Tamaya Sushi Bar & Grill

I'm not a sushi connoisseur, but I do love Tamaya's cooked sushi rolls. If you are a sauce lover, you will enjoy the Tamaya Roll. Traditional hand rolls are decent, but not exceptional. As for the decor--I'm not sure what the objective was, but to me it looks like this was intended to be a trendy/upscale project and sort of achieved the look but not quite? Nonetheless, it is a comfortable, contemporary atmosphere. For a Japanese restaurant, service is pretty fast. We've had one waiter multiple times and he always remembers us, which is nice. Prices are comparable to Taro's at Arden.

The service was friendly, though not as prompt as I feel it should have been given the number of other diners, (or rather, the lack-there-of). The food was served hot, and I must say I really enjoyed my Tempura, and sake. I didn’t visit the bar, but it looks like a place I will have to come back to on a Saturday night!

I had not been to Tamaya in a few years and my recent 2nd Saturday visit put it squarely back on my sushi in Sacramento radar. The service was good and the rolls came promptly. However, the real show stopper was the Popeye roll. A veggie delight! I wouldn't say their fried veggie selection were the "healthiest" of rolls, but there was a great selection and the Popeye was great! Still not crazy about the multiple televisions in the interior … its not a sports bar … but if you can get a table away from them (unless you want to watch) they aren't too invasive.

If you ask my 7 year old where he'd like to go for dinner, it's always an enthusiastic "Tamaya Sushi"!  Perhaps it's the hands-on novelty of the miso soup, edamame, tempura, and our favorite rolls (grasshopper and caterpillar), but it's the one place where he's quite content to focus on his food and stay in his chair.  Service is always friendly and efficient here and they're quick to provide us with the rubber-band, kid-friendly chopsticks.  They're great for take-out as well, but dining in is definitely better.

Very friendly staff that’s big on getting to know you and operate via first name basis! They’re also very accommodating with special menu requests and graciously accept coupons that might not specifically match what you ordered. Great, fresh-tasting food virtually every time. While it’s not my favorite atmosphere in the world, it’s certainly nice enough. And the addition of the adjoining bar is a fun touch. My out-of-town relatives are hooked on this place so I welcome their visits even more! 

By Aaris A. Schroeder


Tamaya Sushi is the perfect place to bring your group of friends, not only can you order off their massive sushi roll list but you can participate in sake bombs.  The tradition holds that you hold your sake shot carefully above your glass or let it teeter on two chopsticks then pull the chopsticks out from under the shot of sake.  The shot drops and you then must down your beverage as fast as possible – whoever is last looses.

The servers and bartenders seem to have as much fun as the patrons and are very good at helping to pick out rolls.  When my friends and I attended, there were about seven of us so we picked out a few sushi roll plates and shared everything.  Ordered a couple pitchers of beer and sake.  The ambience of Tamaya is worth checking out.