Ponzu Sushi & Grill (Aksarben-Omaha)

Located adjacent to the Aksarben Cinema in Aksarben Village, Ponzu Sushi & Grill (2110 S 67th Street, Omaha) has been described as a “nouveau American fish house, combining cutting edge food with contemporary architecture. With a wide variety of sushi, a full grill menu and a full service bar Ponzu has something for everyone in your group. Happy Hour is everyday from 3pm to 6pm with a reverse Happy Hour Friday and Saturday from 9pm to close. Chose from various discounted grill items (like black pepper calamari or kobe beef sliders), $5 and $8 sushi rolls, $5.50 specialty cocktails and various other drinks such as $5 Big Saporro’s and $4.50 house wines.

I immediately liked the exterior and interior of Ponzu. Lots of clean lines makes this place appear modern and “cool” while still allowing enough space for large groups. Service was great for the duration of our stay and the waitress was super helpful and inviting. Our drinks were prepared quickly and the grill and sushi items arrived hot and fresh respectively. Happy Hour is also open to the whole restaurant which is a plus if you have a larger group that wouldn’t be able to be accommodated at the bar. A great place to stop before or after a movie at Aksarben Cinema (which was the idea in the first place I’m sure).

I sampled the $5.50 Stormy Ginger which includes both rum and ginger ale. This drink was super refreshing and the rum matched all three of the items I ordered surprisingly well. I’ve never thought of rum as a particular pair for sushi but the Stormy Ginger proved me wrong.

My first dish to arrive was the Kamakazee Shrimp ($6: breaded and tossed in sambal aioli). The presentation was nice and the shrimp were hot and crispy. The aioli was very good although I wish it had a bit more kick to it. They lasted well, not getting soggy throughout the night and still tasting great after they had gotten a bit cold. Two or three lasted until the next day and passed the microwave test, not getting soggy or hard after a few seconds heating up.

I also tried some of my friend’s Pork Potstickers ($6: fried served with sweet & spicy ponzu). I enjoyed that the wrappers they used weren’t too thick, ensuring the potstickers weren’t too tough. The filling was nice, would have liked a bit more flavor. The sauce that accompanied was ok, but I went without it on most of them.

For sushi I tried the Crazy Crab roll ($5: spicy crab, avocado, rolled in panko, topped with unagi sauce). These rolls were super fresh and you get 8 pieces so well worth the $5 price tag. Was surprised it wasn't a bit more spicy, but was also glad that they didn’t put in huge chunks of avocado, overpowering everything. Definitely some of the best sushi I’ve had in a while (which ended in me drunkenly eating it cold later).

Ponzu gets 5 smiles. I immediately wanted to return the next day and will definitely explore some of their rolls not on special during HH (I tried my friend’s Jammin Salmon and may be an Itchy Salmon convert). Great vibes and atmosphere here and quality food and drink. Plus with its prime location in Aksarben Village, it wasn’t jammed packed (although it was 10pm on Valentine’s Day when I checked it out lol).