Sushi Muramoto

This is by far my favorite sushi place in town. Yes, there’s always a line, but it’s worth it.

This was my first time dining here and I was really impressed. I ordered the Dragon Roll, California Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Godzilla Roll, and Tarantula Roll. I’ve grown up mainly eating the California Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll and the two kinds here compared to other places aren’t the best. However, I experienced the other three for the first time and the Dragon Roll was life changing. It melted in your mouth and as it was a risk for me, it was very pleasing and something I will definitely keep on my list of favorites. However, the Godzilla Roll and the Tarantula Roll had a large amount of fish eggs piled on top. In addition, we were seated by the window and that was definitely a disadvantage, considering the winter draft and how the cold was absorbed into the chairs. However, the rest of my experience was a good one to remember and this is a place I would definitely recommend to all.

Craving sushi we found this place. We started with the pork belly and my friend had the calamari, and let me tell you that was some really good pork. The favor was such a deep umami with a sourness from the pickled radish and sweet of the reduction backed by the heat of the jalepeño. Simply balanced and amazing. Not to take away from the calamari which was tender and fried perfectly with a sauce that was salty with a bit of heat. The entrée was their big plate and it included a roll and 8 pieces of sashimi. The sashimi was extremely fresh and was each a different fish, and the spicy roll was excellent. Great sushi amazing appetizers.

Delicious sushi, attentive service, great atmosphere. The selection is huge! The bunny sake is good, too. I was glad to see both shrimp rolls AND salmon skin rolls. I also had the coffee créme brûlée, which was subtle and delectable. Definitely a place to return to!

Yum!
What a cute spot in the Hilldale Mall to eat at. My fiancé and I had a date night here, we were pleasantly surprised by how good everything was.
Drinks: We both had the Asian Margarita… so good!
Sushi: He had Spicy Tuna and I had the New York (Shrimp & Avocado)
Entrees: He had the Ribeye and I had the Grilled chicken.
Everything was cooked to perfection. They do only bring out chopsticks and if you’re a baby like me, just ask for a fork and knife. We didn’t have to wait at all, plus the atmosphere is romantic, and the staff is friendly. I plan on returning to Muramoto!

My girlfriend loves coming here, the food is great, the lunch prices are good, you get all the green tea you can drink… but I absolutely hate it.
I loathe coming here.
If it’s busy they make you wait at the awkward bar that I have never seen being used as an actual bar. It’s just a big thing taking up space. The divider between the ‘bar’ and dining area is way too close to the bar stools so you spend your wait time staring at an un-​tended bar while trying to squeeze as close to it as you can to let others by when their table is ready.
The plates slap and clang around. The chairs Scraaaaaaaape across the floor. The tables are so close people at the next table sometimes feel the need to say hello, or they just stop talking and make awkward eye contact when you sit down. You hear every last word spoken at the table to your left or right. In the winter it always feels a little wet in here. In the summer it always feels a little wet in here.
The house music is CD based and not on repeat so sometimes it just stops, ripping away the one slight acoustic buffer.
I could have been in a warm booth comfortably spaced from other diners, beer in hand burger on the way but Nooooo ‘let’s go get sushi!‘
Ditch that bar for more table space. Or ditch the individual tables for bigger communal tables (your only 2 inches away from that as it is). Dehumidifiers exist, buy one and run it constantly. Little felt pads for the chair feet exist, buy some so the chairs can be moved without making a horrendous metal on cement scraping sound. The repeat button on your CD player exists, find it. Decorative acoustic panels exist, buy some and put them on the wall. Don’t change the food though, it’s pretty good; which is why we will inevitably be back.
Here’s a free restaurant idea for somebody: sushi AND a comfortable environment! Madison had it once and it was called Ton-​Ton. Rest in peace Ton-​Ton I think of you often

Hands down best sushi in Madison. The soft shell crab roll is yummy, and their nigiri options are great! I definitely recommend the lunch menu, too, since you can get an order of the super tasty hanger steak appetizer as a meal for a great price. My husband loves ordering their Bury the Hatchet cocktail, and I love the simplicity of the Soho Sunset. Even their takeout is great. Hard to go wrong with anything on the menu here, although it’s worth noting that the chicken lettuce wrap app is a messy (albeit yummy) undertaking.

Outstanding in every way! We have become regulars. The sushi is great and the staff is very attentive and friendly.

WOW. I have been completely blown away. Came here with some friends while in Madison on business and was schooled in new fusion sushi.
The place was very busy, and we had to wait a little bit to get our orders, but it wasn’t that bad, and the staff were obviously pushing hard to make sure everyone was taken care of.
The food more than made up for it. its nice to see a sushi bar that actually stocks proper traditional sushi fare. Quail egg was magnificent and fresh with creamy yolks. The roe selection was a good third of my meal, and the freshly grated wasabi was the perfect topper. as the menu says, its sweeter and WAY more complex.
It’s a bit loud when busy, not the place for a romantic dinner during peak times, but still a blast and allot of fun if you are there to socialize. No need for shouting when at a table for 8: D
I will be in Madison again, and I will be going back to Sushi Muramoto.

Exceptional sushi here and great prices actually. I’m a huge fan of their salmon and avocado rolls, as well as the tuna and avocado. Both are delicious and priced at $ 5 and $ 6 per big roll respectively. Four rolls is a huge meal for me and my wife to enjoy, and we’ve even ordered some for take out occasionally to skate the permanent crowds inside.
5 stars for great food at Sushi Muramoto!

One of my favorite restaurants in Madison. The sushi combo deals are really worth it and you get a lot of sushi for your money. The fish used for the nigiri is of great quality.
I’ve also gotten their lunch specials before and I really liked their chicken teriyaki. The rice is delicious! I’m used to jasmine rice but the rice they give is the chunky type that tastes really good. I really like the dressing they use for their salad.
One negative is that during the summer, the restaurant sometimes has fruit fly problems. It doesn’t bother me too much but my friends seemed to be really disgusted.

Love their lunch menu. Our personal favorite-​Beef hanger steak. I love the crab cakes as well. The sushi and roll are always fresh. There’s always a wait when u go here and ur food might take longer than usual but it’s quite worth it!!!

I owe them an update. Since last winter, I have been going to Muramoto often with one of their most regular customers and their service was great every time. Once I figured out what I liked and explored more of the cooked items on the menu, it was really a pleasure to eat here. There is usually a wait around dinner time every night but it’s nice that they have a whole bar section where you can start with a nice sapporo draft with some takowasa! ;)

I always have very good service at this Hilldale location. Caunsey is a delight whether he’s at the bar or serving tables. He always remembers me, which makes me feel good.
I would like to be more adventurous with the menu but, really, I just get rolls and nigari on the regular. You can not beat the Maki Combo for $ 20. Fresh and tasty, every time. So yummy.
The only downfall is on my end that I don’t have more friends who like sushi as much as I do.

We don’t understand why this restaurant has 4 stars. We’ve been here twice. Service was cold. I had gunk on my water glass AND miso bowl… Which makes you wonder about the cleanliness. The bathroom was dirty and unkept.
Miso and sake were just lukewarm. The veggie tempura was served with… MAYONNAISE! (Mixed with some kind of siracha sauce) really?
Sushi was ok. Served on top a sweet plum sauce which makes you feel like they are cheating somehow. This was just not good. Won’t be coming back.

Solid sushi. Fresh. Good cocktail menu. Girlfriend loves the Miso Cod. Typical sushi pricing for specialty rolls.

I’ve been here two or three times, and have been somewhat underwhelmed.
Pros:
–A nice, clean space with plenty of room between the tables
–Decent services and wait times
–Reasonable prices
Cons:
— Inconsistent sushi rice. On our last visit it was definitely overlooked. I’ve had worse, but I’ve definite had better.
— Somewhat sloppy construction of sushi rolls. They stayed together, but pieces weren’t consistent in size. The end pieces were much narrower than the middle.
–Avocado was bordering on being over ripe.
In general, it looks like a nicer place than it is.

The décor is extremely trendy, I thought I was going to cool, hip lunch spot for some awesome sushi.
Turns out, the food was pretty bad. I looked around at what other people were eating (yes, I’m nosey) and those who were eating rice, looked like they were eating some Chinese stir fried chicken and a heap of white rice.
So I decided to go with the lunch special– sushi: 7 pcs nigiri and one roll. I asked what the fish was, because it was the chef’s choice, the waitress had no idea. Since I eat most kinda of fish, I decided to risk it and see what happened.
Well, the chef’s choice is by no means omakase, it means the bad fish that they want to throw away. I was given mackarel I think? And some other horrible tasting fish. Some of the white fish– no idea what it was once again, tasted so bad I had to spit it out. Some parts of the fish had weird hard bits in it and I spit those out too.
I’d rather eat pizza than eat this crap, certainly won’t be back.

We sat at the sushi bar and truly enjoyed our meal. David, our sushi chef, was personable, knowledgeable and excited to recommend the freshest options.
The sashimi sampler was fabulous– blue fin, scallop, yellowtail and many more. The slices were thickly cut and as fresh as what I’m accustomed to in California on the beach. The specialty rolls were wonderful as well.
The service was fabulous as well– our server, Chauncey, was kind, attentive and made our experience even nicer.
Definitely recommend!

Top Highlights/​Lowlights
1) no reservations for tables under 6 people
2) long wait
3) great food!
First things first, if you are looking for awesome sushi in the Madison area Sushi and Restaurant Muramoto are top notch. The fish is super fresh and everything from the basic sushi, to the entrees to the apps is awesome!
The downtown location (Restaurant Muramoto) has a lot more non-​sushi menu options in addition to sushi so if you are with a non sushi lover I would head downtown but if you love sushi and don’t want to deal with downtown traffic or pay to park the Hilldale location is just right for you!
I came with a group of four on a Friday night and our plan was to eat and then catch a 9:35 movie at Sundance Cinemas which is conveniently located across the street. We arrived at 7:30 thinking about 2 hours would cover us even if there was a wait. There was definitely a wait! We were told it would be about an hour so we went over to the bar section of the restaurant and got a cocktail table right away. There was a surprising amount of speciality cocktails to choose from in addition to beer and wine. A cool cocktail to try is the Chu Hai! Basically you pick from the different types of Chu Hai (I think it’s like vodka) and then they add sparking water and a flavoring or your choice. I tried the sugarcane and sweet potato Chu Hai with grapefruit and then pineapple flavoring. The drinks were awesome and a little cheaper than the other cocktails. We had plenty of time for cocktails as the wait ended up being closer to an hour and 20 minutes! The staff was very friendly about updating us on the wait which was sweet and our server moved our meal along quickly since we were in a rush to get to our movie!
The wait was worth it as the sushi was awesome! Ask your server about how to make the rolls gluten free! I found out afterwards that they can even do some of tempura rolls gluten free! Great place for great sushi if you don’t mind waiting!