Blue Grotto Sushi, Tapas and Bar

I’ve had it on my list to try out and I stopped in to grab a bite while I had a break from a convention. I was really surprised to see an outdoor patio that has no shade for a sushi place, I just can’t imagine having to quickly eat raw fish out in 100 degree weather in the summer. Most are drizzled with a mayo/​aioli sauce and couldn’t imagine it spoiling in hot weather if not eaten quick enough either.
They have a lot of «tapas» style appetizers, which is great for a single person. The food was great, the service was slow. I had the crispy beef with green beans, the soba noodles, and a candy crush specialty roll (without the avocado). The crispy beef and green beans were really good, plenty of sauce and went well with the soba noodles. I was really surprised with the candy crush roll, typical shrimp tempura roll, but it had a flattened Crab Rangoon (kinda crêpe style) across the top and then drizzled with sweet chili sauce. It was really good. I had one of their signature martinis, which was very good, but never got asked if I wanted another drink or more water.
I also noticed the registration for the «belly card» at the sushi bar. I had registered one at another business and scanned my card. It wound up giving me a free appetizer up to $ 6, so the guy took that off my bill. I would go back for the food, I’d give it more stars if the service improved.

Came here for a little celebration, the interior is very intimate and full of character. Service was very friendly and I got the Tuesday special house wine for $ 3.
We started with a sushi roll to share which was wrapped in cucumber and very tasty. Then we had the grilled vegetable which so cooked to perfection and a generous serving. Next was the shrimp dumpling which was nice but not amazing. We didn’t want to over do it so we just ordered one last tapa, the crispy tilapia. It had a lemon sauce that was so delicious I could lick the plate clean. The spinach was unlike any I’ve had, cooked well but still slightly crunchy somehow and not wilted. The don’t even like fish but this tilapia had the perfect crispy texture and was seasoned so well. We both could not get enough and was a perfect ending to our dinner
Will be back for sure!

Never fails. Awesome food and service. The tuna is very fresh and other platters are tasty.

Got here early so service started out good. When more people came in it was a bit much for one server. Another server came in but could have been here earlier. That being said, I got the Miso soup and ginger salad to start. Very good. I got the Japanese bagel rolls and salmon rolls. Pretty good ! Also a free dessert since I checked in with Unilocal.The atmosphere is very cozy. I will be back next time I am in town.

I will try to write this review as fair ly as I can be. The food was average to great. It just took a really really really long time for each item to come out.
Before I talk about the food and my experience, let me say, this place has so much potential! It’s got a cute, cozy, romantic vibe with great lighting, candles and roses on each table. I can see this place being loved by many couples.
But my goodness, the service was so slow. On a Friday night, with the place completely filled with customers, you would expect this place to have more than 3 servers (including 1 who speaks no English). They were all so sweet and courteous that I almost felt bad for them for not having enough help! At this point, you know it has to be the management problem, not the chefs or the servers.
My friend arrived to the place good 10 – 15 minutes before I did and ordered a drink as soon as he sat down. His drink didn’t come out until way after I sat down. We (along with other tables around us) had to wait for about an average 30 – 40 minutes for each drinks, appetizers, and meals, and ended up staying roughly about 2.5−3 hours, not necessarily because we intended to stay that long. I’m glad I ordered my dessert before my main meal came out, or else I would’ve had to stay the entire night just to get my green tea Crème brûlée.
Speaking of green tea Crème brûlée, that has to be my favorite part of the meal. I liked the tint of green tea flavor in it, rather than being overpowering.
I won’t even go into detail about the server messing up on our order and bringing out the wrong roll. After a positive confrontation, we ended up getting the mistaken roll for no charge, which was polite of them.
I would love to come back since I enjoyed the food, but would probably have to clear out my entire night to dine here again.

I was around the corner at the paint and sip with my girls and we decided that we wanted something to eat. I hopped on Google and the first thing that I saw was a sushi bar so we decided to head over to try it exclamation what we saw when we got there was surprising. The ambience in the restaurant was absolutely perfect we loved the lounge areas which were filled with comfy couches however we sat at a table. We were very surprised whenever we went through the menu and place the orders everything was very reasonably priced and when we received our food. Even more surprised because presentation is key. The food was plated in a very beautiful way and it was also very tasty. This restaurant was definitely off of the beaten path however I will definitely be back!!!

This is a great place for sushi. The secluded private seating area is very classy and cool. The quality of the sushi is surprisingly high. This would be the second time eating here and I am pleasantly surprised to find such a cool place with awesome sushi in Sandy Springs.
I have noticed since the last time I visited that the service has been brought up to a higher standard.
Over all this is an awesome place for sushi and possibly a great place for a date due to great privacy and low key environment.
I highly recommend this place. Simply awesome!
Thank you!

The Candy Crush Roll was OK. It had crab rangoons on top, which were nice and creamy, but some weren’t filled that much. The roll itself was kind of bland. The Orange Sunset was a little overly fried, but it tasted very good, and was very creamy with the cream cheese and tuna inside.

Good was amazing! I got the orange sunset sushi roll. We live like 30 minutes away, but I would totally drive the distance just to have it again. My husband had the mama mei goyza pot. Omg. We both loved it! The coconut milk based soup in this dish is amazing. It kind of tastes like a Thai curry. It’s a little spicy but oh so good. The service was a little slow but that could be because they had just opened and it was a Sunday. Ambiance was very relaxed. Great for a chill date night.

Wow I was kinda disappointed with this one. My sister hit me up because she wanted to go grab some food. I had a taste for sushi and she quickly obliged. I looked on Unilocal for something that by my house and this place came up with great reviews. I couldn’t wait to head over here and check it out. We arrived and were seated immediately. Our server was very friendly. When we first came in there were only one or two other tables that were occupied. By the time we left almost every table was full and our server was a little stretched. We ordered the crab rangoon. I wasn’t a fan of them. They were different from what I was used to. Very small animals had a curry taste that I didn’t care for. Don’t get me wrong I like curry but just not in my crab rangoon. Overall none of the rolls blew my mind. The volcano roll wasn’t very tasty. The Blue Grotto roll was ok. I gave most of that to my sister because she didn’t care for the volcano or the one that she ordered. Nothing was really that exciting. We used a free check-​in offer for dessert and got the chocolate malt cake. Big mistake. I don’t think we will come back here.

The sushi here is ok, I’ve definitely had better. Crab Rangoon I was not a fan of here and the mojitos weren’t great either. Service is pretty good and the ambiance is not bad. Not sure I would go back though.

This ⁴⁄₅ is actually a 3.5 rating is for the Tuesday happy hour but I rounded up :)
Food: We ordered some sushi rolls, quesadillas, calamari and teriyaki. Generally, the tapas were a decent size. Don’t expect a full meal portion — these are tapas! Most of the tapas/​sushi are $ 2 off on the HH menu, compared to the main menu.
My favorite was the quesadilla for presentation/​taste, the calamari was just ok (nothing remarkable compared to other restaurants), the sushi was pretty decent for the price point as well. As for the fried ice cream, that was just ok. Most of all, the fried ice icream was free with a Unilocal checkin
Service: This was really good. The server took our order and took time to explain the HH specials.
Ambience: The restauarant was busy but not overpacked. The restaurant has a table seating area and a smaller cozy couch section.
I would visit this restaurant again, if I am in the area for HH.
tip: you can also use the Unilocal checkin to get a ffree dessert!

Sushi, ambience & service were all perfect! I found my sushi place when traveling to Atlanta. I’m from California & found this place on Unilocal.I had the Sizzling Yakisoba Noodles & Tuna Lovers Roll. Both perfect! Noodles were delicious. Tuna Lovers Roll was fresh, tasty & had a good amount of tuna. So happy to have found this place.

Been there two or three times and the Sushi is really good. The only thing sometimes the service can be really slow but food is quite tasty.

Good sushi. Quiet atmosphere. We ordered two rolls and a couple pieces of sushi. Fresh and tasty. Next time I’ll remember the names of the rolls. We’ll be back when we’re in the area.

My fiancé and I visited last weekend and it was a good experience. 3.5. We went on a Saturday at 6 and there were only about 3 other patrons. The waitress was friendly, bubbly and attentive enough. We got the mussels which were good and the sauce was ammmmmazing. It comes with pita bread for dipping and we asked for more so we could get all the sauce. The calamari was meh. Over fried and flavorless but the two sauces were good. We got the Grotta and Ocean rolls and both were tasty and fresh. Grotta roll was the more superior. Bill came to about 42 bucks which wasn’t bad at all. Solid experience but nothing super overwhelming. Will be back if in the area but wouldn’t make a special trip.

We have been coming here for many years and have never been disappointed! We started out with the spinach and goat cheese salad which had a wonderful light vinaigrette dressing. Next we had their scallop dish which did not disappoint… fresh and flavorful! Our calamari came with 2 sauces– one was a red tomato with citrus blend flavor and the other was a mint/​mayo/​honey/​Italian spice creamy sauce. The calamari was light & crispy and the sauces were delightful! Lastly, we had the coconut curry mussels… wow!!! This restaurant is a hidden gem in Sandy Springs!

As a sushi aficionado, I pride myself on knowing where to get the best sushi around Atlanta.
This place isn’t bad but I felt that our roll had a little too much mayo in it. Good flavor but would love to see Yellowtail on the menu.

Not a bad place for sushi and tapas. Although, I must admit I probably would have never gone here if it weren’t for the Scoutmob. We showed up around 7ish, sweaty from bootcamp at the gym, so needless to say, we stuck out like sore thumbs among the group of mostly Caucasian upper middle class diners (hey, what can I say, it’s Sandy Springs).
The atmosphere is very chic, by the way. On the dimmer side, with lots of cozy tables and oddly enough, a couch in one corner with a coffee table and cushioned chairs.
Off the tapas list, we got yakisoba and calamari. The yakisoba was OK… I am not a fan of the dish in general, but Blue Grotto’s version was tasty (albeit a bit greasy) and full of veggies, no sliced ginger, which I liked. We really enjoyed the calamari. It came with two dipping sauces, one was a white sauce (the better of the two) whereas the second one was strange… I thought it was sweet chili sauce, but my fiancé remarked that it was incredibly sour, so I dipped into it and picked up a larger amount of sauce… yup, it tasted weirdly sour. Looking at the menu, I see the two sauces are Sriracha Aioli & Ponzu Ketchup… hm. I think the aioli was lacking sriracha, then.
As for sushi, I picked the Grotto roll and Ocean roll. The Grotto roll was a bit pricey at $ 15, but I figured I had to try their namesake, plus when I received the roll, I realized why it was more pricey. The Ocean roll was around $ 12 and contained spicy yellowtail, cucumber and scallion topped with salmon, tuna and avocado. The Grotto roll contained soft shell crab with cucumber wrapped in soy paper and covered in spicy snow crab, avocado and tobiko. This is one of their most popular rolls, I believe, and it’s HUGE. Possibly the biggest roll I have ever seen — 10 pieces and each piece is on the large side. I definitely preferred the Grotto roll over the Ocean roll — the latter was a bit on the bland side. I will say that I think Blue Grotto uses a lot of rice in their rolls :/​
Lastly, I got three pieces of yellowtail sashimi for $ 6. Not the best I have had, but decent.
My go-​to in the area is still Circle Sushi, but I am always happy to mix it up and visit Blue Grotto again. Gotta support my fellow Chinese — the restaurant is owned by the Wu family, as it states on the menu (either that or I read it elsewhere in the restaurant.)

Ordered honey roll, ocean roll, crispy seared tilapia, green tea cheesecake, and fried rice with bacon. Tilapia was great but a bit bland. Fried rice wasn’t anything special. Ocean roll was average but the honey roll was really good. Green tea cheesecake was good. Restaurant atmosphere is quite good

We went to Blue Grotto with a Scoutmob. It was incredibly busy. I don’t know if a server called in sick or what but they were grossly understaffed for the amount of customers. Service was friendly but incredibly slow. The menu is a little schizophrenic– tapas, sushi, thai. The food was average. If we hadn’t had the Scoutmob, I would have been upset about the price versus quality. I am guessing people come here more for the ambience. There are lots of little lounge-​y areas with sofas to enjoy specialty cocktails that seemed to be popular with the Girls Night Out crowd. We didn’t try a cocktail but the list was long and the drinks sounded yummy and fun. Maybe we just caught them on a rough night but in the future, we’ll stick with Sushi Nami for our sushi fix in Sandy Springs and maybe give Blue Grotto another try for cocktails.

Absolutely wonderful date night!
Blue Grotto has the best Volcano Roll I’ve ever tasted! We also had the Blue Grotto Fried Rice, Crab Claw Spring Rolls, Chicken Teriyaki, and Beef Teriyaki, and they all were wonderful with a great presentation!
Very clean and great smelling restrooms — definitely a plus!
The staff is so sweet, and we can’t wait to go back again!

I visited here last week. And I was not very impressed, we ordered different sushi dishes. And none of them were memorable. The super crunch had no crunch and the fried sushi came out greasy. The fish used on my super crunch sushi roll was tough and difficult to chew, it was obvious it was not fresh and possibly not cut properly, it almost rendered the sushi inedible but there rest of the rolls were okay. Another thing, the crunchies on super crunch were falling off so much they filled my soy dipping plate and made it mushy.
I doubt I’ll be back again.

I really hate when people write bad reviews just cause of the service. I mean we really want to read about the food, right? I’ll give you both.
The Good: the atmosphere is nice. I enjoyed the dim lighting and the cool and comfortable couches in the lounge area.
I loved my Ocean Roll. Even though it was small (with more rice than fish like the other Unilocalers wrote), it was fresh and flavorful. The spicy yellow tail was really complimented by the cucumber, salmon, tuna and avocado. Yum! Unfortunately, you only get a quarter of a thimbleful of ginger but that was easily rectified by hunting down my server.
The Grilled Salmon salad was also good. It wasn’t as great as the roll but it had fresh Romaine lettuce, broccoli, mushrooms and bell peppers. The salmon had a good crunchy texture, almost blackened. It was a pretty presentation but the small salad was missing something sweet. I think a ginger honey dressing or an orange glaze on the salmon would have made it divine. The crab rangoon was also good. It too was small but tasty.
The Bad: The Veggie Spring rolls were forgettable. They lacked flavor even with the sweet sauce. The Pan Fried Goyza (fried pork dumplings) tasted even worse. The filling wasn’t good and I shudder reminiscing about the sauce. Also, the restroom was not odor free.
The Ugly: I frequently use a Scoutmob when it’s my first time in a restaurant. But I’ve never had a server add their 18% tip before deducting the discount. Normally, if your meal is $ 30, $ 15 is deducted for the Scoutmob which nets $ 15 plus tax. An 18% gratuity is then added (around $ 3) and I usually over-​tip. My server took the $ 30 meal and gave himself a $ 7 tip! Then he took the 50% discount off which made my meal $ 22.50. Not cool! Especially considering I had to get up and find him when I needed ginger and my check. I felt bamboozled and I wanted to drop-​kick someone. But then I remembered my ‘Yelp’ power of the pen.
Overall, the Ocean Roll and Crab Rangoon were good if you like tiny food. But the small portions do not justify the high prices or the inflated tip if you use a Scoutmob. I would not recommend.

On rare occasion I’ve stopped by here for sushi but tonight I wanted something different like tapas and with a little help from Scout Mob this was to happen at Blue Grotto. I had completely forgotten that tapas were served here while they are not cheap most are between $ 7 – 12 range they might be worth investigating if you are in the area.
First dish, Mama Meis Gyoza Pot (7) is made with a medium curry mixed with coconut milk is spiced just right. The dumplings five I think «are made by hand with shrimp inside.» The filing is a bit on the dense side so a fork and knife were used, the leftover sauce was slurped like soup it was to tasty to leave behind. I almost ordered seconds.
Second choice, Chicken lettuce wraps (8) beef is also available (9) comes on a plate that has four sections in it,
1 — Has a tomato salsa. 3 — Sliced cucumber with carrots.
2 — Chopped chicken breast 4 — whole romaine lettuce leaves.
This is a different version being that it is chicken sauteed with a few herbs it was mild in flavor after asking for chili it had the kick it needed.
Third, Lamb skewers with cheese grits — The lamb was tasty not too gamy with a brown sauce over the top and finished with a sprinkling of feta cheese sounds good right they were. The two skewers sit on top of creamy cheesy grits that will fill you up fast. *Note you may want to give a temperature on this dish when it arrived and cut into was med rare in the center and asked that it be cooked more.
Now I should have stopped with the lamb but «my inner fat girl» wanted more and had seen Scallops with Cheese Grits on the menu and figured «what the hell» and threw caution to the wind after all I had been counting calories all week.
The longer I sat there the fuller I started to feel, it was to late to cancel the order so I waited. The dish arrived two large scallops sliced in half to make four medallions sit on top of cheese grits and topped with carrots, peas and a brown sauce. After taking two bites has to call it quits or my stomach might burst. Based on two bites found it interesting and does not need the sauce get it on the side or not all.
Man I wish I had a driver so a short nap could be taken on the ride home «whew» to much food.