Red Sushi

I ordered food to-​go from here tonight, and was unfortunately disappointed. I ordered the crunchy salmon with asparagus, and got avocado instead (I’m allergic). The other rolls were just ok. I would like to try this place again, but don’t know if it’s worth the price tag. Oh well.

Chop-​Stix down… one of the best places to get your Sushi fix in Madtown!
The food is fresh and fast — The staff is TOP-​NOTCH!
Our go-​to items are the spicy tuna roll and the mushroom tempura (hold the tempura) roll! I think I could easily live off these two rolls… but what good would this review be if it only talked about those two rolls?
The seaweed salad used to be fantastic and is still a great light start to your meal, it just seems a little heavy on the cucumbers now. The maguro (Bluefin or Bigeye) are both excellent options as well as the fresh oysters on the half shell. These items are also staples for me when I go out and I have not been disappointed at RED. The tiger roll and king triton roll are both excellent options — I especially enjoyed the large crispy shrimp tempura in the king triton!
They have a limited number of tables available for reservations and only for parties of 4+ and the place is always packed. They are opening a new location soon with about 3 times more space! Hopefully that will help alleviate some of the wait times.
If you haven’t tried RED you should!!!

Another fabulous meal. Did the lunch special and added a seaweed salad. With a generous tip, it came to below $ 30, and I was stuffed. Took a friend who had never been before, and she absolutely loved it. It’s definitely a place to take newbies because of the consistently high quality and outstanding service. Love you Red!!!

So Red has been on my list for a long time and I finally got a chance to visit. The menu is massive and almost overwhelming. The space is very small and it makes it tough to have a nice date here because you are literally next to other people even though you are at your own table.
The sushi is modern and fusion-​esque. They have sushi with fruit and other things you would not consider putting in sushi. I really enjoyed the Peking roll that has duck and plum sauce. But overall, I think they try to do too much with the sushi. Each roll was massive and loaded down with «stuff.»
Some people may like this style of sushi but I like the more traditional approach to sushi. If you’re a fan of sushi, it’s worth a try.

Came here for my birthday dinner. My boyfriend and I combined ordered the chicken teriyaki, cactus roll, surf n turf roll, edamame, and two cocktails. Overall everything was delicious except the surf n turf roll. The «filet mignon» on top of it looked and tasted pretty suspicious and old, which was kind of a disappointment saying as how I’m pretty sure it was the most expensive roll on the menu. I kind of suspected it after I ordered and the waitress didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked.
The waitress — nice girl I guess, but overall pretty dull and didn’t really talk much. Hosts/​hostesses were very kind and bubbly though.
The overall restaurant was much smaller than I expected it to be. Which is fine, but I definitely wouldn’t come here with a group larger than 4. I could tell the staff were having a difficult time maneuvering around. We came here at 6pm on a Tuesday night and it was crammed, but as a group of two we got a seat right away. The ambience was trendy so as long as you don’t mind some noise you’ll be fine.
P. S. They don’t have any birthday specials. I didn’t expect any, but just in case you come here for your birthday and ask!

Amazing atmosphere, food, and drinks. I would highly recommend the seaweed salad as a starter. They have an excellent lunch menu with very reasonable prices. The staff is always friendly, and the food is well worth the wait. Whenever I am craving sushi, this is where I go.

Really solid sushi restaurant, and in my opinion, the best in Madison. They definitely cater to the people that want specialty roles, which is me!
My favorites are spicy scallop and the dragon, personally, but they are always switching out seasonal roles.
I’d also recommend the red slaw app, it s big and super delicious! A perfect prep sushi appetizer to share for two.
I think they take rez for parties over 4, but not sure. It does get really crowded on the weekend nights.

The Good: The variety on the menu is outstanding. I ordered the Candy Apple (a special) that included tuna and fruit amongst other unique flavors. The entire menu is delicious and includes a good balance of classics and exciting options.
The Not So Good: You can ONLY make reservations for parties of four. Not five. Not six. Four. This is not the best strategy for a restaurant that is impossible to get a table at during normal dinner hours.
The Highlight: Order the crispy tuna rice appetizer. Our table agreed: this is too good to split!

We really should write two reviews for Red. Midwest Sushi and sushi for those who are used to it elsewhere. As Midwest Sushi goes it was pretty good. Good selection on the menu, sparingly used mayo, and decent selection of sake. If you are used to gas station sushi this will be a decent improvement. Service was good, place is trendy, and it is a nicer visit for Madison.
If you are used to actual seaweed salad, rolls where the fish/​eel/​etc. is the flavour center, and a sake menu with more than a few choices… this isn’t it. We were taken aback by yellowtail sashimi having soy sauce, jalapenos, and roe fish eggs???
Overall if we had a hankering for sushi in Madison we’d go back. We will just need to accept this is midwest sushi and march on.

Madison is such a cool town to explore, so when my friends said let’s go get some sushi we were in. As our friends are Madison foodies I expected no disappointments to be going down. The spot they chose, Red Sushi, was all that and then some. Truly one of the better sushi bars I’ve been to as of late.
First let me state this place gets busy, everyday from what the waiter told us. We waited an hour to get in, but it was so worth it. We wasted no time and order a half dozen rolls or so to start. From what I remembered the first order would include:
King Triton, Phoenix, King Crab California, Salmon Skin, Super Volcano, and the Atlantis.
Favorites for that round were hands down the Volcano and the Phoenix. The Volcano was really AMAZING! All that goodness layered on top. Truly a favorite for us. We actually ordered another set of those two rolls and added a couple others. By the time these came and we gobbled em up, we were all in serious sushi coma.
Drinks we had were also really good. The Ornery Mule and some cucumber drink the ladies ordered were very well crafted. Truth be told, this joint was worth the wait. Sushi was very freshly prepared and the atmosphere was awesome. A little techno in the background and semi-​dimlite lighting made the mood feel right, setting us up for a spectacular evening. We will be back!

Quite solid menu. Probably the most consistent sushi place in town. Got the sushi & sashimi chef’s choice combo, and it was really high quality.
Be advised it’s a smaller restaurant so there is a great chance you will have to wait for a table on any given night.

Sushi Red is probably our favorite place for sushi in Madison! It is a small space and can get crowded even on a weeknight. They have the system of of texting when your table is ready so we usually walk down a few doors down to one of the bars and grab a drink while we wait.
We’ve had the opportunity to sit at in their table section as well as the bar and both have been great with service.
They have a nice variety of drinks and sake. The sushi is delicious and there is a lot of different choices. I really enjoy one of the rolls that has duck. It is a little pricey but it is a nice sushi restaurant for a night out or a special occasion.

I came to Madison to go check out the capitol building. I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch so I strolled in here craving some sushi.
It was $ 28 for a sashimi plate of about 8 different fish. The plate layout was fancy. The sashimi itself was satisfying. The fish were fresh enough. Came with a bowl of rice.
The establishment is fancy and dark. lol
Prices are a little more expensive than what I’m used to, but it may also be because its right next to the capitol building.
Service is good.
Street parking around.

My review is only for take out, as I’ve never stayed and eaten in. I’m not a very experienced sushi eater, and there are still places I have yet to try, but this is the best I’ve had here in Madison so far. I love being able to pop in after work on my way home and place an order for sushi or maki rolls, and bring them home to delight my kiddos. The atmosphere inside Red Sushi is nice and casually classy. The waitstaff is friendly, swift and efficient. Im able to place an order and leave within just a few minutes. I actually love the presentation and to to-​go packaging when ordering just a couple rolls. It’s really darling.

I had my first visit to Red Sushi for lunch in late December. It’s not a large place but it is tastefully decorated. They open at 11:30. I arrived at 11:35 and by 11:45 they were full.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. She had recommendations for sushi and beer. I ordered the Sushi Lunch which includes 6 pieces of chef’s choice sushi & a roll. I really appreciated the chef’s choice sushi because in addition to the standard salmon, tuna, and red snapper, it included sea bass and amber jack. Our waitress identified each type of fish when she delivered the dish. The roll was also fresh and tasty. The price for what you get was reasonable.
The entire experience was very satisfying. I will definitely go back.

This place is pretty on par with Muramoto. Their specality rolls are much better, but the generic rolls seem to be a touch worse.
I came in here with a large group. This place is quite small so there was an hour wait. They take your name and number and text you with your wait time and a link to their wait list. They even call you when your table is ready. This was an incredibly nice touch for me as I only live a block away and my large group could pass time at my apartment instead of trying to get a seating at a bar at 8PM on a Saturday.
The place didn’t sit a large group well, but we managed and our waitress juggled it nicely. It would be a much better place for a party of 4 or less.
My group ordered quite a lot and it all came out quickly. Overall we were very satisfied. My main issues were with the cuttlefish and octopus. They’re both easily messed up dishes so I’m not holding it against them too much. I just really wish I could find a place in town that does octopus sashimi well.
My go to, unagi, was fairly average and I much prefer Muramoto’s. The seasonal roll I got, I forget the name of it, was amazing though. I also had a lychee berry martini which was almost my favorite part of the meal, hah. It was quite good and was even garnished with a lychee berry.
I’ll definitely be coming back here for their seasonals, but I’ll stick with Muramoto for my favorite rolls.

I do not like fish. I do not like other seafood. Sushi and I generally do not get along. Red, though, has rolls that appeal to my sea-​creature-​averse self. My go-​tos are the chicken tempura roll and the veggie tempura roll. Fresh, crunchy, and more food than I can comfortably take down in an average sitting.
When I’ve dined in at Red, my experience has always been fantastic — the servers are funny and knowledgable, the service attentive without being cloying, and the rolls have come out in a reasonable amount of time in proportion to our table size. I would happily dine in again (and again). My to-​go experiences have been less successful, with my last visit convincing me I should avoid ordering takeout from them ever again.
We came in around 5:30 on a Friday, and the restaurant was packed. When we arrived I gave the host my name and number of people in our party (3), and we were told it would be a 45 – 60 minute wait for seating. Red is a tiny, tiny place and there is nowhere to wait. It was chilly and pouring outside, so kicking it on the curb wasn’t really an option. One of us had yet to arrive, so I asked if we could see a menu in case we decided to place a to-​go order instead. Our third arrived eventually and didn’t care if we waited, so we decided that since it had already been 15 – 20 minutes since we put our name in we might as well just get a table. Shortly after, the hostess came over to ask if we wanted to be put on the list or not. She said three more parties had now gotten in ahead of us, so we should decide. Cooool. My friend and I had both thought we were on the list from our initial exchange/​not putting in a to-​go order, but that wasn’t the case. We didn’t feel like waiting another hour, so we decided to just get it to go.
In the past, when I’ve called in an order it’s taken 20 minutes before we could pick it up. As we stood there waiting, we saw person after person stopping in to pick up their food. After 45 minutes of waiting since we put in our order, I inquired about our food. The host told us that she had no way of knowing when our order would be up. That seemed a little ridiculous to me — most kitchens have some sort of organization system, even if she couldn’t estimate time there had to be a way to check how many orders were ahead of us. Finally, an hour after ordering and about 90 minutes after setting foot in the door and being jostled to death by all the people entering and exiting, we had our food. It was fine, but not up to the standard I’ve come to expect.
I’d happily come dine in again, but Red might do well to improve communication among staff and to their guests. If we had known it’d take double the time to order takeout, we’d have just gotten a table. Or, if they’d let us know it was going to be awhile, they could have given us an estimate and we would have gone down a door or two for a drink while we waited. *shrug* Oh well. Also, for their own sake, a little organization would benefit them — when our food finally did come up, the host handed it to us and told us to have a great night without having ever given us the check. We’re honest, so we asked for it, but we easily could have bounced with $ 50+ of food. Looking forward to my next dine-​in trip to erase this night from my memory.

FRESH sushi, SPECTACULAR cocktails and great customer service. We ordered a spicy tuna roll and a spicy tuna on crispy rice, it was freshly rolled. 5 stars to everything we order. We didn’t try dessert because the kitchen closed at 10 so make sure to get there earlier.
Quality– ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Atmosphere– ⁸⁄₁₀
Creativity– ⁷⁄₁₀
–A&R

I love this place. The sushi is consistently good. Last night we ordered the Atlantis roll which included tuna, mango and jalapeños. It had a hint of anise that I couldn’t quite place. We also ordered the Alaskan roll with salmon. This was probably my favorite of the night because it was light and fresh. Finally we ordered the crunchy tuna.
The lychee Martini is really my favorite thing on the menu. It is sweet and a perfect summer drink. It is not that boozy.

Red sushi is I think one of the best places for sushi in town. They have a wide selections of nigiris and specialty rolls that would fulfilled both taste and authenticity.
Good selections of a sake as well, filtered and unfiltered, hot and cold; they offer 3 «pour size» to either self-​indulge or share!
Must try their negitoro maki (fatty tuna with green onions)!
One thing I would like to see from them (or any Japanese restaurants here really) is to add more hot appetizers or snacks like agedashi tofu, takoyaki, okonomiyaki to their menu… THEN I think I don’t have to keep going to Chicago for my fix!