"An Uchi reservation is like a golden ticket to a great date. Sure, it’s pricey—too bad that golden ticket isn’t made of precious metal—but this is the kind of place you come to celebrate. The dining room is in an old remodeled house, giving it an atmosphere that feels both cozy and cool, with a dimly lit interior that will hide the fact that you forgot to iron your shirt before heading out. And if you don’t have a reservation (bold move for an Uchi date night), they reserve a handful of spots at the sushi bar for walk-ins, so you might just get lucky after all. Reservations at Uchi open up one month in advance, and they tend to go fast. If you want to secure a prime time seat, you’ll want to be there right when reservations get released, but even the off-hour tables get snapped up about three weeks out. You can also show up right when Uchi opens and usually snag a seat at the bar (or sometimes even a table). The plus side to an early dinner is you’ll also have access to the excellent Happy Hour. Uchi also has two sister concepts—Uchiko in Rosedale, and Uchiba Downtown—both with very similar menus, and tables that go about half as fast." - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion