Zumi Sushi Japanese Kitchen, Hillsboro Village, Nashville

Zumi Sushi Japanese Kitchen is located on Belcourt in the Hillsborough Village neighborhood. If you haven’t checked out the Belcourt scene (where the Belcourt Theater is), the street is charming, as several houses have been transformed into quaint, casual eateries with really good food. Zumi sits between Savaurino’s Cucina and Belcourt Taps and Tapas.

Zumi Sushi Japanese Kitchen is a place for cocktails and some food, izakaya style. Izi means to to stay and kaya means saki shop, and originated as a saki shop where people could also drink. Zumi has adapted this idea for its college casual neighborhood, featuring a daily happy hour, during the week from 3:30-6:30 with most cocktails at $5.00. On Saturday, they offer a saki flight tasting for $12.

The attraction for me is finding a casual place to eat sushi and sit outside.  It’s the perfect place to get a small bite and cold drink. Our small bites, turned into big bites, as we kept ordering more sushi rolls because sometimes we don’t know when to quit. They also feature a curry dish, a Pad Thai dish and five salads, included a calamari salad. We tried the Pad Thai on a second visit and that was disappointing and not a dish I would recommend. However, the sushi rolls and cocktails are reasonable and never disappoint.

We ordered a pear saki and a strawberry margarita. Both were refreshing and surprising. I don’t usually like strawberry margaritas, full of ice and syrup, but this is a cleaner, more grown up version. We immediately wanted a second one.

As an appetizer we tried the fried avocado. This was more a Mr. ST pick, as I don’t gravitate to fried food, but the avocado held it’s own, fried with finesse and not heavy at all.

We stuck with sushi rolls, and a few house specialties, and our very attentive server was happy to suggest her personal favorites, which we settled upon.