Zento Sushi Restaurant and Sake Bar

Horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible this place is horrible. The Mohito’s taste like water service took forever food quality soft this place is horrible advice do not go here. Staff was unappreciative waitress ran after us because we didn’t leave that 30% tip.

Got 4 rolls, eel avocado, soft shell crab, sashimi, and a yellowtail scallion. They were okay, the sashimi roll was the best. Service was good but overall I’m not sure about the overall experience. Dinner was $ 50 not including tip for the 4 rolls. So a little pricy, not sure if it’s because it’s old city or not. Restaurant is pretty, nice atmosphere.

I’m obsessed with sushi and could eat it every single day if my boyfriend loved it as much as I do (he’s more of a philly cheese steak kinda guy). I’ve lived in California 25 of my 26 years and when I moved to Philadelphia Zento Sushi was the first spot I tried (after doing a search on Unilocal,our course). I’ve been here 3 times and 2 of them were a great experience. LOVE LOVE LOVE the peking duck hand roll and the square sushi roll with spicy tuna. My only complaint was the service on Valentines Day — 90 minutes went by and we didn’t get our food. They were a few cooks down, I get it… shit happens. But at least let your customers know what is going on so they are not left in the dark.

Maybe the best sushi place I have been to in the city. The staff is great. Very friendly & have great recommendations. I think that you can never order anything wrong at this place. Going back soon!

My favorite sushi place in Philadelphia! If I lived in old city, I would be eating here every day. The sushi is incredible and there are so many options. Appetizers and desserts are delicious as well. It’s BYOB (small corking fee) but they do have a full bar as well!

I’d like to give Zento 4.5 stars, but I just couldn’t bring myself to bring it up to the perfect 5. Perhaps before they moved next door it would have been, when it was a small quaint place with no corking fee and a more intimate feel.
The food is delicious. The scallop carpaccio is an absolute must-​order. It is bursting with flavor and is so delicate. I’ve been there several times, each time ordering different rolls. All has been solid to great. The sashimi is high quality and I recommend it (especially the salmon). Try the melon sake if you’re interested in changing things up. It has a great flavor without being overly sweet. Quite refreshing.

To my surprise, my favorite sushi place in the city opens late afternoon on Saturdays so I rerouted my car downtown to revisit this restaurant. I was last here in 2015 and remember the food was pretty good. This time I ordered the avocado salad, some sashimi and a branzino roll. Everything was excellent and fresh. Our server was nice but somewhat distracted with other things. I’ll return to this restaurant some time and do recommend.

Tuna tartare and the tonkotsu ramen soup were my favorite! The potato sticks on top of the tuna tartare gave a nice texture and worked well with the flavor of the dish. The broth to the ramen soup was AMAZING! The soup is large enough to split with someone. These two dishes filled me up and couldn’t finish my volcano roll.

Some of the best sushi in Philly. Mexican rolls are delicious and the avocado salad and king crab miso soup are delicious. Great little spot with wonderful vibe.

Our experience here was awesome. Even with a Travel zoo coupon for 3 courses and a shared saké flight of 4 types. Service was prompt and the manager visited our table to explain the Sakis. The food comes out of the kitchen kind of slow, but they added a comp sushi roll. My teriyaki salmon was huge and done perfectly. Free street parking on Wednesday from 5 to 10 pm was sweet. Stopped across the street to 2^nd Story for drinks. A perfect night.

Food was fresh and delicious. Only complaint was with the sake. I ordered sake that says it comes in a 375 ml bottle, but I was brought an 8 oz carafe (236 ml) and was told they do not have the bottle, but was still charged the 375 ml bottle price.

drop everything & go now! I could eat there every weekend. The proportions were great, the flavor/​freshness of each item was perfect & service was super friendly. I heard of Zento through TravelZoo and it was a steal for $ 75. My favorite items were the rainbow cintron and whatever the chef did to my white tuna nigiri sushi… blew my taste buds. Plus, its great that they have a bar and its BYOB. Only $ 10 Friday and Saturday.

2 stars…
1– 90+ minutes for 2 sushi rolls
2– $ 10 cork fee for wine even though it’s a «BYOB»
3– general manager didn’t let a couple use a coupon they bought specifically for the evening. It was a «holiday.“It was Valentine’s Day… Then was rude and walked away.
4– we wanted to use a gift card. Waitress could not figure out how to run the card.
5– MESSED UP OUR ORDER! We ordered 3 rolls, waitress said we didn’t then told us it wild be an additional 90 minutes to get a basic roll.
No customer service here. I won’t be coming back… Ever…

Fun spot for a special occasion or birthday. If you call ahead the whole back section can be yours, which makes it easy to get up and mingle with all the members in your party. On the last birthday I attended here, they brought out shots and mochi for the table on the house. Don’t leave without trying the volcano roll!

Amazing artisan sushi !! Their 8:30-close happy hour is the best. Half off all their artisan cocktails. Lovely food, very tasty.

Sushi was fresh and flavorful and service was good! We enjoyed edamame, steamed shrimp dumplings and a few rolls: Ocean roll (really delicious, especially the spicy scallops on top), tuna avocado, spicy tuna and a «real» California roll. Everything was great and priced moderately which was nice! There was also a funny Jackie chan movie playing on the wall (no sound which was a good thing). Overall I’d definitely recommend checking this place out!

I don’t know. I really want to love this place, but I just can’t. And I’m only going off of delivery so I can’t speak for what an actual meal at the restaurant is like. Maybe it’s better eaten there?
I always crumble under pressure when ordering Sushi delivery. There are sooo many places to choose from and all of the specialty roles on each menu start to blend together after a while. All of the reviews start to sound the same, with the same ratings, same photos of sauce drenched rolls. So I always stick with what I know. Zento is good, don’t get me wrong. The fish is pretty fresh, delivery is fast from Caviar. But I always finish the meal with «meh.» I’m never blown away. The sauce the Shumai comes with has good flavor, and the peking duck hand roll is good and different. But I’m always disappointed with the rolls. For the prices they charge, I want the rolls to be flavorful and delicious, and I want to scrape the plate when I’m done wishing there was more. But in my opinion, they’re always bland. I’ve tried the Tsunami Roll, Bronzino Roll, Double Shrimp Roll, and the Flaming Dragon Roll. They’ve all been mediocre. The Bronzino roll is almost $ 20 and just mediocre.
I’m not writing this to bash the restaurant– overall I think Zento is fine. It’s a safe delivery choice. But with little tweaks there’s a lot of potential. I think if they could work on enhancing the flavors in the rolls (maybe even some sauce on the peking duck hand roll), lower the prices a little of the specialty rolls, and maybe create a few innovative varieties to make their menu stand out, it could go a long way.

zento is my favorite sushi spot in Philadelphia. i am a huge fan of their volcano roll, i make sure to get two every time! it is a good place to have a birthday dinner! we had my birthday dinner there last night and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. the décor and ambiance of the space is very nice. i highly recommend zento.

Interesting, well thought out sushi.
I typically don’t go for elaborate «special» rolls, but after trying those and their pieces of sushi, I think think the special rolls are the way to go. There wasn’t anything bad about the simple sushi, but you could tell that the special rolls are the focus here.
I started with the avocado salad. The ginger dressing was a little different than I am used to. I liked it a lot. It wasn’t as gingery as some others, but very good taste.
I tried the bronzino roll, garden roll (no rice), and the spicy tuna. The bronzino was an interesting flavor, not very traditional. It was very good. The fired shallot and the vinaigrette went well with the fish in the bronzino roll. The garden roll reminded me of a Vietnamese summer roll; it had lettuce with shrimp wrapped in rice paper. I could have used more ginger dressing on the garden roll, but otherwise I thought this was a fresh roll to balance out the meal. The spicy tuna was well made, and one of the better spicy tuna rolls that I’ve had.
I should have tried the peking duck hand roll. Next time.

Zento is a great spot for date night sushi! We went on a Friday night after work around 5:30pm. The place was dead with the exception of one other table so it was pretty quiet. We enjoyed practically having the place to ourselves. Zento has romantic lighting and is intimate. Definitely not good for groups, but they’re capable of squishing tables together if need be. I started my meal with kani salad, which is one of my go-​to Japanese salad favorites. Although this was not the best kani salad I ever had, it was pretty good! I’m definitely interested in trying more of the appetizers next time we go. For my main meal, I got the ocean roll, which was delicious. When they brought me my sushi, they made it wrong based on what was listed on the menu for ingredients. I asked my waitress and she said that I was right and it was strange they added guacamole to my sushi roll (when is guacamole ever on sushi?!) they made me new sushi and it was worth the wait. Zento was great to go to for an enjoyable, low key date night dinner on a Friday night. Happy hour starts at 7:30pm so it started to get busy when we left. Overall, everything was good! I’m looking forward to going back eventually to try more menu options, but I’d also like to try other sushi places in town.

What a cool ambiance– exposed brick with real lit candles dripping down the walls industrial lighting. Christmas music playing but GOOD Christmas music.
Then then the specialty rolls. So amazing. Excellent service.

My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate his birthday as he loves sushi. The experience was lacking to say the least. What I do appreciate about this restaurant is its wide spread — the menu is pretty big and there’s something for everyone here. Aside from that, when I called the restaurant to inquire about parking (because some Unilocal reviews suggested that Zento validates parking on certain nights), we were put on hold for 20 minutes, no one ever came back to the phone. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were seated but ignored for another 15 minutes or so — no one came to take our order until I had to stand up to speak with our host to let her know we had not been served. Aside from that, the restaurant is very cramped — you could reach across and eat off the other guests plates if you so chose! As great as the food was, It’s not likely that we will be going back.

We went here for a friends birthday on Saturday night with a party of 6 people. It took 30 minutes before I was able to flag anyone down just to order drinks! After ordering drinks it took another 20 minutes to actually get the drinks and then probably another 15 minutes before we could flag the waitress down to order.
Overall the drinks were decent and the food was pretty good once we finally received it. I just couldn’t believe how long the service took. Our reservation was at 8:30pm so it’s not like they were super busy and no one seemed like they were rushing around.

Made a reservation here on a Saturday night and had a really great time with a group of 8. The staff was very friendly, the rolls were very tasty (enjoyed the regular Spicy Tuna roll much more here than other restaurants). Surprisingly easy to get a reservation accounting for the location and quality of food plus the fact that it is BYOB.
Worked out great for last minute event with a decent sized group.

The food here is delicious. The ambiance is unique and really relaxing. a nice mix of Philly history and modern touches.
The chicken udon soup is huge and consistently one of the most amazing dishes I’ve ever eaten anywhere. The crab cakes are the perfect size and cooked just right. The shrimp dumplings are delicious steamed and pan fried. All of the sushi I’ve had has been amazing (spicy tuna, real california, shrimp tempura, philly roll, salmon, eel and cucumber).
The only reason I’m not giving Zento 5 stars is because without a Groupon, it’s on the pricier side. Absolutely worth it every once in awhile, but not practical to make a regular spot.

I just can’t bring myself to get excited about this place. It’s very convenient for me, so I often order takeout and they’re super friendly and fast but the sushi has never «wow’d» me.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I don’t like about it. I’ve tried most of the rolls on the menu and they’re certainly fresh and good quality but most of the specialty rolls seem to lack flavor. The tuna pizza is good, but again, nothing to write home about — the description on the menu is better than the real deal.
They have a couple outdoor tables and a full bar. An ok option for takeout if you live in Old City but wouldn’t recommend it as a sushi destination if you’re coming from another part of town.

Ugh, sushi is just… the best.
The sushi was unique and our server was so friendly. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because it seemed a TAD pricey. And I would give it 4.5 stars, but, again, that’s not a thing. (You can make that a thing, Unilocal.I will utilize half stars.) Otherwise, they did everything right. I went with three other people, so I am speaking on behalf of all of them and they have absolutely no say in the matter.
Drinks were great. I officially love the Japanese microbrewery Hitachino Nest thanks to this restaurant. I got a ginger ale, and it was quite tasty… and bubbly. My eating companions all got sake bombs, but I can’t chug (and I was driving), so I just watched. They all claimed they were great, so I’m happy for them.
Food was very good. We got an assortment of rolls, and then another assortment of rolls. I don’t remember what we ate specifically. I only remember ordering the rainbow roll because I get that one all the time and compare them everywhere. And it was comparable. Very fresh and delightful, as usual. I ordered miso soup for myself, which I basically get at every sushi restaurant because I adore miso soup. And so I stuffed myself to my heart’s content.
Service was fine. It was 4 p.m. on a Saturday, so there was no one there.
Long story short, this place was great. I will most likely go back here in the foreseeable future.

Always have excellent meals here. Sushi is great. The rolls are delicate but still substantial. Lindan roll is my favorite so far– spicy crunchy salmon with cream cheese (not too much!) and topped with avocado and sauce. Like a better version of philly roll. Plus best of both worlds– BYOB no corkage feel AND a full bar. Come on.

I was really excited to try Zento because I’d read so many great reviews about it from my fellow Unilocalers. But maybe I went on the wrong day. It was a Sunday evening and totally dead — my friend and I were two of 6 diners in the entire restaurant that night. We ordered the sashimi roll, the crunchy spicy salmon, and the monkey roll, as well as the chicken dumplings to start, and I have to say I was disappointed. The sashimi roll was the best of the three, but nothing special. The spicy salmon roll was seriously mediocre and the smoked salmon on the monkey roll tasted of freezer burn. It was so evident to the point where we mentioned it to the server, and his only response was «it’s smoked». Other than that he was very attentive, but again, there were only 6 customers to attend to… Maybe I’ll be back for a redemption meal but probably not for quite some time.

I had Zento cater my wedding in May 2015. To say these guys were incredible is an understatement, my guests RAVED about the food and the atmosphere these guys created. Prior to my wedding, I had heard from some guests that its common for the food at weddings to be so so, and no one ever expects much. Zento blew those people out of the water.
From the moment I contacted them, Darin was on top of everything, calling me frequently with updates and getting back to me quickly when I called. It may sound hard to believe, but this is a rarity in the wedding business for some reason.
Zento came up with an amazing menu: Pecking duck bao hoisin cucumber and green onions, Shrimp shu Mai with yuzu ponzu, Lettuce cups with Shitake Ragu, Vietnamese sticky rice, Miso eggplant with Lobster, Japanese cucumber gazpacho shooters, Tempura Shrimp and veggies with ponzu glaze, Kobe beef with summer truffles… plus huge platters of their sushi rolls (the monkey roll being my absolute favorite!!!).
Zento also provided the bar, with top shelf selections and a couples choice drink the Bourbon Blossom (HIGHLY RECOMMEND). The bartender Christian is a great guy, and my guests did not leave thirsty, that’s for sure.
The service throughout our reception was perfect, we had circling waiters with a different food choice, no sit down dinner. I’ve heard from many guests that they LOVED that arrangement; it skipped the forced table interactions and just let guests get to what they wanted to do (eat, drink, socialize). Zento provided numerous high top tables, linens, and disposable bamboo plates and utensils (I’m sure you can upgrade to real plates and whatnot, but the bamboo actually made it feel a little more authentic and less stuffy. I really liked it!)
I cannot recommend Zento enough to anyone looking to have a) amazing food at their wedding b) professionals to work with and c) AMAZING FOOD at their wedding.
On a related note, the restaurant rocks too! If I could eat here every day I would. Perfect for dates!

I came here for lunch.
But I’m not sure I’ll come back or not.
Kinda expensive for than kind of sushi. My sushi was not too bad but also not so good. The rice was too soft for me.
Tuna Pizza is good. Nothing too special but like the idea make this kind of pizza.
The price for lunch is around $ 10 & up. Which is other restaurants have cheaper or same price but better quality.
The main reason I came here is just because the bonus point offers from my card lol.

Zen is one of my favorite restaurants in old city. The atmosphere is good for dates. I went here with two of friends because I had a living social voucher. Before they let you use the voucher on lunch specials as well but not anymore.
We ordered the tuna pizza, old city roll, tuna crunch roll and the double shrimp roll. Out of those the old city roll is usually my go to. In addition to those I also like the zento square roll, the sashimi roll and the tofu cheesecake.
The other cool thing about this place is that they have a phone charging station downstairs so you can charge your phone if needed.

When I’ve been craving sushi, nothing hits the spot like a trip to Zento in Old City. Right across the street from Han Dynasty, this spot is dark and intimate inside (perfect for a date). Zento has a full bar with late night happy hour (8:30−11:00 pm) and its BYO! ($ 10 corkage fee on weekends) Have a saki-​bomb with Sapporo or try the Lychee Martini or Mojito. The bar has about 6 seats and there is 2 levels of dining area, however this spot is ideal for parties of 6 or less. Reservations can be made on Opentable and parking is free with validation. If you stop by for lunch, bento boxes are served Monday-​Friday 11:30 am — 3 pm and they come with miso soup, white rice and a choice of spring roll or a California Roll. Both Lunch specials and Bento boxes start at $ 12.
For dinner there is are numerous sushi and sashimi options, as well as hot dishes. I would recommend starting with edamame, dumplings, crabcakes, tempura vegetables, or the avocado salad. For sushi rolls I LOVE the Branzino roll, Mexican Roll, Double Shrimp Roll, and Angus Beef Roll. These are specialty rolls I promise you will not find at any other sushi restaurant in Philly. For entrees, the Chicken and Salmon Teriyaki are large portions and the Chilean Sea Bass is perfection. Try the Mochi ice cream for dessert. Since Zento can be more expensive than most sushi places, try Groupon or LivingSocial for a voucher and check in with Unilocal for half off a signature cocktail!

The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was romantic. It’s a nice place for a date.
The only downside is that when i came here, the server was really confused. It was a weekend so i didn’t mind them being a little slow, but she didn’t know what the specials had in them and struggled to even say them. Our food also sat on the serving stand for a long time before it was brought to us.. like 15 minutes (we could see cause it was right next to us).
Our waitress was also a little rude in my opinion. she didn’t address me at all, but only my boyfriend the entire time. I guess she just assumed the guy made the date so he was in charge? But it made me feel a little uncomfortable when she looked down the entire time i ordered and only looked at my bf when asking if we needed anything or giving us the specials, if we wanted more water, etc.
I’ve been a server for a few years at a bunch of different places, so it’s strange to me that a place as nice as this had such mismatched service.
Hoping this was just an off night, and others have better experiences

I hope the rest of the night goes better than the interactions I have had thus far with this venue.
I came across a New Year’s Eve Ad on Grim Philly web page which boasted of a great meal and open bar for $ 75 from 9 – 11:30 and then a buffet and open bar from 11:30 — 2:00 am for $ 35. «That’s Great!» I thought, having a good meal with flowing alcohol and don’t have to worry about having a seat etc. My friend and I were psyched for this.
Well, this morning I get a phone call informing me that the open bar is illegal in Philadelphia and that they are unable to offer it AND that the price for the 9 – 11:30 pm slot will remain the same. BUT oh they will comp us a bottle of champagne. Really??! I am not sure about you but when I go to a place for an open bar (esp on NYE) I do NOT order champagne until the ball drops!
Furthermore, every other bar in Philly seems to be offering an open bar so how is it that Zento is the ONLY place unable to do so?! And why am I finding out the DAY OF the event?!
Disappointed does not even begin to describe how I feel…
If it wasn’t for my friend’s insistence I would have demanded a refund and attempted to find another venue (even though it is already NYE)
The owner insists that the food is worth the price and that I will not be disappointed… We shall see (4:50 pm NYE)
To be continued…
So as it turns out we were refunded the full amount and were given the option of choosing the $ 80 three course meal (see pic) or directly from the menu. I must say that I was THRILLED that we were given this option because the three course meal for $ 80 did not seem worth it in my book (what do you think?).
Upon arrival we were greeted by a host who attempted to seat us near the door but we asked for alternate seating and were guided upstairs.
The waiter brought over an ice bucket with the champagne but did not open it (it was only a twist off) or serve it to us which I found kinda of odd. Maybe I’ve grown too snobby as I age?
Anyway, the prices are a tad high but the selection is good.
We ordered:
Rainbow cerviche: delicious cube cut chunks of a variety of fish that were perfectly seasoned – HIGHLY recommend
Love Roll: salmon, tuna, yellowtail, eel, asparagus, and avocado. wrapped with soy paper – OK
Lindan Roll: crunchy spicy tuna, cream cheese inside. topped with avocado, tobiko and sriracha – HIGHLY recommend
Korean BBQ Wagyu Beef: korean dipping sauce, kimchee purée, mix green with ginger dressing, multi grain. beef served medium rare only. – Good but not worth the price in my opinion
Overall I enjoyed my meal and look forward to trying other menu items (ie: Mexican roll, Square sushi…)
FYI: If you like saki this place may be for you. They have an impressive selection and even offer a flight sampler!
(KUDOS if you made it through this review!)