Minato Japanese Restaurant
770-432-6012Our Website
2697 Spring Rd SE. | , Smyrna, GA 30080
Unpretentious sushi house serving both familiar & creative rolls at a shopping center.
Our Website
2697 Spring Rd SE. | , Smyrna, GA 30080
Our Website
2697 Spring Rd SE. | , Smyrna, GA 30080
Customer Reviews
This is by far one of my favorite sushi places I’ve been to besides on in Hawaii. The decor is really inviting. Visually, the people that work there look like they know what they are doing, and are very friendly and host well.
As far as the food goes, I was less impressed by the quality (which was top notch), but the care given to the presentation. Things were not slathered with over-compensating sauces, but instead lightly complimented. For example, the mackerel. I’m not a huge fan of it, but I saw the pieces and they looked very good so I decided to give it another go. That tiny sliver of lemon on top really set it off, and now it’s my favorite.
The pieces of fish were not overloaded with huge things of rice, instead, the rice was nice and small, and just there to compliment the meat. Wonderful.
The waiter, after we ordered some sake, came over with small slices of cucumber and told me to float them in the sake. I’ve never tried that before but it really set it off.
At first the prices may seem a bit more expensive, but generally it was 2 pieces that came with the order, and they were LARGE pieces.
Finally, I don’t normally do rolls, but make the last thing you order “The Last Roll”. It is amazing.
My only complaint is they aren’t open on sundays!
This will be our new go-to sushi spot from this point on.
Reviewed by Ian G. on 8/2014, courtesy of GoolgeAn unexpected surprise. We went there as an experiment and aren’t we glad we did. The space was great and when the weather warms, the outside space will be very enticing. And I like that it’s off the square and a little quieter.
The food was impressive. And as a largely vegetarian eater, I found a ton of wonderful choices for me on the menu. The best part was sitting in the back of the restaurant and watch the team work the pass. What attention to detail the crew had to making sure that everything that went out to diners looked and tasted amazing.
Loved to see that kind of passion in the food they served. The sign of a truly great restaurant.
Reviewed by George Z. on 12/2015, courtesy of GoogleI absolutely LOVE this place. On my first visit, I could tell I was surrounded by regulars. On my second visit, they remembered my order. On my third visit, I felt like a regular myself. This is saying a lot since I live in Denver and my visits have many weeks in between. I swear next time I will branch out but I’ve been stuck on their tekkadon bowl overflowing with huge slices of fresh tuna. It comes with delicious miso soup and salad with a fresh ginger dressing that I just about lick out of the bowl.
All three visits, I’ve sat at the sushi bar and have been brought little samples of seared albacore, spicy tuna tartare and something else I’m forgetting (because they know much I like tuna, ha ha). It’s just a very comfortable, friendly place with affordable sushi that I look forward to on my work trips to Atlanta.
Reviewed by Kate G. on 6/2015, courtesy of GoogleYou can find Minato Japanese Restaurant near the intersection of Cumberland Blvd and Spring Rd, just Northwest of the Perimeter. This terrific restaurant is very under-the-radar, mostly due to its difficult-to-find location – it’s in the basement of a short shopping center that holds Papa Johns Pizza, with access from the back (you drive around the side to see a bright red sign, the business extends to form an inviting entry.
I was led to Minato via my friends and neighbors, Adrienne and Lin, who raved about this place. Honestly, I don’t get to this area very often so the last cuisine I would be looking for in Smyrna is sushi – rather I would eat at Swapna or Sri Krisha Vilas for moderately good Indian. Lucky for me that they were persistent as I found some of the best sushi I’ve had in Atlanta in this tucked-away corner of the world.
Minato takes itself seriously as a Japanese restaurant, outwardly by the Japanese entryway and inwardly through the use of stone as a natural material and the use of the grotto-like sunkin dining area, complete with fountain and plantings to provide a wabi sabi dinner setting. We of course sat at the sushi bar because that’s what we were here for – it’s all about the sushi. I could have forwent the flat panel TV above the bar, but understand why it’s there – from one end it wasn’t too obnoxious so we effectively ignored it to focus on the food.
The menu is your typical list of available common catch and an accompanying stand-up with both sides covered by rolls – I didn’t see anything too unusual there. First a bit about my philosophy when it comes to sushi – for me it’s all about the quality of the rice and the freshness and portions of the fish. Yeah I know it’s a modern trend to have all sorts of funky rolls, made with progressively maddening ingredients, but those types of flavor combinations are fleeting at best. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats extremely fresh fish when it comes to sushi, and Minato has that in spades. I rate the fish quality here as equivalent to my other two favorite sushi restaurants, Nakato and Sushi House Hayakawa. The fish here is just exceptional. That’s not to say that all other sushi restaurants suck, it’s just a “you get what you pay for” type thing. I’m perfectly happy at Nori Nori, for instance, as a buffet with cheap fish and rolls it can’t be beat – however at Minato you get that rare combination of superior quality combined with moderate pricing. This same fish would be one-and-a-half to two times more expensive elsewhere.
I won’t evaluate everything we had when it comes to the sushi – take a look at my photos and you’ll get all the answers you need – but will highlight a few things – we also ordered the himachi jaw/cheek – I’ve never understood why this great piece of fish is treated so poorly by Americans. Lucky for us that Minato saves some from the cat-food bins (which is what happens to most of it) to serve it up as a delicious grilled entree. Next, try the cowboy and cowgirl hats (the first is a fried scallop-over-crab-salad on a rice wafer, the second is a mix of spicy tuna and salmon on a rice wafer) – they aren’t on the menu but worth giving a whirl. Whatever you do, save your meal for the fish – anything you get here will be way above average and delicious.
The service was very good, as is typical of sitting at the sushi bar and I enjoyed the chef quite a bit. Add in a little beer and you’re in for a fantastic time.
Reviewed by John E. on 7/2015, courtesy of YelpAbsolute, hands down, best sushi in Atlanta.
Reviewed by Brian P. on 6/2014, courtesy of GoogleI have been going to Minato for over 20 years and this is by far my favorite sushi bar. I travel quite a bit for work and have the opportunity to try various sushi bars in the cities I travel to and none compare to Minato. the quality of the food, the various varieties and concoctions they come up with, and best of all is the people there.
Truly an outstanding place !
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