How to Order at a Florida Sushi Restaurant Chain (Like a Pro)
· By the Sus Hi Team
We get this a lot. Someone walks into the Dojo, stares at the menu board for a solid 45 seconds, and goes, "okay so... how does this work?"
Totally fair. Build-your-own sushi wasn't really a thing when we opened across from UCF back in 2011. So if you've never ordered at a Florida sushi restaurant chain that lets you customize literally everything, here's the cheat sheet.
Step 1: Pick Your Vessel (This Is the Big One)
Before anything else, decide the shape of your meal. This matters more than people think.
- Bowl — the move if you want a lot of stuff. Small, regular, or large. Our #1 seller, and honestly it's not close.
- Burrito — same ingredients, wrapped in seaweed and rice, eat it with your hands. Great in the car. Messy in a good way.
- Roll or hand roll — classic. Better for smaller appetites or when you want to split stuff.
- Chilled noodle bowl — Florida summer food. Cold noodles instead of rice. Underrated.
- Poke bowl — if you're all about raw fish, start here.
Quick tip: if it's your first time, get a bowl
Bowls are forgiving. If you go a little wild with sauces or toppings, a bowl absorbs it. A roll doesn't — there's only so much you can stuff in there before physics gets involved.
Step 2: Base, Protein, Toppings, Sauce
That's the order. Rice or greens or noodles first. Then protein — we flame-torch a lot of ours, which is the part people always notice. Then toppings. Then sauce.
The mistake we see constantly? Too many sauces. Two is the sweet spot. Three if you know what you're doing. Five and you've just made soup.
Step 3: Or Honestly... Just Order Something Off the Menu
Look, customization is great, but our chefs already did the work. Some of these combos took years to land.
- Mac & Cheese Crunch Burrito — mac and cheese inside a sushi burrito. If you haven't had the steak version, what are you even doing?
- Party in My Mouth Bowl — the most underrated thing we make. I'll die on this hill.
- Boom Boom Shrimp Bowl — safe pick that still hits hard.
- Hi-Ya! Waska Bowl — fully vegan and not an afterthought.
- Crazy Rich Salmon Bowl — raw, spicy, worth it.
What Makes a Chain Worth Your Money Anyway
When you're comparing spots, here's what we'd actually look at: Is the fish handled well? Are the sauces made in-house or squeezed from a bottle? Can you eat there on a Tuesday night at 1am? (Select Dojos are open till 2am — college math checks out.)
We've got seven Dojos now — UCF, Altamonte Springs, Lake Nona, Millenia, Colonial, Chickasaw, and Tampa near USF. Fourteen years in, and a Florida sushi restaurant chain built by two people who grew up in their families' restaurants still feels a little unreal to us.
One Last Thing: Download the App
Seriously. More than half our orders come in digital, and the rewards app means you're earning something every time. Order ahead, skip the line, walk in, grab your bag.
Come through, tell the Ninja behind the counter it's your first time, and let them guide you. That's kind of the whole point. See you at the Dojo. 🥷