a try! We ordered drunken noodles and three different types of sushi. The drunken noodles were so salty that we couldn’t eat it. We’ve never had salty drunken noodles before, and we often order it at other restaurants. I typically like to add salt to my meals but this was an excessive amount of salt in the meal. Our waitress told us that they had a new chef and she wondered if that’s the reason. She went and checked with the chef found out they changed the recipe. I definitely wouldn’t order it again. The sushi was also underwhelming. As we were leaving another table of guests called the waitress over to tell her that their dish was unsafe to eat because the egg wasn’t cooked. We told those guests that we didn’t have a good experience either and they responded by saying they’ve never had an uncooked egg in their food at any other Asian restaurants. We definitely will not be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Apparently they start turning people away 45 minutes before closing couldn’t even go to the bar and I was
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Best sushi in Knoxville. My first job as chef, many years agoVegetarian options: Marley roll is fire?Dietary restrictions: GF, vegetarian and Vegan optionsParking: Free on Sundays, otherwise affordableKid-friendliness: Kid's menu and kids eat free on sundays
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Exgirlfriend Roll, Chef's Choice Roll, Nigiri, bb Roll, Sushi
Someone please explain why you CLOSE at 9pm but you stop letting order (in the restaurant or Togo) at 8:15! If you are going to stop allowing people to enter and order just close at 9pm. This place is slipping, only thing saving them is location.
Service: 1
Went here for dinner recently - you need a reservation to comfortably get in and enjoy yourself. The food was amazing. The person who brought our food and drinks was very nice. Great experience and I’ll go back for special occasions in the future.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great sushi and they were able to accommodate a large group of us when we called ahead. The service was amazing as well. Highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's just okay. Mediocre sushi place with not many other options besides sushi (e.g., ramen). Also sorta expensive for the amount of food served. We will not be coming back as there are better options in Knoxville.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
1st timer! Half price, on selective, sushi on Mondays & Thursdays. Came here for dinner on Monday around 6pm. There was a 20min wait. The hostess was very bland & not welcoming. Our waitress was great. The sushi as THE BOMB ?! I do not eat a lot of sushi but this place was good! We also got a Rainbow roll (not half off), a tempura roll (delicious), soy roll (fabulous), a Cali roll, add cream cheese (wimpest roll but still good, wasnt worthy of a picture lol), and the BB Roll which was the best!! Definitely getting the BB Roll, soy roll & tempura again next time. We also ordered Saki which typically come HOT, we asked for warm, and they brought us one hot and one cold.Atmosphere was cool, that have big TVs up high to watch while u wait and 2 bars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Showed up on a Friday night. As expected there was a 30-40 min wait. Took this time to walk the area.Finally seated and ordered the chefs special roll. First time I’ve ever been asked what I wanted on the roll with it being the chef’s special. Needless to say it was amazing. All my favorites… eel, yellow tail, salmon, tuna. Mmmmmm!They also made us a special roll that was no LONGER on their menu. It was the Yoga roll but it seemed rather plain. Sounded better on the description than it actually was. Not bad but my expectations probably let me down.My son had the drunken noodle with mahi. Spice level 3. Very nice! Not too spicy but enough to make you sweat a little. :)Good beer and wine selection too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Dumplings, Exgirlfriend Roll
Fish is not very fresh.
Food: 1