Take a look inside new all-you-can-eat sushi spot outside popular Sacramento mall

A new sushi restaurant is serving customers next to Sacramento’s Arden Fair mall, pairing all-you-can-eat rolls with an air of romance and mystique.

Pier 50 Sushi opened its doors at 1735 Arden Way at Market Square on Monday, replacing the former Mikuni restaurant.

The new spot offers all-you-can-eat and à-la-cart sushi rolls, nigiri and sashimi.

Customers enter Pier 50 Sushi’s dining area from behind a curtain in the lobby. The lounge-inspired room features intimate booth seating, warm candlelight and colorful LED beams softly dancing to the music.

New restaurants in Sacramento have been adopting a nightclub-like vibe, said Russell Vuong, a server at Pier 50 Sushi.

“Sacramento nightlife doesn’t really have much yet, but we’re slowly expanding and growing,” Vuong said, as area residents get more entertainment options.

“People always like to go out to Bay Area for food (or) SoCal,” he said. “(In) NorCal, we’re finally getting something going.”

How did new Sacramento sushi restaurant get started?

Pier 50 Sushi is a part of the Fukumi Restaurant Group, which was created by Sylbi Song and her husband, Han, after the two moved from Vegas to Sacramento in 2019.

The Songs opened their first eatery, Fukumi Ramen, in Roseville, serving Hakata-style ramen. They’ve since expanded the Fukumi Ramen brand with a Citrus Heights location and also own Fukumi Chaya in Folsom and Its Sushi, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, in Roseville.

According to the group’s website, a second location of Pier 50 Sushi is also coming to Folsom.

“We are very grateful for this community, for sure,” Sylbi Song told The Sacramento Bee in January. “(We) risked everything coming up with our little children — we have three kids. It was a big journey for us to come here and open something up of our own.”

Song’s idea of the restaurant was to split its aesthetic. One section embraces a high-end, lounge look, while the other section features a more traditional dining experience with a family setting.

What’s on the menu at Pier 50 Sushi? What are prices?

For the all-you-can-eat option, prices start at $47.95 per person and you get a total of an hour and 40 minutes to dine.

There’s a wide variety of nigiri, sashimi, classic rolls, sushi burritos, fresh rolls and specialty rolls.

For $57.95 per person, you can enjoy more all-you-can-eat menu items including baked green mussels, tuna poke salad and spicy sashimi salad.

Pier 50 Sushi also offers non-raw rolls, appetizers such as takoyaki and bulgogi fries and grilled items — including chicken or salmon teriyaki.

Diners can opt out of the all-you-can-eat option and order individual items instead. A-la-carte prices range from $3 for rice to $19 for specialty rolls and $28 for a chirashi don bowl.

What are the most popular dishes?

Sara Park, Pier 50 Sushi manager, said the restaurant’s most popular dishes include the Henry, a shrimp tempura roll with spicy crab mix topped with torched white tuna, lemon, green onion, spicy mayo and eel sauce.

Popular rolls include Red Velvet, a tuna-based roll; Monica, made with soft shell crab; and Lemon X Salmon, she said.

Park said her favorite roll on the menu is the Olive Garden, a vegan roll filled with avocado, cucumber, pickled radish, seaweed salad and asparagus in soy paper.

When is Pier 50 Sushi open?

The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday.

This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 8:25 AM.