Orlando, a bustling city nestled in the heart of the Florida peninsula. Home to world-class dinner shows, theme parks, resort and…sushi? Popular opinion would find it completely bizarre that a landlocked city would have a stunning array of good sushi options, but being the most popular tourist destination in the world leads to some interesting side effects. Good sushi, thankfully, happens to be one of them. What follows is, of course, not a complete list of savory sushi spots, but it does offer a wide variance of price points and a lot of fun for those who would dine at these establishments.
Kimonos
Kimonos is a sushi restaurant placed at the base level of the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. If you frequent Walt Disney World, you may have heard of this amusing hideaway hosting heavenly bites of sashimi. If not, buckle up. First and foremost, Kimonos serves ridiculously good sushi. Whether it be rolls, nigiri, or sashimi, the format doesn’t affect the quality or the variety. The small plates here, however, can be even more rewarding. Kimchee salad with octopus, squid salad with mushrooms, cod katsu with miso braised daikon, softshell crab with yuzu ponzu…The list goes on, every item more immersive than the last. It’s a menu straight out of any dingy izakaya, gussied-up, but never appearing presumptuous. Perhaps most importantly, Kimonos is open from 5:30pm to midnight, making it a great late-night locale for sustenance, revelry and – to both the celebration and irritation of loyal patrons – karaoke.
Sushi Pop
Sushi Pop is an oddity. Everything about its appearance – the sleek, futuristic font of the façade, the posh interior, the low-lounging, white leather couches – screams “terrible fusion restaurant.” And yet, Sushi Pop is, surprisingly, great. It’s not entirely traditional: the nigiri menu features scallops with lemongrass xo sauce and blowtorched squid with fennel fronds, but the small diversions usually make sense. The specials menu consistently boasts impressive selections as well, with chirashi bowls and nigiri boxes built with seafood assortments flown in from legendary Tsukiji fish market, the largest of its kind in the world. While its appearance may be misleading, Sushi Pop makes it its mission to preserve honest sushi service, while still having a little fun.
Sushi Kichi
This quiet, unobtrusive outpost is located in a shopping center near SeaWorld Orlando, easily accommodating any visitor touring the area. It’s fairly unassuming: a sushi counter barricades the right half of the establishment, a few tables are squeezed into what’s left of the floor space, and the walls are left mostly barren. Don’t let the meek arrangement mislead you. Sushi Kichi packs a mighty punch into its small space. The star of the raw menu may very well be the Donburi, bowls of sushi rice cloaked in fresh seafood, with options ranging from the Aburi Salmon Don (torched salmon with avocado and salmon roe) to Negi-Maguro Don (a monumental marriage of flavors with lean tuna, scallions and sesame all dancing in fervorous harmony.) It’s an incredible, yet simple, meal, and that’s just the raw menu. Sushi Kichi prepares a Katsu Curry (fried pork cutlet in a Japanese curry) that will knock your socks clear across the room. There’s grilled squid, agedashi tofu, karaage (fried chicken with ginger sauce), and the best takoyaki the author of this article has ever had outside of Osaka. Sushi Kichi is worth your time and attention.
Kadence
Located in a black box on the side of the road in Winter Park, Kadence is a nine-seat sushi and sake bar. This restaurant is not for the faint of heart or the casual sushi carnivore. This is an experience. We’re talking an 18+ course meal. It’s omakase, meaning the menu for the evening is pretty much decided by the chefs. It’s also kaiseki to a degree, at least in principle, meaning all dishes are of utmost freshness, plated with devotion to a narrative, and offers are married to seasonal change. It’s a thoughtful meal, one which you’ll rarely see recreated outside of Japan or flagship cities in America. The chefs at Kadence aren’t leaving quality up to coincidence either. They source their fish from the best possible locations. Any meal here can find you savoring Maguro procured from Tsukiji in Tokyo or Uni flown in straight from Hokkaido. Kadence, in concept and service, is operating in another atmosphere. If you can’t get reservations to their dinner events, don’t fret. They frequently have open seating for their Izakaya Wednesdays, evenings which feature a tempered menu of delectable small bites and sake tastings that will leave you desperately professing “Oishi!” (Delicious.)
| 
