Sushi Joa

A lovely small location that provides really good sushi. We had the Tsunami Roll, 7^th Heaven Roll, Ahi Poke, Spicy Tuna Wonton Bites, and the Tempura Toll. All was excellent.

No reservations taken. Small place but busy entire time I was there. Service was good. Food was good too. I would go back again.

Pretty much one of the best restaurants on Mercer Island. All of their food is consistently good, from the sushi to the hot items and bento box. The beef sukiyaki is my personal favorite. We love this place and often come for dinner. The service is always great and the food quality is 5 stars.

Some of the best chicken katsu I’ve had, plus many yummy dishes that are not sushi related. My boyfriend comes here for the sushi and loves it, so it’s nice they have both sushi and non seafood options. A real gem on the island!

Such a cute little sushi joint right in the heart of Mercer Island! It’s kind of hidden off the main road — it’s right on the upper side of Walgreen’s.
The inside is fairly small but super cute and lots of natural light coming in. It was a super refreshing place to grab lunch and chill out. Everybody here is super nice too; I was greeted upon coming in and leaving by several employees and the waiter I had was really sweet.
I ended up getting the Lunch Bento Box ($ 12) which comes with shrimp & veggie tempura, rice, your choice of an entrée (I got the Spicy Tuna Rolls, +$ 1), miso, and salad. Everything was delicious and the meal came quick! The spicy tuna rolls actually packed some heat which I loooved because most places just give them a tiny kick. Their miso was super good too — not too salty and had pieces of seaweed in it which was new to me.
I’m definitely interested in going back and trying some of their specialty rolls — I feel like trying some other menu items would bump them up to a 5!

I come here all the time, ask for MANA or MAY they’re super friendly, sweet and attentive.
something to keep in mind, its only good if they make it fresh
here are some of my favorites
ROLLS
— 7^th heaven roll
this roll is very unique, this is the only sushi place I know that sells anything like it
(topped with albacore, avocado and brown dried onion?)
–The crazy joe roll
–crunch roll
APPS
— jalapeño poppers
— agedashi tofu
NOODLE
–neubo udon
go with this menu and you won’t be disapointed

This place is the safest bet when it comes to sushi rolls on the east side. Quality, presentation, and taste is similar to that of momojis on cap hill. It’s not a high end sushi place but if I lived in Bellevue I’d still drive Sushi Joa to get my quick sushi fix if I couldn’t get out to Seattle.
Dinner time gets quite busy and its small so it gets packed fast. I’ve had the regular food items like the tonkatsu and sukiyaki but those items are just mediocre. Stick with the sushi here.

I was excited to select the California Roll with real crab but found the crab to be very sparse and dry. The avocado wasn’t ripe either. The Tsunami Roll was a little better, although the shrimp tempura center was not even lukewarm which means it was fried a long time ago. The miso was lacking flavor, like when you use a teabag for a second cup of tea. The single factor, tipping the scale to two stars, was the service was great. In summary, for $ 36 I suggest grocery sushi unless you just want to be served.

Delicious, unique sushi rolls, prompt and friendly service, and pleasant ambience! Will definitely go back!

A surprisingly good sushi spot in a very nondescript location. The sushi chef is one of the nicest guys around and his stuff is high quality. For how little known it is, it’s definitely one of the better sushi restaurants in the Seattle area.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this restaurant and trying it out with any previous review research or recommendations by friends. The location is easily accessible off 1 – 90. The agedashi tofu was very, very good! The lunch combo bento box with chicken katsu and tempura was nicely presented and arrived as if it was just cooked for you. They ran out of the chicken karaage, but will be interested in ordering this next time. Thank you for the kind service and to greet your customers with, «irashaimase!»

Delicious, fresh, and quick Japanese food! I LOVE the Bento boxes ($ 15 for 2 entrees with miso, yummy salad, rice, fruit, and green tea). Service has always been great, too. New favorite place on MI!

Love this place for lunch when I am anywhere near Mercer Island. Fresh and tasty! Good service and sometimes I eat alone and they don’t make me feel weird about that. :) Found out they have a Kirkland location so now I have a closer location option!

Excellent food and decent prices. The service has improved from their beginning. They have even hired or trained professional servers. They don’t touch your chop sticks or plates without asking. They listen to your order without interrupting. Very pleasant to have dinner there.

Amazing sushi at decent prices. I am not a super fan of sushi unless it is fresh. I had the Crunchy Roll and it was amazing. Very tasty and flavorful. Service is quick at lunch and staff is very friendly and will meet all your needs.

What a find on a Sunday night! Visiting Kirkland for a biz trip and stumbled across this place. Super fresh fish meticulously prepared by a Japanese chef. Warm, friendly staff and very reasonably priced.

This is such a good place. I’m jn love. We’ve been coming here for years!!! Tonight we had the LOB and Tsunami rolls along with the chicken udon. All on point!!!

Best sushi on Mercer Island. Great food, service with a smile! Seating is tight, but nice atmosphere. Food is excellent and nicely priced. My goto sushi spot for sure

Food =3.5
Decent lunch bento, soft shell crab maki & futomaki
Service =5
Spilled water cup over my few pieces of futomaki and they insisted on making me another whole order.
Ambience =3.5

Definitely one of the best places to eat on the Island. Very friendly staff and quick service — there’s a reason it is always full. The lunch specials are well priced and come with very generous portions. They will even accommodate substitutions with minimal upcharges. The fish seems very fresh and always comes out looking appetizing. It’s definitely busy at regular rush times but they don’t make you feel rushed.
Mercer Island isn’t known for its plethora of great restaurants but Sushi Joa is definitely a bright spot!

Great selections, even for the non-​sushi lover of the house that is only coming to appease your craving for these tasty rolls. The servers are friendly, wait time is minimal and the fish is fresh; arriving quickly to the table in a beautiful display.
This has become a favorite.

It’s getting better and better. The head chef is the bomb, best sushi chef in Seattle. It’s got a local feel and has high quality, great combo. Keep getting that really fresh stuff as it’s awesome. Appreciate having you close, we are lucky!

Small restaurant that stays busy for a reason.
I think they were a little confused at who our server was, we had two different servers give us the same specials of the day, fill our water, ask if we’re ready to order, etc.
Edamame = yum (and yes, edamame can go wrong!)
Kirin roll was really good, though not what I was expecting (tempura green beans inside the roll)
Rainbow roll is just as it is at any other restaurants.
Roll sizes are fair!
The food is slow to be delivered but we weren’t in a hurry so it worked out well.

This is one of the best places to eat on the island. The place was crowded at 7 on a Thursday night but cleared out within the hour. We had the sampler, dragon roll and Seattle roll and all were amazing. We had the 10oz warm house Sake and it was enough for 2 people. The server was very attentive, a little too eager but we didn’t have to wait for anything.
It’s close to home and good food. We will be back.

First time here but probably not coming back. Placed a takeout order for only three items to see how the rice and sashimi turned out.
Chirashi — fish turned out good — the slices are proportional and tasted fine. The sushi rice, on the other hand, looked dry and mealy. It tasted like refrigerated rice thrown back in the rice cooker to heat up with new rice and then remixed with the vinegar. Not pleasant to eat at all.
Sashimi salad (forgot to give us sauce) — nothing wrong with the salad and fish combo. Since there wasn’t any sauce, we just made up our own. The rice was the same as in the chirashi but without the vinegar. Still didn’t eat it as it was uncomfortable tasting.
Red dragon roll — not bad in flavor but not good for the price. $ 15 for a small roll when I could have pretty much ordered another chirashi (or just sashim without the rice). Avoid.
So to the restaurant — please work on your rice. Or maybe we just came too late and shouldn’t expect too much after a 50 min wait. Didn’t finish the rice, it’s now compost.

I’m not sure why the high ratings. It has been a while that I’ve walked out of a place feeling cheated and unsatisfied. Refusing to leave the Island during lunch to satisfy my raging sushi fix, I decided to swing by. Cute place in a small shopping strip. I was seated immediately and was attended to, which was nice during the rush.
Selections in menu were pretty decent, however what struck me the most were the unreasonably high pricing of sushi! $ 7 for nigiri sushi (unagi, salmon, hamachi), $ 4 for tamago, and I was extremely shocked to see their dinner Bento prices as high as $ 18-​$ 22. To be fair though, their lunch Bento was around $ 14. Still higher than most places. Wait time was a unusually long for my Chirashi bowl so I studied the menu. Most rolls are CA based rolls-​definitely filler rolls. More baked than than raw. Cheapest items on menu: teriyaki bowls — Surprise!!!
When my bowl finally came, I literally starred at this odd sight for a moment.
My dull, rather meager lunch that’s supposed to be filled with various sashimi on a bed of rice only had one salmon sashimi, one mackerel, one shrimp, two tunas and two hamachis. ONE SALMON? I’ve never been to a sushi restaurant where only one salmon is served in a Chirashi bowl. Or in any type of dish to be exact. I mean one?
Granted they weren’t bad, but they weren’t exceptional either. Definitely not worth the $ 15 total.
Thankfully, Miho, the only server yesterday was so pleasant and sweet and although place was busy, she was attentive to everyone. Before ordering I told her I wanted unagi and although the Chirashi bowl exclude unagi, she gave me a piece. How nice of her and the chef.
I get it that this is «Mercer Island” — expensive everything living, but I know quality when I see it, and I wouldn’t complain if it was worth it. Sushi Joa is definitely a lack thereof.
Lesson learned. I will make the drive downtown or head to Bellevue instead.

I used to live in Mercer Island, and I know one thing the island can’t brag much about is a decent array of quality restaurants. But there’s Sushi Joa, and Japanese and Korean food fans in Mercer Island should feel really, really glad about that.
It was within walking distance from where I used to live, and I got to go very often. Many food comas have been had here! I liked starting off with the hamachi kama, which was always a generous serving, broiled to perfection. Sashimi here was ALMOST always (I would say 9 out of 10 times based on experience) perfectly fresh and delightful, and they have a few sashimi-​oriented dishes to choose from. I personally enjoyed the hae-​du-​bop — spicy sashimi salad bowl with rice and go-​ju-​chang on the side, although it’s hard not to like anything with go-​ju-​chang. They had a good selection of sushi and a long list of classic and specialty/​fusion rolls, several of which I have tried. They were all good! I’d order the Tsunami Roll (shrimp + tempura + avocado + seared salmon + spicy mayo) over and over again.
Servers were jolly, attentive, and polite in general. They always seemed happy to see customers.
Yes, they do have a parking lot — this is Mercer Island, after all. It is tiny and shared by a couple of other businesses in the same complex, and I have seen it packed once or twice before, but it is certainly not the norm.
I love this place and would go out of my way for dinner again even if I’m no longer living in Mercer Island.

Clean, quick n comfortable.
Servers are nice, food is great.
Decent place to check in Mercer Island