Samurai Restaurant, South Lake Tahoe

We had an amazing tapas style sushi dinner on a Wednesday night. We tried the Good Luck Salad with Tuna, the Mango Chicken and Dancing Prawns. All three were winners and my girlfriend is now a fan of at least some sushi. We shared a bottle of premium sake and wrapped up with the homemade Sticky Rice, which we would have taken a bucket home of if offered. The service was very friendly and the owner kept checking in with us to see that we were enjoying everything. We will be back to this spot for sure! Keep this longtime Tahoe spot alive with your visit!! 26 YEARS IN BUSINESS!!!! WE LOVE SAMURAI!!! Pete, Amber and Brandon from Santa Fe, New Mexico

We just spent the better part of the week skiing at Lake Tahoe. The first night at Tahoe we all felt like Sushi. We heard that the best Sushi restaurant in Tahoe is the Samurai. We sampled the seaweed salad--excellent, and over the course of three days almost everything on the menu! We have all travelled extensively and are familiar with Sushi. Nothing compares to the meals we had at the Samurai. Everything was extremely fresh and flavorful. The service was excellent--from the congenial hosts to the comedian sushi chef! The dining room is very inviting--from the fire pit to the sushi and sake bars to the private Japanese style dining room. We can't wait until are next trip up to the Lake. Perhaps next time it will be just a Sushi trip and not a skiing trip!!

Well this place has great Sushi and even better Sake. We took the advice of the friendly owner and purchased not one but two bottles of his new Sayuri Sake. In hindsight maybe one bottle would have been enough. But now I know that if I want to lose my memory, insult everyone I meet, have my friends randomly kick strangers, start fights with hot women, throw glasses at people, let my friends sleep with fat married women, and wake up shivering on my couch......well... I will take the advice of the owner of Samurai and order a second bottle of Sayuri Sake.

THE BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT IN TAHOE!!!!!! Excellent food, excellent ambience and excellent comraderie. Personal attention from the owner, Chef, caps the evening off. Don't miss it if Japanese food is on your list.

Six years ago we stopped by Samurai by chance, and kept going back for all 3 days we stayed in Tahoe. The food were amazingly fresh , unique, and authentic! Tonight we had the chance skiing in Tahoe, and stopping by at Samurai again..after 6 years...the food is even better. We love jellyfish salad with Talaiko and Quail egg, baked baby octopus, and Fire Cracker Salmon-crispy roll with salmon inside top with sweet and sour sauce ( it was so delicious that my 12 years old son, who usually dislike seafood, ate half of the dish). Their house salad with ginger sauce was perfect for the cold night. Mr. Geoffrey Goto suggested Nigori-unfiltered sake ( silky mild) for us, and it went so well with the food. Our children love Udon and tempura appetiser(mushroom, brocoli,carrot, sweet potatoes, cucumber, onion and shrimps). Their handrolls were so healthy and you have to try the Raider-eel and scallop hand roll to know what you have been missing from other sushi place. We all sat around the warm glowing of unique blue stone fireplace; the ocean deep blue decor of tiles and lamps remind us of a small house at Japanese seaside villages. If you want to have authentic fresh, delicious and elegant Japanese food, Samurai is the only place we(my husband is korean and I'm Chinese) would highly recommend. The warm, friendly atmosphere is a bonus. Samurai has been in Tahoe since 1984 with the same set of chefs, so that tell you about the restaurant and its quality. We are leaving Tahoe tomorrow with our satisfied dinner at Samurai before the long journey.

Samurai Restaurant is a great place to go if you are looking for authentic sushi rolls at a reasonable price. The decor is decent and the menu is pretty extensive.

We have eaten alot of sushi and the Samurai ranks at the top. The sushi was fresh and cut in large pieces per order. The uni, hamachi, salmon belly, and toro was like butter...amazing! The jelly fish salad was very good served with flying fish eggs. You could tell the sushi chefs have been doing this for a long time and have great personalities. We dined at the Samurai both nights we were in Lake Tahoe and enjoyed the layed back feeling of the restaurant. The Samurai also had an extensive Sake Bar. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the product. We live in San Diego and dinning out at sushi restaurants can be really expensive, it was nice to eat at a high quality sushi restaurant that does not over charge. The only problem we have with the Samurai is that it is not in San Diego!

My wife and I have eaten at Samurai for many years and the sushi has always been fresh and we have never had a bad meal. Along with great sushi, they have a great selection of other Japanese dishes and a great selection of sake. To me, there is no better place for Japanese food in Lake Tahoe than at the Samurai. You just can't beat great food and great service at the Samurai!

We recently had a marvelous dining experience at the Samurai Restaurant featuring some of its innovative sushi dishes, including J Lo Roll, Y2K Roll, and Crabby Craberton Roll. The ingredients were moist and fresh; the flavor combinations novel; and the textures of the vegetables crisp. Even for the diner among us with little affinity for sushi, the diverse menu offered delightful selections, including distinct dishes from Helen's Asian Bistro. The Jumpin' Catfish and Dancing Prawns warrant special mention. The service was timely and attentive; the prices were reasonable offering good value for the discriminating patron. We enjoyed a leisurely paced culinary interlude, leaving the comfortable surroundings amply satisfied.

Please read - If you like good sushi - don't go here......We ordered take-out since we have a 2 year old and dining can be a challenge. We ordered nearly $100.00 of sushi, appetizers, etc. It was the worst sushi we have ever had. The fish looked days old and the cucumber in the tako sunomono looked like it was cut 4 days ago. The only thing slightly etible was the rice and edamame. But really, how can you go wrong on those two? If you want good sushi, don't go here.