Samurai

For the price they offer, its truly one of the best, most authentic Japanese restaurants in the Tucson area. Whenever I’m in town I usually try to stop by at least once to pay this place a visit. Wonderful owners & staff, very friendly and accommodating! I usually order an unagi hand roll along with tonkatsu — doesn”t disappoint at all. Tastes authentic; my Japanese aunt cooks tonkatsu in the same manner so it truly tastes like «real» Japanese food. Will always be my go to place whenever I’m down for some Japanese cuisine!

Ate here while staying the night in Tucson, great food! Had a spicy salmon roll, spicy tuna hand roll, yakisoba noodles, and a volcano tuna dish. All were fantastic especially the noodles and volcano dish! Highly recommend this place!

No, just no. Our experience here was terrible. Maybe it was a one-​off, since I’m seeing other good reviews, but all I can say is that we came here as a party of 3 and we definitely will not be returning.

I’d been coming here now and then for decades. There isn’t too many places like Samurai in that it’s casual and order at the counter. Usually for Japanese, it either fast food Sarku at the mall, or sit down and get read to fork over some money. You will spend a couple of dollars less per entrée here at Samurai but the downside is you get to eat in small styrofoam bowls and plates with plastic utensils. It’s very awkward to use the small plastic spoons for their ramen. Sushi isn’t made fresh, but still better than what you get at a grocery store. It’s not the biggest seating area, and will get busy during lunch times. In Asia, sitting with strangers at the same table is common. It feels a bit awkward here. I usually get their ramen or sukiyaki donburi.

Ramen? Check. Donburi? Check. Sushi? Check.
Came here on a (packed) Tuesday night. Ordered the unagi roll, salmon nigiri, side potato salad, and a beer. The cashier lady was nice enough to give two little cups of (hot!) wasabi peas with my beer while I waited for my order.
As for the sushi itself, the unagi roll was subpar. The sushi rice was warm and fell apart. There was a lot of sweet sauce and not much unagi or cucumber. The salmon nigiri was very good. Nice, thick slices of fresh salmon. There’s just something about sushi made in the kitchen, served in a paper food tray, with no dish to put your wasabi and soy sauce that kind of cheapens the experience. Potato salad was okay. More like mashed potatoes, and after having the real deal in Japan – that stuff beats almost any American version. From other reviews, it seems this place is known for their spicy tuna volcano don and all things other than sushi. But, I want to try everything on the menu and this place just isn’t a go-​to for sushi. Everything else is great.
And for the love of god, someone help the poor cashier woman! She manages the register, takes phone orders, cooks (probably), AND serves the food. AND she’s super smiley and friendly during even the busiest dinner rush. There are other people in the kitchen, but this woman is a machine! Get some additional help and the waits won’t be as long.

We were here at lunchtime & they were pretty busy, which is always a good sign. The lady at the counter was very nice & helpful while I was ordering, per it was my first time here and I was unfamiliar with the menu. The spicy tuna don, volcano style was delish!
The food was fresh & the service good. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who was in the mood for some yummy, fresh sushi.

Truly authentic Japanese cuisine with super nice/​friendly service. Its a hole in the wall but the food is really great especially for the price.

Best Japanese good I’ve ever had! I always get the special with an extra side of potato salad which is amazing! I suggest to anyone and everyone! 10stars!

I love this place. There’s a wide range with several rotating specials on the menu. I am obsessed with the bentos: teriyaki chicken and gyoza are my favorites. Quick service and an absolutely essential take out option. I would definitely recommend this place to my friends!

I really like how this tiny joint is tucked away behind a strip mall, so unassuming and genuine. The owner helped me order and was very accommodating. There were some Japanese guys enjoying the Udon which smelled delicious by the way, and an older couple having a late dinner even though the place would probably close in roughly 30 minutes. I placed an order to go, I had the Spicy Tuna Don Buri Volcano style. It was delicious. It was a huge serving as well, I had to split it into two meals. How did I not discover this place sooner? I cant wait to try a number of different things on the menu and I will definitely be back.

Got the volcano tuna don, and oh boy was it a volcano explosion of flavors! It was super tasty and the fish tasted pretty fresh when tried on its own. The only thing I have to say against it is that the flavor of the tuna is kind of lost in all the flavors of the sauces because the tuna is in a mashed form instead of whole chunks of fish. Still, samurai satisfied my craving for some good sushi and I will be back to try more!

Good food at good prices… the service is also good and they are very friendly. They have gone down just a little bit after new management. If you want to real deal, go hit up ikkyu on la cholla and orange grove.

They get five stars from me simply for having the most amazing volcano tuna don. What can I say about it that hasn’t already been said before? Nothing really, you just have to try it for yourself. It’s so darned good I will drive 45 minutes from where I live in the middle of nowhere just to get my fix. I’ve had several other menu items, but I can’t say I like them as much. Specifically, the seafood dynamite was my least favorite because it just tasted like a mouthful of mayo, and the shoyu ramen was very bland. But no worries, I don’t need anything else from their menu. Volcano tuna don I heart you.

$ 9 for a bento plate that is a mediocre serving of mainly white rice and potato salad. I found that food was overpriced and soso quality. The tiny serving of pickled cucumbers was tasty. The spicy tuna roll was ok. If they would use a higher quality white rice then the dining experience would be more pleasant. I had high hopes from all the positive reviews. The place looks really Japanese. But I will return.

Fun pseudo-​fact: I was informed that the owners of Ikkyu started Samurai and then sold it to the current owners before opening Ikkyu. I don’t think they’re affiliated anymore, but there are many menu similarities.
Fresh, tasty, well-​made Japanese cuisine in a small divey space. I love their udon and the spicy tuna don.
Order from the counter and someone brings your food out to you. My only complaint is the nickel-​and-​diming on small things. I wanted extra sriracha for my miso or something and they wanted to charge for it. Meh.
I have never had alcohol here… I’ve only been in for quick lunches and we’ve always dined in with some green tea and left pretty quickly. They have bottled beers and sake on the counter.
The atmosphere isn’t one you’d want to hang out in for very long anyways… vinyl booths and cheap linoleum, radio commercials playing… no ambience whatsoever. Great for a quick lunch or maybe for takeout.

It’s a hole in the wall place, pretty tiny actually. I think it’s family owned. Ordering and dining has a fast food-​esque feel to it. You walk in and order from the menu at the counter and pay for it then.
You seat yourself and they bring the food out to you when it’s ready. The dishware is mostly disposable (soups are usually served in plastic bowls, but everything else is styrofoam). The plastic utentils and napkins are on a shelf next to self serve water.
There are some food options available on the bulletin board to the left of the counter that aren’t listed in the menu. If you don’t see something in the menu that you read about on Unilocal,it’s probably on there.
The food doesn’t take long at all to be served to you. I’ve been here twice now and I’ve gotten the tonkatsu ramen and the volcano tuna don. I had the ramen on a rainy day, so it was very satisfying. The volcano tuna don was presented beautifully and tasted even better than it looked. I had never had don before so I didn’t know what to expect. It’s pretty much an non-​wrapped sushi bowl. It was served with miso soup, ginger, and wasabi.
I would definitely recommend this place to everyone. I know I’ll come back again.

Delicious at good prices. Haven’t gotten sushi here, but I usually alternate between the volcano tuna don and miso ramen. Flavors, texture, price is all good. Ingredients seem fresh.
I like the volcano tuna don cuz the fish is fresh and the sauces combined with the fish and rice just taste oh so good. If you can’t eat a lot, make sure you don’t eat too much rice in each bite. I can’t imagine eating this for leftovers and it being good… so eat less rice so you can finish it.
The ramen is good too. Broth is good, noodles and other toppings are good. I think the meat was a little salty for me, I don’t remember how much noodle they give cuz I love noodles, but I think it was a good amount. Not too much not too little.
This time I’m trying a pork yaki udon, stir fried udon noodles with pork and veggies and I added egg to mine. Flavor is good. Noodles are nice and chewing. Only complaint is that the egg is undercooked for my liking, and wish there were more noodles =[ otherwise still good!

Always so Good. They never disappoint, and the price is right. Just enough food, and always, always real tasty. My go to dish is the teriyaki chicken bento, with extra teriyaki!

Hidden Gem, Literally.
I always forget about this place because it’s tucked away in a somewhat dead mall. But this little hole in the wall is darn good. No, it’s not one of those fancy Japanese restaurants that yell on Japanese when you enter the door and have rolls for $ 15+. It’s basically fast food Japanese food. Before you say anything, this restaurant has impressed me. You order your food at the cashier than find yourself a seat at any open table. For what you pay for, the food is absolutely amazing and filling.
Pros:
— cheap prices
— fresh fish
— fast
— delicious
— filling
Recommendations:
— Spicy Tuna Volcano Don
— Hand rolls
— «the special» teriyaki chicken soba

Mom and pop shop! I love this place, I’ve eaten about half of the menu and can’t say I’ve been disappointed yet! Highly recommend the chicken teriyaki, fire-​y chicken and the spicy tuna bowl. They get packed around lunch time so plan accordingly.