Best Japanese Restaurants in Asheville—A Local’s Perspective
When it comes to dining in Asheville, sushi may not be the first thing that comes to mind. We are landlocked here, after all. And noticeably distant from Japan.
But the fact is, culinary traditions from all across the world are well-represented in Asheville, with top-grade restaurants serving everything from Spanish tapas to vegan steaks, so you can bet your bottom dollar there’s some great Japanese restaurants in the mix there.
Luckily for me, I grew up with a sister captivated by an inescapable desire for sushi, and so I have visited many such restaurants. And now you too are lucky, for the dining wisdom I garnered over decades of slurping down sashimi passes on to you now, in the form of five of the best Japanese restaurants in Asheville.
This here’s a frequent flier on my lists. I reckon it's due to a confluence of a great location and tantalizing menu, featuring Japanese-American fusion along with local draft beers. Let's break those two points down.
Location-wise, you’ll find Ukiah on the South Slope Brewing District, within a short walk to downtown proper, and across the street from Asheville’s famous Orange Peel concert venue. In other words: prime real estate if you want to work Ukiah into a night of enjoying live music, pub-crawling, roaming downtown, or even all of the above.
Now for the menu: you’ve got what Ukiah calls a combination between “Japanese soul food and American barbecue,” designed by a James-Beard-nominated chef no less. That means karaage chicken with Carolina sauce, smoked pork shoulders, spicy pork ramen, and mochi doughnut skewers for dessert.
It may not be your traditional approach to a Japanese restaurant, and indeed barbecue takes center stage over the sushi here, but they do succeed in putting an awesome new twist on classic dishes. And for all that, I say they’re worth a visit.
Hours: 5pm to 9pm, Sunday through Thursday. Open until 9:30pm Fridays and Saturdays. Open for brunch from 10am to 2:30pm on Sundays.
On to another great downtown eatery, Heiwa Shokudo sits on the northern end of the city center, not far from Dobra Tea, and has long been a local favorite for authentic, down-to-earth Japanese.
Proudly Japanese-owned, each dish is crafted with delicacy and precision, but special mention must go to their made-from-scratch tonkatsu ramen, nourishing hot pots, and specialty sushi rolls. And if you’re seeking lesser-known delicacies, then this is the place to find them, whether you’re after natto, zaru soba, or Fuji apple sake.
This entry’s rounded off by plentiful parking all up and down the street, plus a semi-covered patio, perfect for enjoying a light breezy lunch while you’re out on the town. All in all, a solid choice for classic Japanese food here in Asheville.
Hours: Open for lunch 11:45am to 2:15pm Wednesday through Saturday. Open for dinner 4:30pm to 9pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
Whereas Heiwa’s is what I called a local favorite, Itto’s is definitely a local institution, with no less than three locations on the north, south, and west sides of Asheville. Once they finally open a place in the east, their designs shall be complete, and ramen will flood upon the soils of Earth. I have their promise that it will be delicious.
One visit to any of Itto’s locations will be enough to convince you of the same. Now you’re going to have two options. One: share a bunch of Japanese tapas. Best done with a large party, of course, to give you an opportunity to try the crab rangoon and the chicken katsu and the takoyaki and the Itto buns and the Itto fries and so on. We’re talking a tapas banquet here.
Option two, of course, is the ramen. Cooked for more than seven hours, these noodles are swimming in flavor, folks. Now the ramen menu may be a little intimidating, what with so many options, but I typically go for the Itto Deluxe with its black garlic sauce, or their parmesan-infused House Special if I’m feeling crazy.
As to which location to visit, I prefer downtown. It may be less spacious than their other locations, but I enjoy the ambience, and the proximity to all of downtown’s delights. That said, it's a comfort to know pretty much no matter what part of town I’m in, Itto’s Ramen is never too far away.
Hours: 11:30am to 10pm, every day of the week. Open until 11pm Fridays and Saturdays.
This entry is not a declaration that I’ve finally lost my mind, but in fact a celebration of my finding yet another great Japanese restaurant in Asheville. And this one takes a bold approach. People love hamburgers. People love sushi. Smack them together, and what do you got?
The Madness. Sushi, Burger, & Bar.
If you’re imagining a chunk of ground beef wrapped up in sticky rice, think again. More reasonably, the Madness takes influences from the spicy-savory ingredients of sushi, and uses them to enhance their patties, thus giving us the eponymous Madness burger, furnished with cream cheese, unagi, and spicy crab salad.
It may seem like a walk on the wild side, but with a place called the Madness, what did you expect? The rest of their menu features decadent shareables, like jalapeno roulettes and cheesy rangoon dip, alongside a full spread of sushi; Philadelphia, California, cooked, raw, deep-fried, any way you like it.
With locations on the northern edge of north Asheville, as well as one out towards Enka beyond Asheville’s eastern limit, a visit here may take you a little beyond the beaten path, but it's well worth it. At the very least, it's an easy way to negotiate an argument for burger-night versus sushi-night.
Hours: 11am to 9:30pm, Monday through Saturday. Open until 10pm Fridays and Saturdays. Open noon to 9:30pm Sundays.
To top it all off, here we have my go-to pick for sushi in Asheville, a longstanding personal favorite of my friends and family. Good service, hot green tea, plenty of seating, and a list of specialty rolls that stretches on for as long as the chefs' had the imagination to spend. Which turns out to be pretty dang long.
Always the patriot, I usually order their “downtown roll,” while keeping my eye on their rotating specials, often featuring combinations both surprising and delicious. That said, a certain sushi-connoisseur and friend of the family once hit Zen with the ever-intimidating “surprise me,” and came away giving them flying colors. In other words: you can’t go wrong with the sushi here.
Afterwards, it’s been my tradition to get some local ice cream at the Hop downstairs. There’s no better way to finish a night out having some of the best Japanese food in Asheville.
Hours: 11am to 10pm, weeklong. Closed Tuesdays.
Businesses Mentioned
Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse
(828)-470-7480
121 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Heiwa Shokudo
(828)-254-7761
87 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Itto Ramen & Japanese Tapas
(828)-552-3288
3 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 (Downtown)
630 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 (West Asheville)
335 Airport Rd #300, Arden, NC 28704 (South Asheville)
The Madness
(828)-418-3166
275 Smokey Park Hwy Ste 251, Asheville, NC 28806 (West)
1020 Merrimon Ave Suite 104, Asheville, NC 28804 (North)
Zen Sushi
(828)-225-6033
640 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804
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