Opened: August 2023
6025 N. 16th St. in Phoenix is one of those haunted restaurant spaces that seems to chew up and spit out well-meaning restaurateurs like wads of Juicy Fruit. The last tenant, Matty G’s Steakburgers & Lobsta’ Rolls, managed to last three years, but before that it was a Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, and before that a Brat Haus, and who knows what else. So, is the latest tenant the cure for what ails this North-Central address? Well, it’s got the right concept – who doesn’t love a neighborhood sushi joint? And who doesn’t love chicken karaage ($8), here done ultra-crispy and juicy with a spritz of lemon? The mostly orthodox appetizer menu also includes some serviceable vegetable tempura ($8) and a squid salad ($7) that did the trick. Let’s be up front: This is not the new Hana. But it has a sturdy, fairly priced sushi list, on which I find a firm snapper nigiri ($6) and a 6-piece escolar sashimi spread that’s buttery and fresh.
Plus, the wizened couple that owns the place are pleasant, enthusiastic company, and sometimes that’s the main thing at a neighborhood restaurant, no? They even gift me a complimentary Tom & Jerry roll (cream cheese, avocado and spicy tuna, all deep-fried together and quite tasty, $9) at the top of the meal. 6025, consider your ghosts exhumed.
Wild Card: Go cuckoo with a KooKoo shrimp roll ($13), deep-fried with crab meat.
6025 N. 16th St.
602-237-5654
