Zen 32 Sushi & Grille

The food is surprisingly good. It was crowded on a weekend evening, but the energy was great. The tempura, miso, sushi, you name it, was all...

I love sushi, and this is one of my favorite places to eat it. They have a great menu of all the basics, and then a changing menu of some v...

I love sushi and this place delivers! Great tasting fish, and lots of yummy rolls to choose from. You will never get bored eating at this pl...

I found this place by chance, about a year ago.. It was a Sunday evening around 10pm, and me being the Foodie that I am, was CRAVING Sushi.. So I browsed around online NOT thinking I was going to find ANYTHING Open (Especially a Sushi Restaurant) and WHA-LA.. There SHE was.. ZEN 32.. Open til 2am everyday, and Serves Sushi Till Midnight!!! How Can you beat that?? My boyfriend and I zoomed over, and was amazed how delicious there food was!! I haven't found a place like this in Phoenix Az.. Not too mention Being OPEN until 2am.. This is defiantly one of the best over all Sushi Restaurant I've found. A real 5 Star :o) They have a great Sushi menu, as well as The Regular menu.. FYI Order The Vegetable Tempera; Just Delicious :o) Needless to say, I am a frequent customer of Zen 32!! I highly recommend it, for all those late night eaters.. Or Sushi Buffs!! ENJOY..

I came alone on a monday night. It was busy but not so much that there was a wait. I sat on the patio. Ordered the baby octopus salad, unagi nigiri, yellowtail sashimi and a glass of plum wine. They also give you a very nice cucumber salad as a starter. All the fish was very fresh and flavorful, the portion sizes were good, perhaps even a bit large since I took most of the octupus and a couple pieces of sashimi home for late night snacking. The plum wine was excellent, not overly sweet like it can sometimes be. They played a little background japanese music which was nice and not distracting. I appreciated that since I was alone and reading while I ate. The only complaint I have is that it is a tad pricey, but not overly so given the large portions and the outstanding quality. They had a pretty good variety, though a few more sashimi combo offerings would be nice as would chirashi. Service was good, they were attentive (some places ignore single diners or are downright rude) ... Read more

We visited Zen 32 during the day time on a Friday. The menu was not too extensive.... look, it's not a fancy schmancy place with oodles of choices and they don't provide hot towels and kiss your derriere - however, it's a good place to get your sushi fix. Our waiter was very cool and they were willing to create whatever we wanted - even if it was not on the menu! Yes the chefs were not oriental yet they prepared the most delicious Philadelphia Roll (Tempura style) I have ever had in my life! The rest of the food we ordered was delicious and well prepared also. I will definitely go back if I find myself in that part of Phoenix, AZ again. Based on my experience I would feel confident recommending it to any one with the exception of tight -wads who only eat sushi prepared by orientals.

I have been to Zen32 many times, and although I admit the sushi is not the best there is, I really don't think the quality of the restaurant depends on what nationality the "chefs" (like you all quote it) are. i think the food is great and the enviroment even more. If you want "real" chefs, then don't complaint about the price. FYI, the chefs might be ESL but sushi is sushi!

Was told 15 minutes for a take out order - waited 45 minutes. Waitress let manager know I was upset and came back and told me we gave you a 10% discount. ($2.50) I asked for the manager and let her know I would have prefered an appology over a $2.50 discount any day of the week. That is a terrible way to handle an upset customer. Whats even worse is after I told the manager that she had just insulted me with a $2.50 off of my order, she still just did not get it. What a complete and utter idiot. Tip for you managers - when a customer is upset - deal with it yourself - dont send your waitress back with a lousy offer of $2.50 - this is not "Lets Dake a Deal"

As I read through the reviews I could not help but agree with all the reviews. It seems that everytime I take my business to Zen32, I walk away with a different impression. I strongly believe your experience depends on who your SERVER happens to be. This last time I went, it was a horrible experience edging on discrimination. I can't figure out that place, but when the service is good, the experience is wonderful. There is only one server that does a very good job, at least one that comes to mind!

This sushi restaurant is amazing and upper class. It is very nice and quite expensive. It is located in a great area, on the edge of the bil...

I give Zen 32 100 thumbs down for mediocre sushi, nasty servers, ESL sushi "chefs", tiny rolls and being a place to only "meet N greet" and not eat. If you want to be "trendy" and say you ate sushi, then go to Zen. If you want to eat delicious sushi, go to Mr. Sushi on I-17 and Northern, Kampai on 28th Street and Bell, and believe me I can list more where there are REAL Japanese sushi chefs!! Nothing scares me when I see not a single asian person working or eating at an asian restaurant. Give me a break. This place is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.. go eat real sushi and then eat at Zen's and believe me you will not return except maybe to find a one night stand!

after sitting at the sushi bar and meeting the "sushi chefs" I got up and walked out for fear of finding an empanada roll on the menu. You don't go to Fresno to ski in the Alps.

This is by far the best sushi experience I have had in Phoenix. I love being able to sit outside on the patio. Amazing spicy scallops and I love the cucumber salad. Great martinis and deserts!! I lived in Phoenix for 8 years and whenever anyone came to visit, I made it a point to take them here. It's the one place I never miss when I go back to Arizona.

I usually frequent Sushi Brokers in Scottsdale and decided to try something different. I like several people had heard good things about Zen 32 and decided to give it a try. I will not be back, the sushi happy hour menu was disgustingly small (about 15 or so items, Sushi Brokers has 40+ items on their happy hour menu) The place was very loud, our server was rude and indifferent, and the sushi was not anything special.

It is very rare that my husband and I dine out in Phoenix, but we were told that Zen 32 was an amazing sushi restaurant hidden in the ritzy Biltmore area. Of course, it was the day after the New Year and we decided to stop in. There were not that many people dining, yet no one was there to greet us. The manager(I think only because he was wearing a tie) stood by the computers and did not say a word to us. Finally Brady took us to the Sushi bar. We were greeted promtly by both the server and our chef. He was the only american chef! Again, all mexican chefs! Our food was great (with our chef's witty creations as well). Our server was not very helpful,some what rude and seemed more interested in talking to other servers. We had many questions and neither our server nor a manager came by to ask us how we were doing. The bar was a complete difference. Great music, amazing bartenders and really cool martinis.

There's nothing that makes Zen 32 stand out in my mind, but it is consistently good sushi, which makes it one of the top sushi restaurants in AZ for me. Plus it's in a convenient location and has a great gelato shop right across the parking lot. I recommend both lunch and dinner here if you live or work in the area.

I went into Zen 32 tonight hearing all these wonderful things about the place. Tonight was probably one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had! We waited a good hour and 15 minutes for our sushi and then when we received it, it was sloppy. To make matters worse they forgot to order our food from the kitchen and the management did nothing. I believe the owner Lenny was also there at the time and he never came by to apologize. I don't know how this place still exists. The restaurant was in complete chaos. If you actually want to enjoy a meal I would suggest NEVER EVER going to this restaurant.

more of a trendy spot for drinking than it is known for its food. i cant seem to find a good sushi restaurant in phx.

In Short The high-style, black-and-bamboo interior makes a chic party setting for couples, groups out on the town and neighborhood regulars. At the rear, the separate Zen Bar features hip recorded music in a lounge setting with a large projection of silent anime. Sushi shines, especially the freshwater eel with caramelized sweet sauce and a mild caterpillar roll.

Based on the mixed reviews, I was hesitant to try this place. Perhaps Zen 32 paid attn to the comments. I ordered the caterpillar roll, salmon and scallop nigiri and a seaweed salad; I thought that the sushi was great in terms of freshness and flavor. The wasabi was potent & pungent as it should be, and the pickeled ginger crisp. The grp next to me said their sushi rolls and nigiri were excellent. I can't review the wait staff as I sat at the bar and ordered only sushi. As such my sushi arrived at well-paced intervals as the sushi chef subtley paid attn; it could be different if you're at table or in the patio. It's loud inside, with a trendy hipster clientele for a Wed night.

I stumbled upon Zen's happy hour by mistake. Now my friends and I are addicted. Where else can you get FREE sushi and appetizers and $6 top shelf martinis? This is a great place to go if you are on a budget. The french vanilla martini is awesome.

The ambiance is very high energy. Great food, great people, great music, great fun!

The erver was nice, but she got our order completely wrong. The sushi took so long that we started devouring it before we realized that the order was messed up. Very dark and loud inside, and it was too chilly to eat outdoors, unfortunately. Sushi was bland, and some of it had a distinct almost "chlorine-y" flavor I could not identify. Two people at the table ordered off the other menu (chicken teryaki, etc.,) and said it was decent. We travel to Phoenix twice per year and chose this place simply because it was close to our hotel. We won't be going back-not impressed. However, there is an interesting looking gelato place across the parking lot that we'll check out in the future!

I was really looking foreward to my visit by the reviews I had seen for Zen32. What a letdown! Mexican chefs? This is amature sushi! Imitation crab! What?

A bit trendy, but the sushi is worth the trip all by itself. And they are OPEN LATE, serving sushi as late as midnight 7 days a week. A good restaurant is hard to find in Phoenix if you are traveler, just looking for a nice dinner - this place fits the bill if you like sushi.

My wife is a HUGE sushi fan and when I saw the score for this place I decided to surprise her and take her there... Well after a 50 minute drive and looking for parking(They have terrible parking at zen 32) we sit down for what we expect to be very good sushi.....WRONG. They chefs they have working there are not japenese nor is anyone else there and it shows in the quality of there food... Overpriced, Bad food, all in all this place should be avoided.. I reccommend finding a real sushi bar.

We expected high quality, and got mediocre. The first round of salmon sushi was just okay, the second and third (after requesting the same fish) was excellent. The $12 dynamite was disgusting. There were a few overcooked bay scallops saturated heavily in onion and mixed with onion salt, presented in a tin foil bowl. Good thing the portion was small. Yellowtail sushi was acceptable. Anyone who automatically serves CA rolls with imitation crab flys a big red flag. That shouldn't even be on the menu, much less the norm. Drink lots of sake, and head to Denver's Sushi Den if you want a consistently high quality sushi meal in a high class atmosphere.

Zen 32 has the freshest Sushi I have experienced in Phoenix. Great sushi chefs and great wait staff. Not only that, but I have several friends who don't eat sushi and they love the fusion grill menu and all the fancy, tasty appetizers. The desertsare to die for and always top off a great evening!

It feels like me of a small sushi bar in NYC... where my wife and I can stop by for sake/beer and a few choice sushi items and then get to where we need to go.

Zen 32 and Zenbar is one of the most original dining concepts around. I look forward to my trips to Phoenix because of Zen 32. The fish is just as fresh as a coastal city's seafood. The prices are lower and the ambience is unmatched. After dinner, I enjoyed the Japanese animation in the Zenbar adjoining the dining room. I found the clientele diverse in age (from 20-55). Even David Spade dines there on a regular basis. The servers were attired in beautiful Mandarin Chinese dresses. Special food preparation requests are handled efficiently and caringly. It appears that many people find Zen 32 to be a spectacular restaurant as is evidenced by the reviews posted on their walls. One in particular was featured in the Wall Street Journal. I can't wait to return to Phoenix and Zen 32.

I've always had excellent service- from recommendations on saki, the staff remembering me, to invitations to special events. It's definitely a SMALL place, but I love the coziness and Anime playing on the big screen. The saki samplers are a good value (get the flavors) and the special rolls always a treat- I just wish the portions were bigger for the price...

THE BEST! Service is always far above par, and I have never had a meal that was not one of the best I have ever tasted. I only take a select few there to keep people from knowing how great it is!

I love this place! We go regularly, the service is always great and the sushi is wonderful. You have to try the Tootsie Roll and the Pan Seared Tuna.