Squid Ink

The atmosphere at this place is modern and oriental. We sat at the bar and enjoyed people watching as it looked on to the street, so naturally we grabbed drinks and watched the passerbys as we waited for our app. Although the place is a tad pricey, the service is good, and the ambiance is upscale. A large selection of rolls to pick from and the skewer we had, although just a single one, was tasty and nice to order and nibble on while sipping the cocktail.
i did feel like the cocktails were pretty weak. For the price of everything and quality care put into sushi, I wish the cocktails weren’t so weak.
all in all i enjoyed my visit and will be back!

Great food. Probably the best yakisoba I’ve ever had. I walked by earlier in the day and it was packed. Now I know why.

This is the closest sushi place to our house, so we tend to stop in here frequently. We go here only during happy hour because it is a bit too expensive otherwise. What is disappointing is how much their happy hour has changed over the last couple years, it really is not much of a deal anymore. Their food is good though, the potstickers are amazing, as is their Kobe burger. The service is hit or miss, but most of the times it is a miss. Most of the hostesses, waiters, waitresses, and bartenders are fairly rude and unhelpful most of the time. We have had a couple good ones, but that is on a rare occasion. Also, besides the bartenders, we have never had the same waiter/​waitress, each visit has been a different one, so it seems that they have a lot of turn over. Their beer selection also tends to leave a lot to be desired. They always have Sapporo and they have various local brews on tap, just never many good ones. Overall this place is okay if you are craving some sushi, but definitely do not go out of your way.

So I’ve always, always been lucky & got seats at the bar which at this location I like because it looks over the street. So there’s lots of foot traffic to be entertained with. Which is always fun on the weekends. No telling who’s going to walk by doing what.
The bar staff has never been the same staff & the last guy that was working the bar the weekend of ¹⁄₉ during the Broncos/​Steelers championship was a TOTAL douche. Made a big diff with his «buddies» than the rest of us at the bar. It was so bad that the next time my hubs wanted sushi in downtown the following Sat before 5 I didn’t want to go here because of him. But our choices were limited to one so there you go. I was just hoping he wasn’t going to be there & true to form the staff tending the bar was diff. YAY! The girl was from the now defunct Scottsdale location & was fun, personable & couldn’t have been further from a douche. But that goes to show you no matter how yummy just one bad personal experience can turn you off. Just saying…
We got a new roll to us, the Seafood Dynamite & weren’t fans because we don’t dig warm anything on our cool sushi roll but the taste was very good. Just us. If you don’t mind warm cooked fish as sushi go for it. It was very good. We are just more sashimi folks. We keep coming back because all of the sushi, Nigiri & Sashimi is very fresh, tasty & delish. The Spicy Tuna is usually heavy handed on the spice which I REALLY like. But beware if you don’t.
Also yum-​my is the: tuna sashimi, octopus sashimi, caterpillar roll, shrimp tempura roll, cougar rolls but the roasted squid & roasted garlic edamame app are both divine. So good must get. :)

I went to this place with a friend while visiting Phoenix. I very much enjoyed the food and customer service. This place had a nice vibe and I loved the outdoor bar seating– the weather at night was amazing. This is a nice place for a simple date or just a place to hang with friends. There were also tvs at the bar! The food was priced well and very tasty. You won’t regret choosing this place! It’s right in the heart of the town next to the arena and other happening spots! I would definitely come back here if I ever visit Phoenix again!

YUMMMM!!!
I was visiting Phoenix for a couple of days (staying at Kimpton) and Unilocaled places near me. I was craving Japanese so this was literally right next to the hotel and an obvious choice. I was BLOWN away. I got the Beef Short Rib and it hit THE. SPOT. I also got miso soup and it was really good. So good that this is where I ate my entire stay. I had some sushi for lunch the next day and it was great then went back to the Beef Short Rib for dinner again with delicious green tea ice cream. I had take out all three times and they were super fast even on a Friday evening (15 mins). Highly Recommend!

I’ve been there several times with my coworkers both for lunch and for happy hour.
Lunch specials are good. I had a rice bowl and it was filling and very yummy. Their sushi’s fresh and I like their happy hour too. Good prices definitely attract County employees after 5 pm when we’re done for the day.
Everything I’ve tried is delicious and the staff’s extremely nice too. Definitely a good place to chill after work.

At the bar with the Bartender Amy was one of the best experienced at the downtown/​city scape area. The happy hour and sushi selection was all top shelf.
Definitely ask for the spicy mayo and sirachia if you want the rolls with a little extra spice

Surf and Turf Roll — Absolutely fantastic. Asparagus tips inside were such a fun surprise.
Seafood Dynamite is all made with cooked seafood, so while I’m not personally a huge fan — It was okay. They don’t clarify that it’s cooked on the menu. If they did, I wouldn’t have ordered it and they’d have 5 stars.
Nigiri is PHENOMENAL! order nigiri or sashimi here and you won’t be disappointed.
Heaters on patio make this a fantastic place to go in the winter.

The downtown Phoenix location of Squid Ink Sushi gave me one of the most memorable dining experiences. I attempted to eat the worst ramen I have EVER had. Though the presentation was very nice with Krab meat, pork belly, scallions, and egg — the taste was a massive disappointment. The broth was bland and actually bitter. It tasted of diluted burnt meat. The noodles, which looked like they came out of a Top Ramen package, shaped in a block with wavy noodles, were overcooked. They were too soft and lacked any bite. I’m surprised this is still on the menu.
An odd side note, when the waitress retrieved my uneaten bowl, she actually asked if I wanted a box to take it home — instead of asking if there was anything wrong.

Great Food…
Stopped for lunch at Squid Ink for sushi. The service and food was great.

Came here for a quick lunch while at a conference for work downtown. I made the mile trek because well, i wanted sushi. Pretty big space, outdoor seating and a full bar (of which i sadly did not partake). Enjoyed some agedashi tofu and a cucumber wrap tuna roll — loved that they had a non-​rice option since I’d already been on the carb wagon due to travel.
Quiet during lunch but i’m sure it picks up at night. I’d go back!

This place has an inviting ambiance and a cool feel. The service is good and quick.
The food is not that great… I ordered the ramen and it had absolutely no flavor. It tasted like noodles in water which was pretty disappointing. We also started with garlic edamame which was good but a little too buttery. I can say the coconut milk rice pudding was mmmm!

I need to update this because originally, I was going to come back and downgrade to a 2.
The service seemed to fall by the wayside for the last few months, and we came here out of desperate convenience. Bartenders later at night were too consumed with joking with/​flirting with their co-​workers and forgetting about us; the food service was slow or often just incorrect; and the fish became less than mediocre (chewy or fishy sometimes).
The last couple of times we noticed that the service is significantly better with certain crews– Friday evenings and week nights. They’re prompt, polite, and the quality of fish is now fresh again. I’m docking from a 5 because 1) there’s still better sushi out there, and 2) the Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening crew need to step it up. They still seem to allow themselves to get distracted. In comparison, the PV Squid Ink location is better.

This place is best summed up in a list of pros and cons:
PRO: The best and most creative selection of specialty rolls I’ve seen in a while; nice ambiance; beautiful presentation, real crab.
CONS: It is a little pricey (to a certain extent this is warranted given ambiance, real crab, and menu selection).
Specific to my visit: I gotta say I was intrigued by the idea of the Buffalo Chicken Roll but it was a disappointment. Not very much flavor at all, and considering you’re getting chicken for the price of sushi-​grade seafood… not a great value either. My other roll was fantastic, so it’s not indicative of all their food. I’d just take a pass on that one roll.
And finally, a shout-​out to my server. She was quick, attentive, perky, and genuinely pleasant to interact with.

I wouldn’t consider myself a sushi snob and I’m far from a sushi expert, however I love sushi. I could eat it every day. I’ve had sushi at restaurants all over the U.S. Squid Ink was good… not great… not mind blowing… but good.
I recommend this place on the random late nights when you get a sushi craving. Romantic date night? Not so much. If you’re looking for high end sushi dining, this is not the place. If you’re looking for a great happy hour or a quick sushi meal before catching a show… Squid Ink is a great place to try. The menu has plenty of sushi to choose from w/​a large fish and flavor variety. I am a fan of the Vegas roll. My boyfriend enjoys the ramen (something for everyone). The cocktails are great too. I do really love the happy hour menu. I had 2 rolls of sushi and a glass of wine for $ 20. You can’t beat that!
I get that downtown Phoenix is still in a «revival» stage so my expectations for a dining experience with ambiance are not sky high, but I was hoping for a little more pizazz here. I do visit regularly and really enjoy the staff. They’re all awesome. I just wish the menu evolved more often.

Amy is awesome !!! We came in randomly, always in the area, always debated to come or not. After tonight and our wonderful experience — well be back! The entire bar staff is friendly, knowledgable about drinks and food, and helpful for us first timers. We got the dumpling miso soup, just for something to have and it’s SO good! An upgraded miso soup, best described. Can’t believe we over looked this place before. If we hadn’t just come from dinner, we would of eaten. Can’t wait to come back and really explore the menu. We’re big sushi fans and they had a featured sushi tonight — FUN! ⁵⁄₅ come here when you can!

I wanted so badly to give this place a 4-​star, but I feel it just barely missed the mark. I loved the atmosphere and the patio. However, our only server on the patio was the bartender, who was very busy. So we waited a while for things like water refills. There is no way for her to access the patio without walking all the way around the other side through the restaurant. Not bad if you are sitting at the bar, but not so good if you are sitting at one of the tables. You guys should really split the bar open for access to the patio.
The food was not bad. I got the ramen. I’ve been to some really good ramen places, and this was just ok. Not the best I’ve had. My fiancée liked her sushi. The tempura beans were good, but some on the greasy side.
I honestly would give this place another go if some friends wanted to go there, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back.
Great concept, just needs some polishing.

I picked up a takeout sushi order here when I was visiting on business. I’m a huge fan of creative, fusion rolls so I was immediately drawn to the House Rolls. I will admit I was a little disappointed there wasn’t a wider range (a lot of the rolls seem to use a lot of the same ingredients in different configurations), but I was intrigued by the Dirty Rockstar and Ultimate Phily so I ended up ordering both of them along with a seaweed salad. Pricing seemed fair for these kind of items.
With each dish there were things I liked and things that just seemed off to me. In the seaweed salad the seaweed itself was tasty but there was just an odd flavor to the daikon radish. With the Dirty Rockstar I enjoyed the flavor overall but the sweet chili sauce was too cloying and didn’t meld well with the other flavors. With the Ultimate Philly I really enjoyed the taste at first but there was just a very odd flavor at the end of the taste that lingered into a bad after taste I didn’t care for. I actually left a few pieces of sushi behind and I’m usually someone who loves sushi to the point of overeating.
Overall, this was just okay. It was a step up from ordering room service but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it again if I were regularly in the area.

Great ambiance, good food, drinks were amazing too! The waitress and waiter was on point with checking on us and customer service! The skinny older bartender was a grumpy person. Not so great with the attitude problem so I wouldn’t sit at the bar. He seems like he would strike up a negative conversation. He was wearing a white or light collared shirt. Didn’t look like the normal bartenders there.
Wish he didn’t serve me so I would have given this restaurant a 5 star.
I would done here again if I didn’t have to see that negative guy.