Ever since I moved to Colorado, I’m always out to look for the best Japanese food. I wouldn’t be mad about eating rice every day for the rest of my life! In the early years of being out here in Denver, I settled with a few places that I’d go to every so often that was just close by for me to walk to. Recently though, I’ve had the chance to try a few of the top Japanese restaurants in Denver; Uchi, Mizu Izakaya, and Temaki Den. These three spots are all great, but I found that each is great for its own reasons!
Uchi is an award-winning restaurant that has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Food & Wine, and many other food publication magazines. Lots of their ingredients also come from a greenhouse company, Altius Farms, which is right upstairs of their restaurant! So talk about fresh! We went during happy hour and were able to try a lot of different dishes that were “tapas” style. All of their dishes were one of a kind! The flavors were all very unique and I promise you I have not had any dishes like the ones at Uchi, anywhere else! Some of their dishes that stood out to me were their Pork Belly, Sakana and Yakai Berry. All their dishes were delicious, but as they describe themselves, they are a Japanese cuisine restaurant. Nothing was “traditional Japanese” if that’s what you’re looking for.
If you want traditional Japanese food, I highly suggest Mizu Izakaya in LoHi. Their menu includes a variety of traditional Japanese food as well as a few cuisine style dishes. From sushi rolls to nigiri sushi, ramen, and a selection of rice bowls, what I was really interested in having was just rice and raw fish. They do have a chirashi bowl on their menu, but I went with their 8 piece Sashimi Dinner with a side of rice. You can get sashimi from basically any Japanese restaurant but I believe most of them are overpriced, and I wouldn’t spend the money on sashimi unless I think it’s priced decently. So at Mizu Izakaya, I believe their prices are worth it. The quality of sashimi is a bit above average so I really can’t complain!
Out of the three restaurants, I’m comparing, Temaki Den had the best quality fish! Honestly, Temaki Den caught my eye first when I saw how they were packaging their rolls so that the seaweed isn’t soggy by the time it gets to the mouths of their customers! Which is how you would typically get a temaki roll at a 7 Eleven in Japan (yes, Japan’s 7 Elevens have onigiri and temaki rolls!). I knew I had to try them out for that reason, but let me tell you, their sushi itself was amazing. Their salmon literally melts in your mouth and their unagi was so flavorful! I also tried something I have never heard of which is oshizushi; also delicious! Their menu is limited to sashimi, nigiri, temaki rolls, and uramaki sushi, but they nail all their dishes as well as making sure their customers get quality fish at a pretty affordable price for sushi out here in Colorado.
If you ask me which restaurant was my favorite, I really wouldn’t be able to tell you because they are all great in their own ways! If you’re on a budget, I’d recommend Mizu Izakaya, also because they have a variety of dishes if you want something besides fish. If you want to have amazing fish, I’d recommend Temaki Den and if you want to try something different, and want fine dining, then I would say Uchi. All the locations had great staff and were all very knowledgeable with their menu, so really you only need to decide what style you’d like/prefer. Either way, I would highly recommend trying all these restaurants when you get the chance!