Sushi Nabe

The space looks cluttered and dirty. The floor boards creek and the building itself feels rickety. The food had an underlying musty taste. The soup. The salad. The sushi. All underlying musty. I kept looking around for evidence of uncleanliness because it just felt dirty in there. If you zoom in on the sushi boat we ordered you’ll see what I mean. We won’t be going back.

Sushi Nabe...a longtime Chattanooga Northshore mainstay... Walked past this place many times while walking the Northshore area, but tonight was the first time I stopped in. Parking near there is a bit of a pain, trying to navigate River Street into the parking lot which, thankfully, was free on Sundays (as many in the area know, free parking in Chattanooga is hard to come by). The interior looks like what you'd expect for a mom-and-pop restaurant, various pictures on the walls, decorations, bar off to the side, etc., a quaint and cozy ambience. But you don't go to a restaurant to park or admire the interior, you go there to eat. Unsweet tea was perfect, not weak, but not overpoweringly strong. Miso soup came without green onions (at my request), and was probably the best miso soup I've had at a Japanese restaurant, full of rich flavor, and just enough tofu and seaweed. The main dish was unadon (grilled eel in a sweet sauce, served over steamed rice with wasabi and pickled ginger)...a rather large bowl, but a generous portion indeed (even with the wasabi and ginger...more on that in a minute). The eel was tender, perfectly seasoned, with the taste and consistency almost like a steak that flakes like a fish. The rice was fluffy, a softball (maybe a bit larger) of perfectly steamed rice. The ginger was sweet with the typical ginger kick, but muted (as pickled ginger typically is). The wasabi...oh, boy, did that hit hard... I accidentally grabbed a piece of eel with a similar size clump of wasabi...and my nose was instantly transformed into a medieval dragon's snout, breathing an intense horseradish fire for about 3 seconds or so, which is coincidentally about as long as it took for me to grab my tea and take a sizable swig. Overall, a great meal, and the service was fantastic. Pricewise...this is probably not a place you eat at every day (average meal will run $20-$30 per person, not including appetizers or certain specialties). However, the taste will make you want to eat here again, whether or not you can find free parking in the area. There's a reason why this place is one of the longest-lasting indie restaurants in the area (not just Japanese, but altogether). A true gem. 9.8 out of 10 (only reason it isn't higher is because I've only eaten here once so far...I will be back for more).

We eat a Sushi Nabi at least once a month. They do have the best authentic Japanese sushi in town. Nabi takes pride in the food that his restaurant serves. The servers are always attentive, the atmosphere is pleasant and the restrooms are nice and clean. I recommend it to my customers on a daily basis.

We came on a Sunday afternoon.. it wasn't busy at all just a few tables.. The service was great and the restrooms were clean.. I had two issues, one mainly it's not a sushi place for me because the sushi rolls were just average and were not rolled good and kept falling apart plus the rice wasn't good and the meat inside wasn't a good portion so the price for all that wasn't worth it.. A major issue and was alarming for me when there was a fruit fly was pestering me.. for me a restaurant that has a fruit fly teaching the dinning area means there's smth wrong in the kitchen.. So for us it's a last visit.. the sushi was better a few years back But the staff are pretty friendly and the place is clean especially the bathroom

A great laid back place that is kid friendly and not too expensive. Our server was very helpful and knowledgeable about what they serve! Definitely worth coming and make sure to try the hot crunchy roll!

This place is INCREDIBLE! The owner himself, Nabe is just such a kind ray of sunshine, he was there rolling all the sushi himself & the waitstaff is just such a pleasure! I am so thankful I walked into Attack of a Tatsu across town who sent me here (I’m here for work) Keri was my waitress & she is just a doll!

I have been a very picky eater, and ive had chicken Alfredo as my favorite food since I was 12 years old. This octopus salad that Sushi Nabe serves is my new favorite food of all time, I had two order of it, one order of calamari and the Mustri Bento. I've never felt inclined to leave a review until today. The service was immaculate, Taizo made sure I had a drink before I was even finished with my last one. But thats not all, very attentive and such a nice guy. I can't wait to come back and try more food. This was one of the best experiences ive had a restaurant.

Good overall dining experience from the staff to the food to the service .. forgot to take photos of the sushi but will update the next time we are there as my son and his wife love to eat there

Since moving to Chattanooga I always wanted to give this place a shot and I'm glad I did! The restaurant has a very fun atmosphere and a cozy feel to it. Michael, the sushi chef, was very kind and I can tell he takes pride in his work also just has great customer service! I had the Blue Ridge roll and I will say it was hands down one of the best sushi rolls I've had! You definitely get a bang for your buck with it because it is massive!! Highly recommend! Will for sure be making this a regular place to eat now! Excited to try their other rolls!

Went for lunch...ordered the volcano roll and a salad and some sake. The sake was not cold, the salad dressing was essentially syrup-way too sweet, and the roll was equivalent to crab salad wrapped in rice stacked like a "volcano." The roll was really disappointing and sweet too. I won't be back.

Service was great! We went when there was barely anybody so we got our food quickly and our waitress was super attentive and kind. The food however was some of the worst sushi I've ever had and I consume it regularly. We were served a sushi boat that was advertised as having crab, salmon, shrimp and a California roll. The crab was actually surimi, the California roll only had surimi and avocado-no cucumber and barely actually contained anything but rice. And the salmon was the saddest because it was actually smoke salmon, not true, raw, sushi grade salmon. Would not recommend to anyone.

First visit on date night before Cirque show Ovo. Stopped by around 4:30pm and was immediately seated. Nice cozy dining room for a family owned business. Waitress was very friendly and helpful with what to select. We didn't order a appetizer, but chose the City Boat. This is a great meal for 2. You better be hungry. You get a fresh greens salad, not just lettuce and a bowl of Miso soup. Next is a large bowl of chicken teriyaki and a bowl of shrimp and vegetable tempura. All excellent!! Then the boat showed up. 3 large rolls are on board. Did we make a mistake... So much food !!! The 3 rolls are the Blue Ridge, Dragon and Pink rolls shown in picture. Definitely going to return. Both the man and wife owners were working and stopped by to see our reaction.

Watching Mr. Nabe himself make sushi. Casual place, good food. Seems a bit expensive for the portion sizes, in my opinion. If we could reorder, we would've split the boat of sushi. Seemed just right for two people. Great date spot! Right by the river. Parking is easy.

While in Chattanooga for the weekend, my husband and I decided to try a local sushi restaurant. We went on Sunday, Father's Day, and there was about a 30 minute wait. The wait didn't bother us as we knew it was Father's Day and lots of folks were eating out. We live in Hoover, AL, and we eat sushi/sashimi every Friday and Sunday. On Fridays we go to Nori Thai and on Sundays we go to Samurai Japan. Both are two of our favorites. While we were waiting on a table, one of the other patrons told us he has been going to Sushi Nabe for about 12 years. He said it was very good, so we were looking forward to our meal. I realize it was Father's Day, but we waited over 30 minutes for our beer. I do not think that is a reasonable wait time...holiday or no holiday. Our food was a long wait, also, and we didn't have anything that needed to be cooked...I had sushi and sashimi combination, and my husband had two rolls. My husband said his rolls were very small compared to what we get in Hoover. My sashimi was paper thin as well as a very small cut. I am used to getting nice big hunks of fish and was very disappointed. We travel to Chattanooga a few times a year, and we will not be going back to this restaurant.

For my son's birthday he chose Sushi Nabi to celebrate. We went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. We found a spot around the restaurant and parking was free on Sunday (or at least the parking machine said it was closed +no ticket when we left so....) We arrived at 12:30 and there was already a wait. 15 minutes later we were seated. The birthday boy had the crabtackular pumpkin and the 3 special roll lunch (Dynamite, crunchy crab, and crunchy shrimp). I had the Bento box with spicy tuna roll (upcharge). Both lunch meals came with Miso soup. We also shared the New York roll and Charleston roll. Everything was delicious! Service was a bit slow but they were very busy, so understandable.

Service was sub par and un-attentive. We were waiting around 10 mins to see a server when the restaurant wasn't busy, and then when she came and talked to us she didn't introduce herself or say hi... just, "What can I get you to drink?" She gave much better and quicker service to the people that sat next to us. The food was okay. Soy sauce bowls were dirty with some sort of film from the dishwasher or something. Appreciated the vegetarian options. Would maybe order online at some point but will not be dining in again.

Amazing Staff!! I can't express that enough. My son has a life threatening allergy and they were phenomenal with preparation and ingredients. Highly recommend!!

The GOOD *outstanding Ginger dressing for the asian salad *tasty Edamame *friendly service *lots of choices on the menu The NOT SO GOOD *sweltering rear porch, poor air circulation *Maki Rolls were ok, no "wow" factor

I used to really enjoy this restaurant but the quality and value have really taken a turn for the worst. Food was way overpriced for the money. Baby octopus salad wasn't good. Tuna tataki and Gyoza weren't either. The beer that we were served was out of date and the hot sake was cold. Really disappointed. Toto sushi is better. I think Osaka is the best in town for now. Our server was very nice and service was pretty good so the stars are for her.

I absolutely love coming here and splurging on the Chattanooga Boat. The meat is so fresh and the rice is to die for! The service was great and I love how simple the interior is! I am already dreaming about eating this again soon.

This is probably the best sushi you can find in chattanooga. The service can be a little slow at times but I think it's worth it. I'd love for them to redo the inside, it's a little dated in my opinion, but it doesn't really matter because the food is always amazing.

Very good food with many vegetarian options. Service was spot on and relaxing- not rushed.

We get their teriyaki chicken and rice, the soup and BlueRidge sushi roll. My husband loves the chicken. My favorite is the BlueRidge sushi. I like the atmosphere of the restaurant. The music is calming. The restaurant's volume isn't loud like most restaurants. I feel the atmosphere and volume of the music plays a huge part in how much one enjoys their meal.

Went for a lunch, been craving sushi. Honestly, not at all impressed. Miso soup had only one tine piece of tofu and one nori. Then it qas full of some hard crunchies that added absolutley nothing. The 3 roll combo was tuna, salmon and yellowtail. Just wrapped in rice. No seeweed, no avacado or cucumber. The other roll was suppposed to be a Volcano roll. It was just a california roll, topped with ketchup, imitation crab and mayo with crunchies. Served ice cold, not baked as most places. The best ting about the meal, sadly, was the toothpick.

Updating my review: went to Nabe for lunch yesterday. Thank you for not charging extra this time for nori instead of soy paper this time. As someone who can't eat the soy paper, I appreciate it.

Food is great as I am a returning customer, however there hours of operation are irritating as can be. Closed Monday and Tuesday and close midday for 2.5hrs Wednesday-Friday!?! Why be so all over the place with your time? Also, often won't take call in orders doesn't matter if you say you'll wait a while they still reject? Good food could be managed a lot better.

Food is well prepared and outstanding. Locally owned. The Nabi Nachos and Agadeshi are my two favorite appetizers followed by the Godzilla which is wonderful. Great service, pleasant environment especially in the spring and fall in the outdoor eating area. When we are seated they bring our personalized chop sticks, sanitize them after dinner and keep them there until our next visit.

Food was okay, but the service was lackluster at best. They were very pushy about rushing the table and uninformed about the menu. Surely, there are better sushi places in Chattanooga.

Nabe makes great sushi and always welcomes you with a smile. One of the first sushi bars that came to Chattanooga many years ago and never disappoints!

Super authentic located downtown. Beautiful location and wonderful people. Their menus options are abundant and never leave you without an option

My new favorite sushi place in Chattanooga! It was recommended by a friend and it did not disappoint. It looks like a little hole in the wall inside but don't let that fool you... the sushi is incredible! So many options too that the menu is almost overwhelming as far as sushi. Has plenty of other options as well. We sat outside on a nice Saturday afternoon and it made for a great meal and relaxing time. Service was great... the waitress was very attentive. Will definitely be returning soon!

Best sushi spot in town. End of story. Lived here 46 years, tried them all many times. Mabel reigns supreme.

Food was good. We had entrees that came with miso soup and a small salad - these were good. Chicken teriyaki entree was a mix of dark and white meat. Fine if you like both. Tofu teriyaki was requested as not fried and was quite good this way. We also had edamame - fine, beef gyoza - fine, veggie spring rolls - mushy. Many restaurants in the south must buy from the same distributor as this is similar throughout the south. Although it was a rainy day and the restaurant was not especially busy, it was a 15 minute wait to be seated, but then everything rolled out nicely. We had an indoor table in the corner, one table between us and the door to the patio. This door slammed every time someone went through, shook the table. Very annoying. It would be easy enough to cushion the closing and improve the atmosphere

Enjoyed dinner here on a sunny Sunday with some friends. Lots of sushi options available --large menu-- and fun ambience, although the place could use a facelift. We enjoyed a bottle of cold sake with our meal which was served prompt and was enjoyable. Nobody ordered a hot meal so can't speak to those options, but we liked our sushi! We were satisfied with the service and wouldn't mind coming back!

Excellent Mid-afternoon Lunch/dinner! Salmon-skin Roll was the best we've ever had and the Sake-Gin Martini was perfect! I had two! Alex served us and he was a perfect Gentleman making great suggestions! We live 30 minutes away and have now made this our regular place for sushi, sashimi, sake, and great service!

We were passing through and stopped hoping for a nice Japanese meal at 2:30 on a Saturday. The twenty minutes wait ended up being 45 minutes. Portions were generous and price was reasonable for these days. But quality was so so. Udon broth tasted like instant. Ramen was "nobitte iru." I've had better meals at rest stops in Japan. But this isn't in Japan and this may very well be the best sushi in Chattanooga as people say but it wasn't worth adding two hours to our nine hour drive. Plus we feel like we missed out. We could have had a better culinary experience elsewhere.

Good food, really nice atmosphere. You do have to pay for parking, but it's $2 and under, so it's not bad. Only warning I have is that their spicy tuna roll has a "tomato based" (words of the server) spicy sauce drizzled over the top. It tastes like ketchup with a mix of the "old school" Sriracha sauce. Not my cup of tea. A huge plus is that they have UNI! I always look for sea urchin when I go to sushi places, and tonight, I scored!!

I hate to give a one star rating because owner seemed nice but his causasian staff was not so nice. It took about 30 minutes or more to be seated even though we were told 20. Once we got to table the service was very slow. At one point I texted my dinner partner that i felt like we were not going to be served. The female waitresses (3 of them) did not hide that they did not want to wait on us and actually argued over our heads in front of everyone!!! It was an older lady and a young girl who wore black rimmed glasses. Our waiter seemed nice but again it took a very long time!! He never refilled our drinks or even asked if we waned a refill. There were 3 of us and we got 2 forks. Our ticket came out at $130!! We were over charged!! I felt as though there was some prejudice actions taking place. Caucasians always think African-Americans don't tip!! This is untrue!! But when you get bad service and junk fees and they hope you don't catch it it's hard to tip after that!!! But my dinner partner tipped anyway!! I hope this restaurant changes it ways and hires new staff. I forgot to add that the food was not worth the money we spent and it came out nearly cold and overcooked. The drink I ordered had no liquor in it from what I could tell. I almost never drink so when I do drink I feel it. I felt nothing!! Our bill after adjusting was still $110 give or take. Really not worth it. I forgot to add that we were not only given 2 forks for 3 people but 2 forks on one paper napkin! We shared a paper napkin while the people next to us who were causacian and from another state got cloth napkins for each of them also they came in and were seated after us but were served before us and there were 6 of them!! I think they noticed how we were being treated cause they were offering us some of thier food and they were very nice and talking to us!! I hope this review prompts change!

This was our first visit and we were completely surprised. We went all out and got a sushi boat with all the fixings. I highly recommend the blue ridge roll. Also they had a limited menu item of tempura brussel sprouts that where out of this world.

I got a salmon teriyaki and the salmon was the size of my finger... for $15... Sorry but no.

Best sushi in Chattanooga! Huge selection of sushi and always fresh. Great service and unique atmosphere

Was in Chattanooga Tennessee for work and was craving Asian food. Fortunately I found a hidden Japanese restaurant that was Japanese owned. The sashimi was fresh and the service was great. Parking can be a challenge. If you are in search of good sushi in Tennessee then this is the place to check out.

You will not find a better Sushi restaurant in Chattanooga. Through the difficulties of the pandemic, their quality and menu variety has not waivered.

Sushi quality was iffy. They use a ketchup based sauce for their spicy tuna. Not tasty. Priced quite high for what you receive.

This is the first time trying this place. We get in for dinner and there is a wait so we sit at the bar where other guests are also waiting. Then the owner decides to tell her staff to tell us to move because she is using the bar space. I'm not sure why she couldn't tell us herself since we were all speaking English. The female hostess tells us we need to move. (If you had asked we might have received this better.) When they finally seat us I see there are several empty tables. That's disappointing since they had guests wait so long. So we order and my server completely forgets my tea. I never received it. My food was just ok. I ordered their teriyaki chicken and it was just over sauced and not very good. I am not sure why this place is popular but maybe the options in town are limited. I don't recommend this place when you visit there a lot of other good food in town.

SAVE YOUR MONEY. The Sushi was decent, but the "entrees" are absolutely disgusting. I ordered chicken and shrimp. The shrimp were those mini salad shrimp (tail on) that you see at cheap buffets. It tasted frozen and was severely overcooked. The vegetables appear to be canned. The meats were drowning in teriyaki sauce. The chicken had a weird texture which made me believe it wasn't chicken. The way the sushi chef demeaned the server when she asked a question led me to believe that if I sent my food back she would have to pay for it, or the "owner" would have given me a problem. Aggressive sushi chef, loudly telling the sever that if I CANT sub my order. I literally blew $70 on 2 nasty ass entrees and a California roll. I'll never go back again. Save your money.

Was not a very good first experience, my sushi roll was "warm", the fish wasn't particularly good either (being that is was warm and very mushy). My wife's bento box was pretty good though. But I have to say after all the accolades and awards this place has received I felt very let down by the experience, very disappointed....

Sushi was good. My waiter was very friendly and helpful, Phillips. There are so variety of sushi and I don't know what to choose. Phillips suggested me several dishes and they met my expectation.

Sushi rolls contain microscopic portions of fish. I would never come here for a repeat visit. So extremely disappointing!

Latest visit to Sushi Nabe was on a Wednesday night complete with mask wearing servers and heightened sanitization procedures. Upon entering, our temperature was taken and then we waited for about five minutes before being seated in a socially distanced setup. The food and service was exceptional. Over the years we have seen the food quality fluctuate a bit, but the quality was on point. We started with the Crabtacular Pumpkin and Sushi appetizer. Followed up with the Chattanooga, Dynamite, Rock and Roll, Rainbow, Curry Crunch and Hot and Crunchy rolls. Last course was a couple orders of Honeymoon Scallops, Maguro, bbq Eel and Shiro Maguro. We ended the night with a Dessert Roll. All of the fish was quite fresh in appearance, buttery in texture and absolutely delicious. Well done, Nabe.

I went out for my birthday dinner with my friend, the food was amazing and super fresh! The price is fair for the portion you get, which was a good size. Unfortunately when it came down to the service that is an entirely different story oh, we got a sever by the name of Joshua he was very polite and did the very bare minimum of what a sever is supposed to do. He filled our Waters without us asking and barely talk to us the entire time while the table next to us he was having full conversations with and joking around. I'm a high-school student and I don't really have much to my name but I wanted to treat myself to a nice dinner with with my friend. So when it was time to pay the bill I had enough to cover it but only 66 cents left over. I felt bad about not leaving a tip but I left what I could. My friend and I left the restaurant and as we were leaving and heading into the parking lot, Joshua our server stood right by the door to yell at us that "we should have left a tip and if we were too broke to eat out then stay home" continue by a "we suck and to not come back". I stood there shell shocked that just happened but my friend March right back into the store and ask to speak with a manager. We told the manager what just happened but Joshua keeped coming back to try and tell "his side" but the owner come out and gave us half off the bill and said sorry on his behalf, explaining he was only working there for two days. I got my money and left.

Not a picky person by any means but this food sucks. I couldn't finish it and I'm broke. Awful sushi will never go back

a chattanooga staple. one of the best sushi spots in town--if not THE best. i love the atmosphere and the sush!

Super disappointed in this place, given the high ratings. Came here for the sushi and shared four rolls for the table along with a starter of Spring rolls. The Spring rolls were ok, but the accompanying sauce was very odd--a clear sugar-water syrup. The rolls were downright bad. They were inexpertly rolled (honestly the worst construction I've ever seen) and therefore were loose and falling apart and impossible to eat. That really ruins the experience of sushi when you can't eat the rolls with chopsticks! The taste was ok, but I questioned the freshness a bit on the Rainbow Roll. Not like, make you sick not-fresh, but just not the fresh flavor you hope for, especially with that kind of roll. When I commented on the loose rolls to the server, she said, "oh yeah, Nick must have rolled those. We've been on him about that." Given the high number of super positive reviews, I can only conclude that we didn't have the A-team in the kitchen during our visit. Shockingly high price for what we got as well. Outdoor screened patio was nice and the Japanese beer was good (in bottles). But overall, I can't recommend.

This is the best Sushi in Chattanooga. Very fresh, made to order. Great atmosphere and the service is exceptional. The Hawaiian spring roll was excellent fresh an tasty. Try the Chattanooga roll! The back patio is great for the nature lovers. Velvet loved the veggie tempura. The gyozo pot stickers are one of my favorites

I've been to Sushi Nabe a few times and have ordered food for delivery from there. This was the first sushi place I tried when I moved to Chattanooga. You can't beat the location, surrounded by Coolidge Park. It's a beautiful location. The sushi is good, the chicken teriyaki is sticky and sweet even the rice and veggies perfectly paired with the chicken. The Dragon Roll looks beautiful and tastes even better. The tempura pumpkin covered in crab and curry appetizer is out of this world. I'm not a huge pumpkin fan, but I dig this a lot. Give it a try.

Arrived for early dinner around 5:30pm. Was sat at a table fairly quickly and things went down hill quickly. The restaurant was dark and the windows were covered, which seemed odd because it was beautiful outside, but you would have never known it. We ordered waters and waited 15 minutes for them to arrive. The kids menu is over priced at over $8 per meal which didn't include a drink. We ordered 2 bowls of ramen which were very small compared to other popular ramen places located in Atlanta. And $16 we expected much more food. Our 8 year old said he was still hungry. I ordered 2 rolls of simple sushi because the specialty rolls all has random ingredients not seen in other sushi places. The fish portions were subpar and we waited over 30 minutes to get 3 rolls and 2 bowls of ramen. My wife's roll had the tiniest drizzle of some special sauce. Like really tiny! If you like dark, slow and uninspired food this is the place. Not impressed. 2 stars is generous.