Part club, part sports bar, part sushi bar
| Davis Location |
| 500 1st Street , in the Davis Commons |
| Hours |
| Mon-Thu 11:30am-2:00pm; 4:30-9:30pm |
| Fri-Sat 11:30am-10:00pm |
| Sun 11:30am-9:00pm |
| Phone |
| (530)756-2111 |
| Website |
| https://mikunisushi.com/locations/davis/ |
| Established |
| April 16, 2009 |
MissAmyQ: Platter D(I would choose B, overalll fresh & better yet it was $50 during Mother's Day Weekends. I think their platters at $50 on Monday or Sunday(check)
Mikuni is a small chain of trendy Japanese sushi restaurants with six area locations: Davis, Midtown Sacramento, Arden Fair Mall, Fair Oaks, Elk Grove, and Roseville. Mirroring a trend in sushi restaurants, Mikuni puts a cosmopolitan face on your traditional sushi experience. With multiple sushi bars, full liquor bar, hard surfaces, large flat screen televisions and vibrant colors, patrons looking for a zen sushi experience may want to look elsewhere. Mikuni, along with Tokyo Fro's, definitely market to the young urban professional looking to mix high end dining with a social scene. Following the current midtown trend of mixing bar scene, dining and stained concrete floors, Mikuni is far too noisy to hold much of a conversation and women may want to bring along a light sweater. Reservations are only accepted for parties of eight or larger.
Prices are moderate to high, and sake is a bit ridiculously overpriced though they have a good selection. Thankfully for some diners, Mikuni keeps traditional sushi items on the menu while scattering in a fun and well-executed selection of chef's creations. This ensures that you can always get something you recognize if you're not up for taking a chance on something like ZigZag roll. Specialty sushis lean toward Hawaiian-style without going overboard on the funky sauces and pre-chewed fish. The quality of the sashimi is excellent and presentation is beautiful, though when they say small combo platter, they do mean small. Service is friendly, though a bit slow, so make sure you have your next sushi or drink order ready whenever the waitress happens by. In 2005, one sushi chef placed as a finalist in SushiMasters.com annual statewide Sushi competition.
The Davis Mikuni's is in the previous location of Fuzio in the Davis Commons.
Deals!
$45 for Two – They have a special fixed price menu for two for only $45. You and your dining partner can choose one appetizer, one meat or tempura dish, 2 sushi rolls, and one dessert for the fixed price of $45.
Media
Read a feature story and a review about the new Mikuni in Davis in the July 09 issue of Davis Life Magazine.
Pictures of Davis location and food
Before the Davis Location Opened
2005-08-11 13:36:41 Their Sushi is apparently pretty good, but their prices are pretty steep. —RogerClark
2005-08-11 19:55:36 I think it's about average. They tend to give generous portions and if you sit at the bar it's not uncommon to receive occassional extras. I recommend the spicey combo. Dinner at this restaurant isn't so differently priced from most places in Davis. —JaimeRaba
2006-06-01 08:38:14 After hearing about this place from a few friends, I decided to give it a try. The sushi was fantastic. We had an Incredible roll, Tommy roll, Pepperfin seafood plate and Sea Streak Poki Salad. I highly recommend all these dishes. It definatly was loud while we were there, but not so loud that one couldn't have a conversation. —DaveBanister
2007-01-26 20:20:16 I've been here a few times, the nigiri and rolls are pretty good, but I think the popularity of this place has a lot more to do with the social scene and atmosphere rather than the quality of the food. My favorite place in Sac is still Taka's Sushi, now Zen sushi. I think the food is better and I prefer the slightly quieter atmosphere. Their BBQ Albacore is to DIE for. —TheodoreSuryapurnama
2007-03-07 22:02:05 pretty good sushi, but the added price may not warrent driving to sac for, when you got Zen toro and Moshi Moshi here. Like the last reviewer said, the place is quite happening, and i like the atmosphere even if it is loud —MattHh
2007-03-29 01:13:11 Used to eat there when it was a single restaurant in the Folsom area area, it was so GREAT back then, awesome sushi chefs, since they have expanded the prices have risen and I don't find it as fun anymore, still a good place to eat though. Beware some of the sushi chefs in the midtown location are sleazy, one kept leering at my date once, like in a way too obvious way. I prefer Zen Toro here in town —JarrettNoble
2008-06-04 12:26:18 I work in Sacramento, and I've been to Mikuni a few times. I guess I'm just a traditionalist when it comes to sushi, but it seemed like Mikuni adds disgusting amounts of mayonnaise to everything. Yuck. —DanLawyer
2009-01-19 11:36:58 So good! Mikuni's is the best modernized sushi I have had in the valley. Try the Spicy Johnny and the Japanese Mafia rolls. —ErikBusby
2009-04-07 14:44:58 Erik is right....Japanese mafia and Spicy Johnny are amazing, best salmon nigiri around, fun atmosphere too!!! so happy they are coming to davis!!! Moshi Moshi sucks terribly and all the downtown places except zen toro are worse. Sushi Unlimited is good, but growing up in Sacramento made me fall in love with Mikuni. —pepper27
2009-04-17 14:39:14 I've been to Mikuni's (in Sacramento) several times, both when I lived in Davis and then when my gf lived in Midtown Sac. Not really a fan, overall. As most people said, it's more of a trendy hotspot. The sushi was alright to good, although I actually thought the presentation was rather plain and lacking most of the time, often just four rolls lined up neatly on the plate/platter. I think several rolls are a bit heavy on the mayo/sauces, as Dan pointed out above. While it is a cool place, especially for groups, it wasn't the best choice for a dinner or lunch date with my girlfriend and I. Overall, the price was high, as you're paying for the atmosphere factor, not simply fresh/high quality sushi. If you're looking for just the sushi, there were plenty of better (and even cheaper) options than Mikuni's just in Midtown Sac. I think the Davis location will be pretty popular if they try to shoot for the same type of atmosphere and target the drinks and sushi crowd. —ES
After the Davis Location Opened
2009-04-21 07:46:32 My husband and I went in early Friday night (4/17), and surprisingly it wasn't too busy. I got my usual favorites from the midtown location, flaming shrooms, incredible roll, 911 roll, and Benjamin roll. It was the exact same quality I expect from Mikuni, so we were very pleased. Service was good, and I like the lighter, brighter, and a bit warmer atmosphere. I was always bummed about the huge amount of flies on Fuzio's patio, and I could see that was still a problem, so I'll probably have to skip the outside dining which is unfortunate. With an appetizer, 3 rolls, and 2 cocktails, our bill was about $66, not much more than I'd epect at any other (decent) sushi spot in town. —AmLin
2009-04-22 16:54:55 I stopped by for lunch and the service was great! They had pretty good lunch specials and the fish tasted fresh. —Magster
2009-04-22 19:07:55 went here last night and the service was very friendly and nice. i'm not big on sushi so i can't really comment on the taste, except that they all tasted fairly similar in the party platter. everyone else seemed to enjoy the sushi but said it wasn't exactly memorable, but maybe that was because of the saki bombs that overshadowed everything else. —skinnyfatgirl
2009-04-22 23:39:51 Does anyone know if the Davis Mikuni's prices are the same as Sacramento/Roseville? —TylerSe
2009-04-23 10:01:05 To TylerSe: Yep, the prices appeared to be the exact same, at least the same as the Midtown location. —AmLin
2009-04-29 20:22:16 Amazing hostness, waitresses, chefs etc. Love the environment and the sushi is definitely to die for. I reccommend the Benjamin Roll, Japanese Mafia, Bob's Roll, and flaming shrooooms (appetizer). :] I will definitely go back..if it didn't do so much damage in my wallet. :[ —MissAmyQ
2009-05-05 07:32:12 Delicious. Super excited to have a Mikuni's in Davis, we now have a good sushi place downtown. The wait staff is nice, one of the guys got my table to do sake bombs and made us sing the song and pounded the table with us for a friends birthday. It was a lot of fun, and cool that he was really into it even though we were all yelling in the restaurant.
2009-05-19 23:10:43 Absolutely wonderful service, very attentive and friendly. The food was of expected high quality, fresh, tasty, generally distinctive in flavor. The seared yellow-tail appetizer was delicious. I recommend the Train Wreck Roll and Pimp My Roll. I wouldn't come here for reasons other than a date though, just because it's a little pricey and I'm poor! —CoreyPham
2009-05-25 18:24:37 I tried it because there are people who swear by Mikuni and will not eat Japanese food at all unless it's at this restaurant. I was sorely disappointed. Let me count the ways: 1) The sushi was not that good, at least the rolls weren't. We didn't have anything else (nigiri, sashimi, etc.) Perhaps I didn't choose the right ones (I went off of the descriptions on the menu), but I ordered a Marilyn Monroll, TNT roll, Mel roll (without wasabi), and Japanese Mafia roll. I was really limited with what I could order because half the rolls on the menu were spicy, and I can't take spicy foods at all. But is that so terrible?! Sushi Unlimited has MANY non-spicy yet incredibly delicious rolls, so I don't think I should be discriminated against for my overly sensitive taste buds. 1a) The Marilyn Monroll was the only good roll we had. The TNT roll was weird, not because it didn't have rice, but it had this weird fish paste as a substitute, and it was drenched in random sauces that did not match well at all (the description made it sound so much better). Mel roll had too much rice and too little meat. And it was too bland, but I suppose that's what the wasabi was there for. However Japanese Mafia roll had WAY too many sauces that tasted sort of mayonnaise-y, as another reviewer had mentioned. BUT! Turns out, if I dipped the Mel roll into the Japanese Mafia roll sauce, it tasted pretty good! And then the Japanese Mafia roll wouldn't be so saturated in ridiculous amounts of sauces. But a customer shouldn't have to mix rolls to enjoy a meal at any restaurant. 2) It's not just the sushi that's bad, apparently their wasabi was bland too. My boyfriend took a quarter sized chunk of wasabi and ate it, and it didn't hurt him in the slightest (and he's a normal guy, it's not like he has bionic taste buds). It just seemed like they took some green paste that was sitting next to wasabi for a while, and then served it to us as wasabi. 3) The price is too expensive, especially for a disappointing meal. We only had 4 rolls and total bill came out to be $60. For that price, I expect to have the fish be caught and gutted in front of me. 4) It is too noisy and trendy, as other reviewers have mentioned. They yell greetings EVERY TIME a customer gets seated. And not just a quick yell, but the host bringing the customer in well yell it, and then the rest of the staff will respond with another yell. It's a big excessive. Also, I think they could lower the prices if they got rid of one of their FOUR large screen TVs, given how the place isn't that big. 5) My last gripe: Why is this place so hyped up? They plastered their windows and doors with Zagat stickers (which don't really mean anything if you think about it) and Mikuni paraphernalia, which definitely heightened my expectations. Here's the one that tops it all: one large screen TV was specifically designated to show Mikuni advertisements over and over again. I mean, that's just a waste. This place just screams of trendy hot spot for young adults, which means that it's probably the alcohol that's bringing in the money. So why punish the rest of us sushi lovers with inflated prices attached to, at best, mediocre sushi?! It doesn't make any sense.
In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this place to my rivaling nemeses. Yea, I haven't tried EVERYTHING here, so maybe they have something that's good, but I'd rather not risk it at this point, especially at those prices. Also, a place with good rolls will most likely have good nigiri/sashimi as well, so I would still go to Sushi Unlimited. —AnnieLiu
2009-05-30 19:41:47 Mikuni is not a big deal! Food and service are average but price is high. I tried it and definitely prefer Zen Toro. —BelindaYT
2009-07-26 22:09:17 I ate at Mikuni the other night to see what it was all about (I'm a Zen Toro/Moshi Moshi fan, and eat at Sushi Unlimited pretty often too), and was disappointed in the food (those mushrooms were disgusting, and my rolls were a little too warm for my comfort, and not sparkling with freshness), the noise, the obnoxious energy of the servers, the giant loud TV, the out-of-control bill that came after my less than good meal. I think the other reviewer who said they thought this place was probably bringing in most of their money from alcohol was probably right - entrepreneurs have obviously noted a niche in this town (the bar at the new KetMoRee?). I am glad, however, that Mikuni has come to town, since more competition can only encourage every other sushi place in town to think about ways they could improve, and a lot of local places really need to focus on their service. But I'll keep going across the street to Zen Toro, thanks. —calvin2
- My understanding is that most restaurants make most of their profit off of drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and desserts, so it's probably not specific to Davis. But you do have a point that there do seem to be more bars in this town of 65,000 than any other random town of this size. —jsogul
2009-09-04 14:56:01 Absolutely the best sushi in Davis, and Sacramento for that matter. Excellent service, reasonable prices, fresh ingredients, and a HUGE selection. If you sit at the sushi bar edamame is free, and the sushi chefs are very friendly and accomodating. I reccommend the james roll (expecially with soft shell crab or lobster) and the bob's roll. BEST SUSHI EVER!!!!! —Furly707
2009-09-20 22:06:35 I went to the location in Davis with my girlfriend tonight. After reading all these reviews I am extremely surprised at the responses. I am a big sushi fan and not only was this one of the worst sushi restaurants I have ever been to, the service was absolutely terrible. I ordered the seared tuna as a main dish, also a tekka maki roll, a hamachi nigiri, the Davis roll,and a root beer. The Hamachi was good, I didn't really have any complaints with that, as for the Tekka maki and Root beer.. I wouldn't be able to tell you. I asked my server twice for both and never received them. I made sure to let him know that my water was fantastic, and that I hadn't received my root beer or tekka maki. He apologized and quickly walked away after handing my check without another word. The seared tuna was so cold I thought it came out of the refrigerator. I was extremely unhappy with the entire experience and I wouldn't recommend this place to someone I hated.
The restaurant is extremely loud, quite annoying how the servers yell a greeting every time somebody walks into the door. Bottom line: DON'T EAT HERE —gearitup88
2009-10-17 12:11:13 Went here for the 1st time yesterday, Friday with the BF. It was very busy and loud. We didnt have to wait, so that was a plus. We had the $40 Happy Hour/Meal Deal. It took too long before the 1st plate arrived, but then it was paced well with all the other plates/course
We had: BBQ Albacore 3pc - It was good esp with their sauces (spicy, fyi) Musolino Pasta - It was like an udon noodle stir fry with shrimp, crab meat, mushrooms, asparagus. tasty but very greasy Marilyn Monroll & Michi Roll - it was average, on the same level as sushi buffets or sushi unlimited. one of the rolls was supp to have scallops, but it didnt. The rolls were sorta cheap tasting, which would be ok if it was cheap Molten Lava Cake w/ raspberry sauce - very chocolate-y, it was the cheap version, it was a circular dense chocolate cake with hot fudge on top. Normally for this type of cake it has the chocolate lava inside, so when you cut it with ur fork its actually like lava. It didnt come ala mode either. :(((
It was an overall average meal. You get better food/deals at the midtown sac one
ps they added an additional 1.20 on the tip when i checked my cc. Is it mandatory to tip 20%? the 1.20 made it 20% we tipped 17 —ILikeToEat
- It was probably an authorization hold they put on your card. Restaurants will often assume a 20% tip when they swipe your credit card, since you haven't yet written on the slip what you want to tip, and they want to be sure that you have sufficient funds when they put the final charge through to the bank. Check with your credit card company in a couple of days, once everything would have cleared everyone's books, and you'll probably find that the overcharge has sorted itself out. If it hasn't, you might want to talk to the management at the restaurant, since that would unethical at best. —StaceyEllis
2009-10-22 20:38:21 This restaurant is so cheesy. If you are a freshman student, sportsbar fan, or hopeless yuppie then this is the perfectly overpriced glorified cafeteria for you! —AmandaAbughosh
2009-10-28 02:10:30 I visited just this weekend and they really surprised me! I expected a posh, overpriced restaurant from what I was hearing, but the prices per portion were great! Try the INCREDIBLE roll and the Peter 2 roll. I really enjoyed my time there, and it was my friend's birthday so he played a fun card game... he won a T-shirt! The workers were really attentive, so I'll definitely try the other mikunis and go back to the Davis location with my Koki club card! —ReadyRice
2009-10-28 20:55:24 My husband, son and I ate there last Friday night. The food was great, and the service was wonderful. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a great sushi menu and casual atmosphere. —kbowen100
2009-11-19 14:29:43 Mikuni is my favorite Sushi restaurant. It is so amazing and the servers are always friendly. As a vegan it is the perfect place to go with my friends that eat meat. One of my friends has a gluten intolerance and the waitress was nice enough to tell us about the gluten free menu. She loved it! Every time i have been there the managers are on the floor and talking to the guests and I love that. There is a funny bald sushi chef. He always makes me laugh and told me all about the fish and where they are from. Sit in front of him, he seems to know what he is talking about. It is a great place to do Sake Bombs too! One of the managers gets really into it and sings! Its great! I am so glad Mikuni came to Davis! —Sushiloverxoxo
2009-12-17 19:50:46 My husband gets sick every time he eats here, so we've stopped going. I don't get sick, but then again, I don't eat sushi, and he does. —dizzyditz
2010-01-04 00:32:32 When I first heard that Mikuni was coming to Davis, I was both happy and sad. I was happy, because I love the Mikuni in Sacramento, but sad, because it would be yet another sushi restaurant in Davis. That being said, Mikuni distinguishes itself from the others with its trendy, fusion atmosphere and great service. The sushi, compared to the other non-buffet sushi joints in Davis, is pretty good; probably tied with Moshi Moshi for my favorite in Davis. Their large platters are convenient for when you come with friends, but unfortunately do not feature some of their better specials. My personal favorite was the Pimp my Roll. —BrandonWong
2010-01-04 09:47:33 I'm so happy they extended their October dinner special for 2 for $40. For 40 bucks you get to choose from 2 different sets of appetizers, pick 2 from the roll section, and you get a dessert. My husband and I usually get Flaming Shrooms, pepperfin, Fair Oaks roll, and 2 soft shell crab hand rolls, and get the dessert to go because we're so stuffed. For Mikuni, it's a great value. The only thing I miss sometimes are their fancier (pricier) rolls that aren't part of the deal. —AmLin
2010-02-12 14:07:11 Went last weekend and was pleasantly surprised that their customer service has been increased. I was starting to lose faith in Mikuni, especially since we've been going for years to the other locations. Food and service was awesome and look forward to going back, probably this weekend! —103
2010-04-12 00:21:04 Their food is far from being cheap, but everything is SO good. If you prefer quantity over quality, go to Davis Sushi or other buffets; if you prefer quality over quantity, this place is the winner. I actually don't like the flavor of raw fish, but I was surprised to find that I like Mikuni's salmon sashimi. Now it is the only sashimi I'll eat. —susiekim
2010-10-04 16:27:47 I just moved to Davis and have been trying out all of the sushi here. So far, Mikuni's has been my favorite. While it's pricey, the quality is superior to the buffets I've had around town. It's pretty Americanized, which I don't like too much, but the sashimi/nigiri is pretty phenomenal if you're like me and don't like all the fancy (and fatty) rolls. The last few times I've been here I was served at the bar by a chef whose name I think was Nao. He was really nice and threw in some freebies on my second visit because he remembered me. The happy hour menu is very reasonable and the lunch specials are good too. I spent like $9 on eight pieces of assorted nigiri (one was free from the chef) and wasn't charged extra for substituting the cheaper fish for my favorites. Ifyou can afford it, visit this place before settling for a cheap buffet. —anna.thoma
2011-03-06 22:47:10 Oh, Mikuni. You fancy, huh?? While slightly expensive, I admit that I have always had a good time eating there. Dining outside is great when the weather is nice, and the food is GREAT. If I could afford to, I'd eat sushi here all the time. OM NOM NOM. —kthrnngo
2011-04-13 13:01:39 expensive but delicious, however id rather go to fujis or davis for sushi because its a buffet and more affordable —anonymousaggie
2011-04-13 19:02:44 I absolutely love this place!! I order the Marilyn Monroll everytime i go and then I always get their california rolls after. It is a little expensive but so worth it —KathrynAzarvand
2011-07-26 23:58:09 The fish here is pretty good; at least it's fresh compared to many of the other cheap buffet places. The prices are not that bad. It only seems bad because it's not on your typical college buffet pricing grid. For me, i'm not big on rolls, I'm all about the taste of the sashimi. This place is probably one of the better sushi joints in town. —C.Ling
2011-08-08 13:47:13 Not sure what's going on here, I usually love Mikuni and frequent the one in Midtown near where I work, however the Davis one has left something to be desired lately. My husband and I came in on Saturday night and found it pleasantly not busy. We asked to sit outside (there were two tables) and we were led out by the hostess. When we got outside, the 2 person table was pinned up against another table of 5 or so people. The hostess, apparently, saw nothing wrong with that. Of course, being 6 months pregnant, I knew I couldn't squeeze in the seat. I don't think a small child could have made it work. We asked if we could sit at the slightly larger table and she said no, it was for 4 people, so we'd have to wait. She leads us back inside, so we then ask the hostess and what we assumed to be a female assistant manger at the front desk if they could kindly move the small table. They look at each other, whisper to each other that neither of them are willing to move the table, and tell us we have to wait for 20 minutes for another table to open. Sooooo, on a not busy night w/ 2 free tables outside you won't A) move the small table or B) sit us at the bigger table "in case" someone comes in? The whole thing was bizarre and rude, especially given how not busy it was. Needless to say, we walked out and instead of spending $70 on sushi, we spent $17 on Pluto's. Good for my wallet, I guess. It's too bad because we often find the hostesses less than pleasant, but the wait staff is great. Guess I'll need to find new sushi in Davis and stick to Mikuni midtown. :( —AmLin
2011-08-08 16:50:29 It's all about the Peter 2. We've always had good service at this location... and every location, for that matter. The only exception might be the location in Northstar Village, on a moderately busy night the staff looked and acted totally frazzled, and the prices are significantly higher up there. Bottom line though, at Mikuni you're getting what you payed for: http://www.kcra.com/news/15238831/detail.html —OldDavis73
2011-08-19 21:22:58 My husband and I love our sushi, and we've always enjoyed Mikuni. But recently we've had an even more positive experience. Emily is a waitress at the Davis location and she goes above and beyond with making us enjoy our experience. We were expecting earlier this summer and she offered great suggestions for those wanting to stay away from raw fish, then after I miscarried we went back, she remembered us and I shared with her the really sad news, but at least I could now eat raw fish. She expressed her sympathies and really made sure that we enjoyed our evening. Tonight we went for dessert after eating dinner at Our House, she brought us tea with our dessert and made us feel so at home. We really won't go anywhere else for sushi now. Thanks Emily! —jenb
2012-03-15 12:00:51 My favorite sushi in Davis. Bob's roll FTW. Also—I really enjoy the happy hour specials. —JQuest
2018-11-07 23:02:21 My favorite sushi place in Davis too. They are a fusion place rather than just a traditional Japanese place. They have veggie sushi and California sushi with ingredients like asparagus & tempura jalapenos. The traditional stuff is great quality too. This place is always packed for dinner, no matter which day you go. —ToddGlenn
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