Tanuki Sushi Bar & Garden in Sierra Vista - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

This is the freshest and most authentic sushi anywhere. It's a small place with a basic but adequate menu. Everything is clean. Owners are actual Japanese and take a great deal of pride in their establishment. Prices are fair, maybe even a bit low considering the quality. Been here 20+ times and really can't think of a single complaint, except maybe they're not open late. So come early and enjoy a little slice of Japan in the middle of a small Arizona desert town.

We always love some delicious sushi and tempura. And of course we live to see Maggie!

Reminds me of my family's restaurant when I was growing up. Very friendly and attentive.

Everything was perfect! Excellent customer service and tasty food.

I have been going here for 4 years now...the quality and freshness of the meals has deteriorated. The chef actually became obnoxious and told me to shut up and eat my food when I asked him a question about Japanese. I spend about $150.00 every time we eat there. Evidently our business is not needed or desired. The owner is very nice, but when the help is horrible, the ambience and setting diminishes. I have dined all over the world at Sushi restaurants, and this place was ok for a small town, but I can drive to Tucson or Phoenix for 4 star Sushi restaurants for the same money and have less dumbassery from the chef or inadequate waitresses. Customer service needs some work, food freshness needs some work, and respect for customers needs some work.

This place you have really good sushi, but the quality is gone downhill quite a bit in the last 10 years. The quality is gone downhill while the prices have gone up.

This place was outstanding, from the service to the sushi. The owner was amazingly accommodating and very sweet. My husband, son, and myself all had sushi. The fish was fresh and delicious. Some of the best sushi I've had, and I've eaten at a lot of sushi places. We were given a calmari seaweed dish to try, and I've never liked calamri, but it was really good, my son even liked it. My son even ate some of my husbands hawaiian tuna roll, which has raw fish and liked it so much that he ate a few pieces. He never eats raw he always gets cali rolls. That's a testament to how good it was. They take pride in what they put out to the customer. The decor was pretty cool, with a lot of history and cool things to look at. We will be back next time the sushi craving hits. Also the pricing is pretty good too.

Tanuki has always been great. Good sushi, great meal portions and awesome miso soup at a fair price.

This is a must try!!!!!! This place has the best sushi around hands down. Fantastic staff, cozy family atmosphere loved to eat here.

Absolutely loved it!!! Super friendly atmosphere all around. Our server was amazing, the owner visited a few times, and the food was fantastic!! Prices are slightly lower than the other place in town, but the food is better. Can’t wait to go back!

The best Japanese food in the state of Arizona still the best 5-19-22. If you have not tried it you are missing out of some of the finish Japanese food in Arizona 4-2-24

I sampled the fare of Tanuki one evening. I was craving a decent Japanese meal and the other Japanese restaurant in this town wasn't going to satisfy that craving. I thought the decor was a bit eclectic, but unique. It felt homey. The service was attentive too. I enjoyed an order of potstickers (gyouza), the Las Vegas sushi roll, and the katsu donburi (fried pork cutlet with egg over rice). I washed it all down with a large bottle of Sapporo beer. I thought the katsudonburi needed to be cooked with more egg and it was served a significant portion of rice, so much that I didn't even it after the sushi roll and the pot stickers. I liked Tanuki and will return once my Japanese wife returns from Japan.

Very well may be the best sushi restaurant I've ever been to...I'm trying to think of other places I've been to that checks this many boxes... most places get a few things right, but this place gets nearly all of them right

The kindest couple owns this restaurant. It is the best sushi I have had anywhere.

Great staff, they are very friendly. Had one of the sushi combo dinners and a side order of friend rice. The rice was great, I do NOT recommended the sushi. Does not taste remotely fresh.

One of my favorites during the last 24 years. I love this place's ambiance, food and people. Tanukis is one of our restaurant gems in Sierra Vista, the "must enjoy" if you are coming thiscway!

Great food, great people. You feel like family.

Had dinner with my significant other. Sushi was fair, staff was okay, but owner continued to hover over our table. It felt uncomfortable. Sushi did not seem that fresh.

This was the place I had my first ever sushi experience and learned how to use chopsticks well over 10 years ago. This restaurant has such a warm and welcoming atmosphere, it's almost like visiting a friend's home. The food is incredible, and I left feeling well and truly stuffed and happy. The owner is just as how I remembered, super sweet and friendly. The staff is very attentive and kind, as well! Well worth the price, well worth visiting!

Best shrimp tempura I’ve had in the states. Did NOT expect to experience that in Sierra Vista. I knew it was gonna be good when I walked in and saw tchotchkes on the walls, soba in the menu, masago on my sushi, and an orange on my katsu curry plate…it has the feeling of real Japanese restaurant. They struggled a bit as the dinner rush grew, but I’ll be frank - I would happily drive from Phoenix to eat here again. Thanks guys

Super recomendado todo muy delicioso 😋 muy amables y atento el personal y la dueña excelente persona 👌

Michiko makes Tanuki a surprising oasis in the middle of the desert. Sushi/sashimi is ALWAYS *wunderful*, a surprise you would not expect from a Sushi restaurant in Sierra Vista. If you like Sushi and have never been, Go. You'll enjoy it. Promise

For the love of sushi, I visited what is said to be the highest rated and best sushi in Sierra Vista. Maybe it is but it was not good for me. The Food. I ordered the Tempura Roll, the King Cobra Roll, Spring Rolls, and it came with a house salad. The Sprint Rolls and House Salad were a decent start. It was standard food fare. When the sushi arrived, I said "Ok...with some energy" because the King Cobra Roll looked like it might be really good. Nope: the unagi was mushy, slimy, and gritty. I ate one piece and I knew. At least the Tempura Roll was edible but it was bland. I only use soy sauce when I have sushi with no taste. I needed soy sauce and the sweet chili sauce from the spring rolls to give it some flavor. Also, the sushi was not cut fully so it unrolled as I grabbed a piece (unsharp knife or warm rice that sat on seaweed too long). $38 total. The Location. It's on the main strip in Sierra Vista. The Service. As stated by most reviewers, the owner and staff were warm and communicative. It was Friday night, it was packed, and I had to wait 15 mins to be seated. I am accustomed to clearing plates as we eat. At Tanuki, it appears as if plates are cleared after you finish with everything. Overall. If I am ever craving sushi again when I am in Sierra Vista, I might try it again but I would make some additions and subtractions to the rolls I order.

Great atmosphere and food. Family run.

We came here for my best friend's bday dinner and we were NOT disappointed! They have great sushi and the service is very personable. The owner talked with us for quite awhile and is a very sweet lady! If you're looking for great sushi, I'd definitely recommend Tanuki's!

Unique and friendly place. Great food.

Love this place! They have excellent green tea and excellent food. They never disappoint. The owner is so friendly. She regularly checks on her patrons to make sure everything is excellent.

Place could use a major update, staff is nice but clueless about Japanese fare. The hibachi guys are undertrained and not very entertaining.

I will miss this restaurant. They made being away from home not as hard. The employeea are beyond kind

Excellent food,great service and attention.

We love going to Tanuki. We have eaten there several times. Service is always friendly. We especially enjoy the sushi rolls (although we do wish we could order sushi to go). They have delicious food and the Las Vegas roll is my favorite. The miso soup is always comforting and delicious as well.

We eat here whenever it's my turn to pick. The food is always excellent, fresh fish and crisp greens, I can't comment on the entrees because I always get Too Much sushi and never regret it.

Delicious authentic japanese food! Everyone at my table was satisfied with their orders! I highly recomend the currie chicken

Always a pleasure to eat here and love to spend time with Maggie! Great food and customer service!

Good Japanese restaurant here in Sierra Vista. I was surprised by the variety of sushi available. I ordered the spicy chicken yakisoba which was quite good. Entrees come with a choice of either soup or salad. The restaurant owner was very accommodating to our large party of 9, and the staff were very attentive. Highly recommended!

Good sushi, no fountain sodas(big deal to me). I like it but, I would go more often if they had fountain soda instead of cans.

A favorite of ours since 2000! Maggie and staff are the best.

The family and I went to Tanuki for a special occasion and we were more than impressed with the experience. Our favorite place now!

Second Update! I called to see if they were back to handling take out. Yes ... But not really. Tanuki SUSHI does not provide takeout sushi! Very disappointed with tanuki sushi. This is an update to the glowing review below. They no longer accept take-out orders. They don't answer the phone - it goes through to their fax machine - and if you go by, the word is they're too busy to take a to-go order. But Google still shows them as a take-out option. I think this is a classic case of being ruined by success. I don't expect they'll be around much longer. That's sad because the only other alternative, Hana Tokyo, is truly bad by comparison. Best sushi in Sierra Vista, hands down. The conscientious owner supervises everything that comes out of the kitchen and from the sushi chefs. It's a shame they have cut back the hours and only serve at lunch, but this is because the owner/manager wants to take some time for herself and refuses to let anyone watch over her place but her! Great place. I hope they are always open.

Very delicious and great service!

Outstanding! Super friendly staff, especially the proprietors of the establishment. The misses greeted my man friend and I warmly and was very friendly and made us feel very welcome. She "treated" us to a mix seaweed/seafood salad which honestly was bomb AF and the best part of my meal. I saved most of it to eat along with my "chef's choice plate" also absolutely outstanding! If I lived in Sierra Vista I would visit this place regularly but since I was only here for a short time I was sorry I didn't discover this place sooner during my visit so I could eat here multiple times. I will definitely be back when I come back and encourage anyone reading my review to give it a try!

The food is amazing. Easily the best sushi in town. However they almost always don't do sushi to go

Love going to Tanuki. Michiko-san and her staff are always friendly. Jun-san's sushi never disappoints.

Food was fantastic! Had pork fried rice to go. Was dissappointed I couldnt order sushi to go. Guy that took my order was very nice...but the sushi chef rudely told me no Sushi to go...before I even asked. All in all the place was great!

We visited TANUKI on a busy Saturday evening with a Sierra Vista, transplanted New Yorker, who raved about the service and the food. Maggie, the owner greeted us and made us feel welcome. The ambience was eclectic with an Asian flair. Service, friendly, although our meal came out when our table, mates were finished with their food. Hot sake served perfectly warmed, and the cold sake was, yes chilled and crisp. I especially appreciated the complementary pre-dinner salad. The seaweed salad and pickled cucumber provided the perfect umami for the meal to follow. Thank you Maggie. These small gestures are what keeps me returning to restaurants. The salmon and “yellow tail”, in quotes, because I truly do not know the genus of this fish, were sweet, briny and smooth. The taste one craves when desiring sushi. Tuna was bland and lackluster. Identified by color, not taste. I enjoyed the miso soup with fresh crunchy garnish of scallions. Portions were ample although presentation was a bit, might I say sloppy and uninspired. This honest and balanced review would not discourage me from returning when I crave sushi while and Sierra Vista and yes I would return hey, maybe I will write another review if I have a different experience.

Tanuki is Sierra Vista's best sushi. They have a gem in this little town. 😍. We ordered the Sushi Boat and it was plenty satisfying for 4 adults. The owner is adorable. We love her the most❤️!! This experience is worth ✨️ every sacrifice.

Quite simply, not anything that I would ever rush back to

I had a takeout order upon arrival I paid for my order and talk to the Owner Maggie and then I picked up my order and left... We were all completely satisfied with our meals ~ especially my mom who kept saying it was delicious ~ she is 97 years old 🙂👍

One of our all time favorite places for Sushi. The sushi is fresh and delicious and the staff there are always friendly.

Long time customers and owners always remember us! Sushi and everything is always fresh and yummy!

Very good food, interesting decor.

A hidden gem and I feel very lucky I stumbled upon this place. Delicious food fantastic atmosphere 👏👏👏👏👏

My wife and I visited here tonight because of the rave reviews. It indeed has a cluttered environment with everything from the Millennium Falcon to Shinto Shrines and the Battleship Arizona. However, the Sushi is spectacular at a reasonable price with huge portions. The staff is friendly and the place was packed 45 minutes after opening. Definitely going back.

What an amazing surprise! Coming from Hawaii and accustomed to excellent sushi, we did not expect great sushi in Arizona. But we were very pleasantly surprised and had a very authentic sashimi and sushi experience! Do not hesitate to try Tanuki Sushi!

Was great. The sushi was fresh. The owner was there and visited every table. We ate sushi that melted in your mouth.

My family and I love going to tanuki! The owner is the nicest person ever and always present when we go. She always gives the kids a little treat and makes our whole family feel so welcome. Being Japanese, it's hard to find comfort food for me in SV, so whenever I don't feel like cooking, my husband and I grab tempura soba and it fulfills the craving. The food is made with a lot more "love" than other places in town where you can get Japanese food and is so much more personal. We will continue being regulars.

One of the best Japanese restaurants I've been to! The environment and the food are very authentic. The staff was great and very friendly, whilst the food was served in a very timely manner. I love this spot and speaking Japanese with the staff!

Owners are tired and burned out. They don't want to work. They always say they're out of sushi when the case is full. They say they're closed at 715 instead of 8. And in the past they would make me wait while to go orders went in front of me. Now they won't even do to go orders. I'm done here and was a one a week customer.

We stopped in to order take out for a date night. Upon entering, we were quickly told that they weren't allowing anyone to get sushi togo, which was the main basis of this restaurant's appeal. So we settled for some tempora & chicken teriyaki, sat by the door, and waited. They did not call our name when the order was up, just said "HEY" once and when we didn't answer because we were assuming they would call our name, the owner *I'm assuming* came over to give us our food and was incredibly rude saying that they, "called [our] name 10 times but [we] weren't paying attention." Mind you, this is a small space, packed with people, including frantic staff, and - again - we were listening for our name instead of a random should of "HEY" that could have been directed toward anyone. The food was subpar; the tempora had so much batter that it wasn't fried completely and the chicken was extremely dry. Paired with the lack of customer service and rudeness of the owner, I am being generous giving this establishment a 2/5 stars. We have just moved to this city and although we have been recommended by countless coworkers to try the sushi, we will not be giving our business to this restaurant.

My husband and I went here a few months back. I had gone once before with a friend and enjoyed the food, although I was less than impressed with the decor and ambiance. During our evening out, we thought we would give it another try. While the food was amazing, it was overshadowed by the lackluster environment and rude owners. There is an amazingly cluttered collection of knick knacks strewn everywhere covered in dust. The owner and his wife stopped by our table to drop off food and looked down their noses at the amount of food that we ordered. We ordered more then we could eat, wanting leftovers to take home for the kids and a midnight snack. After that experience, we won't be back.

Great food. Love the Las Vegas roll. The staff is awesome! 👍 Eel sauce is yummy! 😋

Maybe I will change the rating when I get a chance to try this place out. First time I came, no acknowledgement and it was busy so I left. Today, it says open at 430 and no one is there and no sign on the door.

Great food and great service...Ms Maggie and Mr Jun (sushi chef) are the best host.

I was on keto because I'm fat and I ordered a chicken bowl but it had boiled chicken and I was angry because I'm fat and wanted baked chicken. I've also had their other offerings and I don't believe they are that tasty.

Family owned restaurant with fantastic food and amazing waitstaff.

Best spicy tuna roll in the state.

Very good spot with healthy options, great sushi, and very friendly staff

Very good service! The king crab roll was not that great...had a weird flavor, but all other sushi was EXTREMELY tasty!

Been eating here for over 10 years and never had a bad meal. Love going there.

Delicious food, friendly people. Made us feel welcome.

Complete waste of an hour. Stood around for 15-20 minutes before anybody took the time to address me. Was really taken back by the "owner?" when she told me not to order too much sushi because there were a lot of customers and they were running low on supplies. I was shuffled between 4 tables as "not to get in their way". After waiting for almost 1 hour for 6 pieces of sushi, I left. 一事が万事

Where can you go that you can show the proprietor a picture of a dish that not on the menu and they go make it and bring it out to you? You guessed it....Tanuki. Great people. Delicious food. Eclectic menagerie of Japanese keepsakes. And your meal isn't complete until the sushi chef comes to your table for a chat.

This place has amazing food and amazing customer service, love it!

Amazing food! Maggie & her team are the epitome of hospitality ❤ truly a little hidden treasure in our town.

Delicious food and great atmosphere.

Delicious food and amazing service, highly reccomend as a nice little splurge!!!

This is a challenging review. On one hand, the sushi is really good. On the other hand, I can't ever get through to order it. Several weeks ago when I called, I was rudely hung-up on. Since then, I can't even get that much as their phone rings and ends in a fax tone. I even went to the place in person to order to-go and was turned away with a "no sushi." When I warned people coming in after me that the restaurant was apparently out of sushi, she ran outside to say "No sushi for takeout, only for dine-in." What's the difference?

The ONLY place to go for sushi in Sierra Vista.

We visited this restaurant on a week night. Be sure to get to this restaurant well before the 8 p.m. closing time; we were turned away a few days before when we arrived around 8 p.m. on a Saturday night. The food is very good Japanese cuisine, especially considering that it is located in Sierra Vista and far from the ocean and fresh seafood. I had the sushi / tempura combination and my partner selected a combination of sushi from the sushi bar. The sushi arrived right away, just after we finished our salads. The sushi was very fresh and tasty, but not wrapped in the nori very professionally…some of the pieces fell apart when you picked them up off of the serving plate. My tempura did not arrive for some time, and after inquiring from the server, discovered that the order was not submitted to the kitchen. However, when the tempura was served, it was hot and delicious. The tempura platter was quite generous, with several varieties of vegetable and 2 large prawns. I couldn’t finish it all. Service was pretty good. They had at least one new employee that they were training, and the bus boy was learning on the job. We chalk this up to post-Covid staffing issues, and service should improve as 2022 progresses. We recommend this restaurant if you enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine.

Great quality sushi/food and excellent service!

Food is always fresh and the service is always great.

Totally my new favorite place in Sierra Vista - sure, the food is on the pricier side, but it's absolutely delicious and the staff is super nice. We had such a nice evening sitting there, enjoying the food, atmosphere, décor, chatting with the staff... Hopefully coming back as soon as possible!

Excelente Service, good sushi, family Business owned by a Japanese couple. Hidden jewel in the region, don’t miss it!

Food was great as usual!! Great date night, thanks Maggie!!!!

The food was authentic and the staff were kind. Prices were fair, especially when you consider how far the fish had to travel. The owner was present and explained he was from Japan originally. That all said, I wasn’t wowed by the sushi. It was good but not great. I felt it had too much rice which detracted from the flavor. I loved the atmosphere and would still go back.

The best and most delicious Japanese food and sushi I have eaten since leaving Japan! A little on the upscale price, but well worth every bite! Definitely a weekly visit from now on. Downside is they don't do lunch currently. Update - 11/21/2021: Still the best...took the whole family including the in-laws to dinner. Got plenty of food at a great price. We even had leftovers! Thank you so much for everything. We love it here. Never change!

greatest experience eating at, what i call most authentic japanese restuarant of all time. Owners are very sweet people staff is really nice, sushi made by a master i highly reccommend people stop and eat here. ABSOLUTYLY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.

My husband and I love sushi and tend to be snobs when it comes to a great roll. We absolutely LOVE Tanuki! Highly recommend their unagi (eel) roll. The staff is so friendly and Miss Maggie always makes us laugh. The sushi is high quality. We've never had any issues with a roll falling apart or not being stuffed enough. It does take a little time to get your meal, but that's what happens when you are getting great food ☺️ Don't forget to pair your meal with some warm saki!

Fresh rolls, friendly staff. Grateful to have them here in SV!!

Sushi was really good, but the options are limited

Every time we come to town we visit Miss Maggie at Tanuki Sushi! I have a soy allergy and she makes me a special rendition of her seaweed salad…scrumptious! Not as fancy as some places but very fresh and always fabulous! Worth the visit!

Love this place! Great people, awesome food and wonderful service!!

This place was everything my boyfriend's said it would be. Absolutely incredible.

Best place in town by far. Friendly staff and great food. Highly recommend.

Love the staff, Ms Maggie is just awesome, Sushi is always amazing, tempura ... just all together a great place to eat

They have the best Sushi in Sierra!!! Great food for great prices. The portions are awesome size and the vegetable tempura was out of this world fantastic!!! We just discovered this place and so glad we did.

I had the Katsu Donburi. I thought the pork was tasteless. Also, it came with a lot of steam rice, which made me think it was cheap rice. My spouse had the giozas, tempura veggies and miso soup. The miso soup was really good. I did not care for anything else. I feel like we paid $40 for mostly steam rice (I say that because beside the rice in my meal, we also got a large side of steam rice and don't know which meal it came with, but we ended up tossing it). However, I appreciate this place being here to bring us food variety and a taste of Japan. Thanks!

Definitely make a reservation beforehand

Very delicious sushi, the owner is very friendly ,she talk to the customers to see if everything is okay, small place, but very enjoyable.😍💯👍

The best Japanese Restraint I have ever had and been to a number of them