Bottle Rocket

Wasn’t really sure what to expect coming here but it certainly didn’t disappoint! Had the shrimp tempura and the 9.6er, both were amazing. Service was pretty slow for it being basically empty. People were playing FIFA on the TV which I thought was pretty neat. Overall, a nice and quiet dining experience.

This place was not at all what I expected. It was more like a dive bar, than a sushi restaurant. The Bottle Rocket Roll was not as hot, and tastily fried as I like it. The cream cheese was also not as gooey as I like it. The 96er Roll was pretty good too. It didn’t have the marination in the Korean sauce as much as it could have, and the inside was a little bland. Overall, the place was good, and the people were friendly.

After eating dinner at Bottle Rocket I am always happy! I’m very critical about my hamburger experiences. Bottle Rocket’s hamburger and fries are hands down one of the best! The sushi is fun and full of flavor, I immediately taste the freshness when it hits my tongue. Two of my favorites are The Bullseye and the Tuna Spoons.
I recently had sushi at a place in Virginia Highlands. It couldn’t compare and I couldn’t finish it. When I finish a meal at BR I always want to eat it all over again, not because I’m hungry, because it’s so good. Did I mention it’s one of the friendliest place around? Both the staff and the patrons!

Itty. bitty sushi… Disappointing… I ordered two sushi rolls expecting them to be filling… Even in Japan you can expect to be filled by two sushi rolls… This restaurant is fusion so I expected bigger portions for the price… Tisk tisk… Just took a bite and the shrimp on top of the sushi taste like it had been rinsed with water and applied… This was honestly my first and last time here. But maybe others might have a better experience…

My boyfriend and I attended a sushi class, taught by Jen, after purchasing the deal on Scoutmob. For $ 40 this class was a steal! We had a blast learning all the techniques and tricks to making sushi like pros and were treated to apps, cocktails, and deliciously fresh sushi during the course of the class.
Not only was the class itself yummy and informative, but the atmosphere of Bottle Rocket is very laid back and fun. Staff was friendly, funny, and great at keeping us entertained. :) This is definitely a place we will visit again. Thanks for a great night, BR!

This small little sushi joint was definitely worth a visit! We got a couple of drinks which were only ok but the food was delicious! Calamari was so good along with their «big ass» egg roll which wasn’t all that big but it was sooo good. Sushi was great everything tasted fresh. My husband got a burger which he said was «damn good». The environment was cozy wouldn’t be ideal for large parties but we enjoyed it. The only thing that could have been better was the service we waited about 8 minutes before a waiter stopped by our table to give us menus.

I stopped in on a Friday night for sustenance. To start I ordered the Miso soup, which was fantastic– lots of chunks of tofu and a hearty broth. This place and Yakitori Jinbei do wonderful Miso. I then ordered the crab rangoon which was 10 stars. Five crispy wontons filled to the max with crab, Oy! My sweetie ordered the fried rice and the chicken karagi. Stick to the fried rice. I tried the tuna tataki but it was cut so thick and was frozen in the center– it was sent back. I tried the 96’er roll, just a roll, not that special. So, in recap, if you go, order the rangoon and fried rice and beer.

AMAZING SPOT. sushi is epic. Bottlerocket roll and 9.6er hit the spot. The owner is hands on and very cool. The service is wonderful. The cocktail list is really perfect with the food menu. A must if in downtown Atlanta. Happy eats fam!

We love Bottle Rocket! They have awesome food! The sushi is second to none! The sushi is very fresh, made with top quality ingredients while still being affordable. The servers & bartenders are outstanding and take great care of you. The owner Josh is a great guy and always make sure his guests are enjoying themselves. Karaōke on every second Friday of the month is a must! Bottle Rocket is one of the Jewels of Castleberry! We highly recommend Bottle Rocket!

What a gem! We stopped by and found the modern day Cheers. Within an hour we had met everyone staff and regulars. And the food was excellent!
Def coming back!

Have been coming to Bottle Rockets since I moved into the neighborhood earlier this year. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is in town for a conference, game or concert. The food is great. They have some great roll selections. I would recommend any of the Temaki hand rolls, whistle pop or bullseye.
Staff is always in a good mood and the crowd is great. No one ever seems out of place.
Highly recommended.

Tasty, tasty is all I can say. Bottle Rocket is amazing.
Living in «the burbs», we don’t often make it ITP, but this cute little hipster spot has some incredible offerings, and awesome cocktails, and a terrific staff.
The Rufio roll, the 9.6er, the Beatbox, and the signature Bottle Rocket roll are all to die for, washed down with a skinnytini, or one of their awesome IPA’s.
Oddly, and quirky enough, they also have a Rocket burger, that I’ll have to try on the next visit!
Love the chalkboard walls in the bathroom, and got a great laugh while doing my business, at the very least… cute AND clever.
This place won’t be for everyone, but the sushi chef was awesome and makes a mean roll, the server was terrific, and the owner is a riot! Step outside your comfort zone, and take a chance on Bottle Rocket… we did, and will continue to visit whenever we get the chance.
Two thumbs up. Say it with me… Whistle…POP!

I seriously question the legitimacy of these 98 four-​star reviews. How is it possible? In all honesty, sushi was fair. Definitely far from the best we’ve had in town, but not the worst either. The salmon atop the Naked Dinner roll was chopped up (vs. a slice) and swimming in spicy mayo –not how we pictured when ordering. Still the flavor wasn’t terrible. Spicy tuna roll was pretty good too. Service was poor. Seriously inexperienced and mismanaged (not the server’s fault, speaking as a longtime server myself). Atmosphere is weird. And the sushi chef is definitely not ethnically correct if that matters to you. We won’t be back but maybe it’s okay for inexperienced sushi eaters or people getting a quick roll to go.

Had sushi and a few drinks. They have Carlsberg which is exciting!
Difficult to experience the advertised specials (like the things plastered on the wall in chalk) because they were not able to keep everything in stock.
This place has its frequent visitors and they also enhance the experience by providing insight on their favorites.
This is a great location for pre/​post Georgia dome or congress center event.

Here’s a great tip: as an alternative to parking on the street, pull into the parking lot at No Mas which is right next door, tell them you want to visit Bottle Rocket and they’ll let you park there for a $ 2.50 fee. Then you can walk through No Mas and right next door is Bottle Rocket.
I was struck by how small the place was since I heard it was a pretty popular spot, I can imagine it getting really crowded. Luckily, when we visited there was only one large group and the rest of the tables were completely empty.
We settled in and ordered some drinks. I picked the Sessions dark Lager which was so yummy, creamy, refreshing and delicious. My wife ordered a dark and stormy which she said was pretty good. Our appetizer, the crab Rangoon, was just okay for me. Crab Rangoon is something I order often from various Japanese restaurants as its one of my favorite apps. When I bite into it I’m expecting an explosion of crab, cream cheese and a bit of the bready wonton; with this crab Rangoon I got crab and wonton but I tasted ZERO cream cheese which was sorely disappointing. I NEED that cream cheese man.
For our main course, we ordered the Beat Box, the Ruffio, The Bottle Rocket and the 9.6’er. I don’t have much to comment except to say that everything was… OK… nothing wowed us or compelled us to come back again. I remember one of the rolls being SO spicy that I couldn’t eat more than one but unfortunately I cant remember which one it was. I don’t remember much about the taste of ANY of the rolls to be honest and that’s the problem. Bottle Rocket wasn’t memorable to me. I just left with a feeling of overall «Meh-​ness». Sushi is so expensive that I want to be WOWED every time, that didn’t happen here but maybe it was just me?

A group of us went by recently due to the high reviews but were sorely disappointed. I ordered the sushi combo with nigiri and the negihama roll. When the food comes out I was informed they did not have any yellowtail and so was given a California roll instead. The nigiri grouping was very unimpressive. It included only a tuna, salmon, eel, and shrimp offering. Each was as bland as the previous. Each fell apart instantly (worse than the first time I made sushi).
As unimpressive as the sushi was; the greater pains were felt later. Almost the entire group was stuck in the bathrooms last night and throughout today. Avoid this restaurant. There are much better places in Atlanta with similar price points.

Not sure what any of the so-​so reviews are about, i thought this place was awesome! Staying at the Westin downtown and walked over about 1.25 miles. The 25 minute walk was well worth what waited on the other end.
Started with the signature drinks and tried the Georgia Boy, Root Beer Weebles, and the Paloma. If you like whiskey you HAVE to try the Georgia boy. It has a complex flavor. Rye whiskey, almond milk, chocolate liquor, over Mexican coke with ice. It was certainly more of a dessert drink however, I had it before dinner and wasn’t at all upset.
I don’t recall all that was in the Root Beer drink but the flavor was also wonderful. It was like having a root beer float that we all remember as kids but with a little extra kick at the end.
The Paloma was alright. It reminded me of a margarita and I was on the hunt for whiskey so I wouldn’t be the best one to review. Don’t knock it till ya try it!
Now for the main event, the reason we all came here, or are debating by reading this article. I’m not much of a bland sushi eater. I am always fascinated by the signature rolls and the creativity of each sushi joint. In my mind, it is an art to put together something so small with so many ingredients that tastes so amazing. That being said, we shared the 9.6er and the Rufio rolls. The 9.6er was pretty good with its topping of marinated steak however, the Rufio roll takes the cake in this debate. If you enjoy a little crunchy, a little spice, and everything nice, you won’t regret trying this roll. Hey, if you do, it was only $ 12 bucks and we’ve all spent a worse 12 bucks.
At the end of the day, I was very impressed with the flavor of this «off the map» sushi joint. I would recommend to anyone looking for something a little different on any night of the week!
P. s. I can honestly say I never take the time to write these so this place must have done something right.

Normally, I don’t do this, but uhhh… I had to give this experience 2 stars :-(
We ordered calamari, but were informed that they didn’t have any that day. So we ordered the Big Ass Egg Roll, which would’ve been tasty if it wasn’t dripping with grease.
I held out hope for the cocktails, since I read online that they were potent. I chose the Zombie because it was supposed to have a lot of likka in it. It tasted like it had a lot of sugary syrup and no likka. So I settled for a Long Beach Iced Tea… which also tasted like it had no likka in it.
Our server didn’t seem very intent on being pleasant with us, though we didn’t give her a hard time about the grease-​dripping Big Ass Egg Roll or my lack of even a hint of a buzz from the cocktails I tried.
For our sushi we ordered the Bottle Rocket, Whistle Pop, spicy tuna, and Philly rolls. The spicy rolls were super spicy. I stay away from spicy things, but the Hubs couldn’t even take the heat of these rolls. My Bottle Rocket was good. And the Philly was fine.
I really had high hopes for this place. I may give it another shot on another day, but right now I’m kinda ‘meh’ about it… bummer.

Had a great, chill time in the relaxed atmosphere, our server Sam was awesome, and each bite of sushi was delicious. They even let me request a custom roll, and this was just my first visit!
I’d been wanting to try this place because of its great reviews and because, if it turned out to be a good joint, it would the closest good sushi to my place. I was not disappointed! Aesthetically, it’s the weirdest sushi restaurant I’ve ever seen, but the friendly service from Sam, the variety of menu options, and the tasty sushi we ordered sat just fine with me.
We ordered the Pink Lady roll, the Bottle Rocket roll, and I asked for a custom roll with just avocado and salmon. I was so impressed by how Sam said, «IF you tell me what you want, I can have the kitchen make it for you.» No sushi server has ever told me that! Every roll was excellent. Fresh fish, fresh avocado, well seasoned and moist/​sticky rice, and fresh nori. Wish we could have stayed for more, but sushi always fills me up quickly.
Strange atmosphere, great food, can’t wait to go back.

Bajeez! I love Bottle Rocket. Stashed away in the middle of no where, but an absolutely delicious find!
Fantasic…I mean Fantastic specialty cocktails and sushi! Best I’ve had in Atlanta thus far!
The atmosphere is colorful, fun, playful, nerdy and little sexy! Bar is rad and overall decorum. And staff! Woo! Love em!
Unfortunately, only 4 stars because it’s not child friendly at all. No high chairs, no room, and nothing a youngin could eat. Super sad about this. I have a toddler and he is always attached to my hip, except for this one night… my husband’s and mines anniversary.
So, I’ll probably only eat here twice a year and that’s a shame :(