The 10 best sushi restaurants in Charlotte

Charlotte’s sushi went from one strip mall legend to a real scene in about five years, with a James Beard semifinalist chef running three concepts, a nationally known restaurant opening in Plaza Midwood and a hand roll bar that feels like New York. This list ranks them by the fish first, the experience second and the price last. Hours are current as of this writing.

1. Omakase by Prime Fish

Chef Robin Anthony’s eight seat counter on Providence Road, Michelin recognized and a 2026 James Beard semifinalist, with seafood flown in weekly from Japan and every course prepared in front of the guests. Ten courses at lunch for $175, 16 at dinner for $350, and the most serious meal of any kind in the city. Book well ahead.

Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday 5 to 9 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday

Address: 2907 Providence Rd, Suite 101, Charlotte, NC 28211

Why it made the list

• The best sushi in the state, by most accounts.
• A James Beard semifinalist at the counter.
• Fish that does not exist elsewhere in Charlotte.
• Eight seats; plan a month out.

Directory listing: Omakase by Prime Fish

2. Uchi Charlotte

Tyson Cole’s Austin born restaurant at the Commonwealth development in Plaza Midwood, opened in 2026 with a rooftop bar upstairs, a seven course tasting menu, nigiri and hot dishes a la carte and service that walks first timers through the menu. Light wood, clean lines and a bar worth sitting at. The most polished sushi room in the city.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 4 to 11 p.m.

Address: 1720 Commonwealth Ave, Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• A nationally known name, now local.
• Tasting menu or a la carte.
• Uchibā rooftop for the drink after.
• Service as strong as the fish.

Directory listing: Uchi Charlotte

3. New Zealand Cafe

The Sardis Road strip mall legend that has answered the best sushi question for a generation and still makes the city’s 30 best restaurants list: an enormous menu, fresh fish, generous portions, no fake crab and a line most nights that moves faster than it looks. A sushi boat for a group. A hole in the wall on purpose.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.

Address: 1717 Sardis Rd N, Suite 6A, Charlotte, NC 28270

Why it made the list

• Decades of consistency.
• Fresh and affordable.
• A menu with something for every table.
• Lunch and dinner seven days.

Directory listing: New Zealand Cafe

4. Sharigato

A chef owned hand roll bar behind an unmarked red door at The Joinery in Optimist Park, opened in 2026: counter seats around the chefs, real grated wasabi, a short menu of toro, eel, yellowtail, salmon and snapper rolls, and QR ordering at your own pace. Ten rolls in 30 minutes if you want, at a price well below the tasting menu rooms.

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 7:30 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 420 E. 22nd St, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• The most distinctive sushi concept in Charlotte.
• Quality without the price.
• Quick, casual, no reservations.
• Find the red door.

Directory listing: Sharigato

5. Primefish Cellar

Robin Anthony’s a la carte sushi restaurant and wine and sake shop on Providence Road in Cotswold, next to his omakase counter, with the same fish supply, real wasabi and ginger, lunch several days a week and a wall of bottles to browse and buy. Small, casual and refined.

Hours: Monday, Thursday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. (until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday); Wednesday 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Sunday noon to 8:30 p.m.; closed Tuesday

Address: 2921 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211

Why it made the list

• Omakase quality fish, ordered a la carte.
• A wine and sake shop in the room.
• Lunch most days.
• The Cotswold sushi stop.

Directory listing: Primefish Cellar

6. O-Ku

The South End special occasion sushi room on South Boulevard, with inventive rolls, wagyu nigiri, duck buns from the hot kitchen, a separate gluten free menu handled with real care and a birthday program that finds a personal gift to match a reservation note. Sushi happy hour and a miso banana cake to finish.

Hours: Monday and Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m.

Address: 2000 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• The celebration sushi room.
• A true gluten free menu.
• Happy hour sushi.
• Open seven nights.

Directory listing: O-Ku

7. Prime Fish Sushi Charlotte

The Ballantyne original that built Robin Anthony’s reputation, a small room with a sushi bar where the chefs perform, salmon belly nigiri, the sake yaki roll, spicy crispy tuna and premium fish at prices regulars call reasonable. Sit at the bar and let the server steer.

Hours: Tuesday 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday noon to 8:30 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 11212 Providence Rd W, Suite B, Charlotte, NC 28277

Why it made the list

• Where it started.
• The sushi bar seats.
• South Charlotte’s best sushi.
• Reasonable for the quality.

Directory listing: Prime Fish Sushi Charlotte

8. Yunta

The Peruvian Japanese restaurant in South End whose sushi rolls sit beside ceviche and wok dishes, with a bar that looks into the kitchen and a Pisco Sour as the drink. Salmon belly nigiri with crispy quinoa, steak nigiri and rolls that borrow from both traditions. The sushi for a table that wants more than sushi.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 2201 South Blvd, Suite 130, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• Nikkei sushi, unlike anywhere else.
• One of the city’s best restaurants overall.
• Ceviche and rolls on one menu.
• Bar seats for walk ins.

Directory listing: Yunta

9. Baku

The SouthPark Japanese restaurant with a robata grill, a sushi bar of original roll concepts, a moody dining room and a lounge upstairs, a fixture for visitors who stop on the way from the airport. The tuna tasting, truffled toro, pork belly and a dessert platter that runs from yuzu key lime pie to matcha cheesecake. Dishes arrive as they are ready.

Hours: See the restaurant’s site for current hours

Address: 4515 Sharon Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211

Why it made the list

• Robata and sushi together.
• The tuna tasting.
• An upstairs lounge.
• SouthPark, near the mall.

Directory listing: Baku

10. DŌZO

Chef owners Perry Saito and John Gamble’s Japanese American restaurant on East Boulevard in Dilworth, grown from a 12 seat counter into a full room with a 30 seat patio. Not a sushi bar, but the crab fried rice, okonomiyaki and tonkatsu Caesar make it the Japanese restaurant for the friend who does not want raw fish, and one of the city’s 30 best.

Hours: See the restaurant’s site for current hours

Address: 1419 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• Japanese cooking beyond sushi.
• Crab fried rice and okonomiyaki.
• A lounge like patio with QR ordering.
• The Dilworth option.

Directory listing: DŌZO

Also worth knowing

Menya Daruma in Elizabeth is the city’s ramen counter and has a hidden omakase room of its own, and Uchibā, the rooftop above Uchi, serves a bar menu of the same kitchen’s work. If we missed your sushi bar, tell us.