For anyone who lives in the Greater Phoenix Area, you know the best spot to get sushi is Harumi. With locations in both downtown Phoenix and Peoria, this is a must-go if you’re visiting the area. For my first few years living in Arizona, I refused to dine at this restaurant. Why? Well, they use purple rice and it seemed unauthentic to me. However, after finally having my biases broken down a couple of years ago, this restaurant has quickly jumped the ranks to join my top five favorite all time eats. Since I recently had a friend in town visiting, this warranted a drive into downtown to eat our hearts content of sushi.
Harumi features a variety of options, but I personally stick to nigiri. They have a wide array of specialty rolls available (including one that gets lit on fire at your table – suitably named the Oh My God roll), as well as some incredible appetizers and other eats. If you aren’t a fan of raw fish, though, I’d recommend steering clear, as that is the predominantly featured item.
I always have to start with a miso soup, simply because I like it, as well as an order of sake. My go-to here is the Harada “Junmai Daiginjo” – a floral and fruity option that still has a robust flavor on the palette. If you’re interested in another dish before the main course, the ahi tuna crispy rice is always a fan favorite. The rice is just crisped enough to balance the soft texture of the tuna and avocado on top, with eel sauce and spicy mayo creating a wonderful array of flavors.
For my main course, I did a DIY selection of nigiri. In the past, I’ve gotten the nigiri and rainbow roll combo, but seeing as I’m not an over-the-moon fan of rainbow rolls, I landed on just nigiri for this meal. From left to right, I got salmon, spicy scallops, toro, and yellowfish. Toro has always been my favorite cut of tuna for sushi, but tonight we had a shocking winner as my favorite. The scallops were incredibly buttery and completely melted in my mouth. As someone who was averse to scallops for many years due to a fear of weird texture, I am so glad I finally put on my big girl pants and tried them last year.
The salmon was, surprisingly, my least favorite bite of the night. Typically, the salmon at Harumi is delectable, buttery, and just all-around incredible. Tonight, however, I got pieces that had a bit of skin on them which always throws me off. The tougher texture contradicts the typically incredible fish and, while still delicious, dropped the salmon ranking. I had to end the night with dessert, which for me was another order of scallops. The first round came with a chili oil, which was great, but slightly heavy on such a delicate fish. So, for round two, I got it with their house made spicy seasoning, instead, dusted on top.
Overall, my expectations are always more than met when I go to Harumi. Anytime I have friends or family in town who like sushi, this is the number one spot for me to bring them. Since moving across the street to their newer and larger location downtown, wait times are significantly shorter – though still expect a wait as they are typically busy.
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