Saga
2955 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ, 85716
Saga Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Tucson for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Tucson for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Tucson for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
2955 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ, 85716 - Phone (520) 320-0535
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 3:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Noise Level : Quiet
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Leah B.
I was a little skeptical at first given the reviews and other mediocre sushi I have tried so far in Tucson. But I was actually pleasantly surprised with saga. It's a no frills, casual environment with both indoor and outdoor seating. We arrived around 7, but were happy to learn happy hour goes until 8pm!! Our service was great; we asked for recommendations as he was happy to help. They have a Mexican - Asian theme so there are both tacos and sushi etc. To start, I had the $1 miso soup and we shared a yummy (but small) marlin quesadilla for $4. We each had a crab stuffed spicy jalepeno which was good. We ordered two rolls at a happy hour price of $5.50 each, the Mario and the aribita. Both were huge and quite tasty. We couldn't finish everything. But we will come back again to try some other menu items next time we are feeling the urge for a few tacos or rolls.
(4)Ray C.
The first night of staying in Tucson from Florida! My Dad and I decided to go to Sushi place and I reviewed on Yelp before we try the Sega. We ordered: Santigo Roll, Cubedo Roll and Tanga for only $15 bucks. We agreed that they were really good! Noticed more of rices on these rolls and I was that really full that fast! They offered rolls for Happy Hour until 8pm and reasonable prices. The server was just OK but we were satisifed with our food! No complaint at all! The parking space was limited however, we found a parking space for our CRV no problem. Yes, I would come back for this sushi place since I am SO new to the area! LOL
(4)Crystal r.
I came here for the first time with my sister. I'm a sushi lover. This place have real good sushis! I ordered several kinds and all are so good! The waiter is nice and friendly. I'm coming back for my future sushi fix!
(5)Colin S.
Kick ass japanese / mexican infusion. Awesome prices on sushi, especially during happy hour, for unique rolls you can't get anywhere else. If sushi isn't your thing, they also have a full Mexican line-up with tacos, burritos, etc. The dining room and patio are quite small and can feel a bit crowded, and the wait staff is usually always very very busy, but the casual atmosphere makes it comfortable to raise your hand and ask for attention when you need it. I'd go 4.9 of 5 stars just for how busy the place is and how the wait staff is always running and on their toes, but that's just how busy they are. The excellent food is definitely worth the small, busy dining room.
(5)Cindy L.
two words: meli's roll. i absolutely love this roll which has tempura vegetables inside. and a spicy sauce! two more words: happy hour. from 5 to 8 most evenings it's half off select rolls and drinks. how can you go wrong? service here could be improved, but overall, i love coming here. with the yummy food and great prices, it really can't be beat.
(4)Joseph P.
The sushi is not great nor fresh. The rice inside the sushi was meh. Do not get food at their happy hour.. All of the sushi was basically cream cheese, imitation crab, or a mix there of...there was no fish on that happy hour menu...go elsewhere
(1)Shae S.
Stopped in for a quick bite before catching a show at the Arizona Theatre Company. What a bizarre little place this is. Such an odd array of food - sushi and Mexican? Okaaaaaay. That's interesting. The problem is, it's just not very good. It's cool to do your own thing, but at least make it inspiring and delicious. Tempt me, tease me, palate please me. This just didn't cut it for me. We ordered sushi. It was nothing to write home about. We had to ask for ginger and wasabi after our order was delivered to our table. The food didn't seem super fresh, and the place feels dirty. I always thought it was closed anyway. During the day it looks abandoned. In my book, now it is. The only positive I can think of is the cute kitty on the Saga sign in front of the restaurant. Oh - and the prices are relatively cheap.
(2)M D.
Terrible food. Terrible service. This restaurant has tanked. Does anyone know what happened? The restaurant is also extremely dirty. Yuck.
(1)Ames M.
This was both the most expensive and the worst tasting sushi I have ever had in my life and I've eaten sushi in a lot of places. First of all they should advertise that it is Mexican Japanese fusion because half of the menu is Mexican sushi. The sushi that did come was too large lopsided and unwieldy to eat. In addition, the rice was old and dry and the Avocado in our California roll what is oxidized in brown. The California roll alone cost us $10, which is ridiculous for sushi that doesn't even use real fish. Our Gyoza arrived burned. Furthermore, the atmosphere was filthy and the waitress was unfriendly. Many of the decorations had a thick layer of dust and oil accumulated from over the years. I'm glad our party only ordered vegetarian rolls and California rolls because we surely would have gotten food poisoning or if we had ordered fish.
(1)Maritza M.
My favorite place for sushi. Delicious infusions among other dishes like teriyaki chicken, bowls, and they always serve you in a friendly way. The owner and staff are always friendly and are willing to make meals to your liking. I highly recommend the special sauce. Yuriko and Chipotle rolls are a must.
(5)Aishan S.
I have tried several sushi places in Tucson, and this is just a disgrace to be even called a sushi place. Ambience The space is small and hardly functions as a sit down place to eat. I would understand grabbing a quick meal here, but honestly, the interior of Saga doesn't even look a nice as Nico's Taco Shop. Furthermore, the art pieces here are creepy and distasteful. Some of the paintings seem to be Japanese inspired, but others look Kahlo-esque. I appreciate Frida Kahlo very much, but I strongly believe that her art (or emulations of her art) should be presented at a museum and not at dinner. It's bizarre stuff, and only intellectually appetizing. It's not pleasant to think about while eating sushi. Service I am pretty sure the waiter forgot about us. It took forever to simply get someone to take our order and never did the server check on us. We had to go up front (though, there wasn't really much of a front counter) to ask for the check, and even then, no one was paying attention to us and would process it until we waved them over. Food Ugh, this was terrible. The menu was confusing, and I don't think a fusion of Mexican and Japanese works very well. I appreciate the effort, but I just wanted traditional Japanese sushi, and they just didn't quite have that. I wound up ordering a two-item combo of salmon sashimi and salmon teriyaki. I definitely would have liked some variety (too much salmon), but salmon was the only type of fish they offered for sashimi. I would have condoned this, but the sashimi was horrible. It is supposed to be cleanly sliced, but here, the slices were chunky. After this initial warning sign, I put off eating the raw fish and just ate the cooked stuff. Finally, I decided to try the sashimi at the end, and it tasted as bad as it looked. I don't believe this was actually prepared as sashimi and instead was just plain, raw fish. I think it could have been cat food. Throughout dinner, I was seriously worried I would wind up getting sick later. Overall, this place is just really sketchy, and there many, way better sushi restaurants in town.
(1)Kyle S.
favorite sushi in town. The dynamite is dynamite.. My favorite is the marlin tacos though. Great happy hour specials too!
(5)A R.
This place was AWFUL!!!!! Services was the WORST I've ever seen (rude, slow, AND pushy), there were too many menu options (but they all seemed the same), the food was disgusting (flavorless, greasy, loosely rolled, and WAY too much rice), and the price was ridiculous for the value! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND DRIVE THE EXTRA 3 MILES TO FUKU SUSHI!!! SAME PRICE, BUT WAYYYYYYY BETTER QUALITY!!!!!
(1)C P.
I tried to find a place to take my mother to lunch this morning (06/09/14). We got to the restaurant at 11:15 and they unlocked to doors as we drove up (15 minutes late). The owner was sitting behind the sushi bar and a guy who spoke no English greeted us. The restaurant was filthy! The waitress brought us one menu. When we asked for another, the owner and the waitress were arguing with each other in Spanish. We felt very awkward while waiting for our soup, and the mood was just off in there. The chairs were dirty, the floors were dirty, the menus were covered in food and sticky. We had enough. We told the owner we were gonna pass today and he said "okay" as we left. He didn't ask why, nor did the waitress. They just let us walk out. In addition when we got our second menu and I looked at the prices, they were extraordinarily high. 11 bucks for a Philly roll? For lunch!!! Really!! Not the same place I remember and won't know if it gets better because I won't go back. Smelled like trash and sewer in there as well.
(1)Sarah N.
I will never return to this place. My boyfriend and I went in one night a few weeks ago and received some of the worst service I've ever had. We walked in and were told to sit wherever we liked. After waiting a good 5-10 minutes we were brought a menu and some waters. Another 10ish minutes passes and someone finally comes to take our order. Once our order arrives we are told to hurry because they are going to close soon. Why wouldn't you say that when we first walked in?! Our server was incredibly rude and not to mention the rolls that we ordered were overpriced, tiny, and falling apart. We ended up driving down to Red Garter afterwards to eat something more substantial.
(1)Richa S.
This place simply can't improve. $9 for a "sexy" mini roll during lunch time (their prices are ridiculous- prices like Ra at a place that's more like a dirty taquiera- yes taquiera). ABSURD. I watched one waiter on his cell phone and then looking at his pocket mirror while the other stood against a wall wasting time. I wanted to leave but I was with a coworker and didn't want to come off in any negative way.... I tried to get their attention but it was useless so I figured I'd just engage in convo with coworker and any second theyd approach. They did approached me with menus... 20 minutes later! . Another 15 minutes for them to make a mini roll in a place that was empty. Then another 15 just to get the bill.The waiter tossed the receipt at me as he walked by. RUDE!!!!!!! I would have tipped even if I was getting take out but by this time waiting so long, in combo with the nasty waiters, I didn't even leave a tip. Also, I don't think your scallops are scallops. Theyre bits of fish slathered in tons of mayo on top of the rolls. Your Sexy roll is not sexy at all. It's a turn off.
(1)Lisa W.
This experience started off on a bad foot, and it only went downhill. I sipped up a strand of hair in my water, and it definitely didn't belong to anyone in my party. It did, however, remind me of my server's hair....shudder. Second, we were sitting outside at night time, and I noticed under the lights that the plates they handed us were not clean at all. Each plate had grease residuals, and one of them was sticky....gross. Okay, third, I ordered a shrimp tempura appetizer thinking that it was a shrimp tempura roll. When it came out, I realized that I was wrong, it was just shrimp tempura. Normally, I would be okay with this except it was 5 measly pieces of shrimp for $7! Not cool. Now, it was time for the actual sushi. I ordered the special: a california roll, 2 salmon nigiri, and a spicy tuna roll. There was way too much rice all around! Also, the rolls were not rolled well. The spicy tuna also differed in spiciness as you moved your way up the roll. Basically, I will not be coming back to Saga due to uncleanliness as well as a poor attempt in sushi. Maybe I should have gotten the tacos, but I don't plan on finding out.
(1)Jennifer T.
Go check out their happy hour! Limited sushi - seems like the same items for the happy hour sushi. Great prices, good waiters, great experience.
(4)Laura Z.
The pro: Interesting idea, tacos and sushi together. The con: The sushi roll I ordered was 95% rice. The miso soup was only broth without any flavor. The wait staff was very rude. They talked badly about me in spanish. She said that I was with a kid, and would not tip well, so she would not serve me. (come on, this is Tucson, we all understand a little.) The floors were dirty. Overall, the experience left me very disappointed.
(1)Sunny S.
I actually really love this place. I nor my guests have ever had a bad experience with the food, it always tastes spot on and keeps us coming back for more. We ordered a total of 6 rolls and 3 appetizers that were split among 3 of us. The appetizers we ordered were the gyoza, egg rolls and one jalapeño crab. Everything was very delicious. The gyoza wasn't over cooked or under cooked, the egg rolls were perfect as well, and the jalapeño crab garnered no complaints. I will say though that the egg rolls are essentially 2 mini egg rolls that were cut in half, giving us 4 tiny egg rolls...which is disappointing. The gyoza and egg rolls were served with soy sauce and the jalapeño crab just had a swirl of Chipotle sauce on it. Now as for the sushi. .. we ordered 6 rolls. I can't remember all the names sorry for that, but they were all very good. There were no weird tastes (fishy) or textures and everything turned out great. Like I said the food has never disappointed my guests or myself, but the customer service on the other hand...well they need to work on that. I mean sometimes it's great and other time it's not. It's like a roller coaster..up and down. Luckily this time we got there around 740, which is the end of happy hour so we beat the rush. (Happy hour ends at 8) So getting our drinks and food was fast, but when we were telling the guy our order we asked for their special sauce on the side. He never brought it :/ and I asked for eel sauce, which at the end of the meal I come to find out it was $1 extra for it. I mean it's only $1 but it would've been nice if he would've told me first, something like "yea sure no problem, but just to let you know we charge $1 for it, is that ok?" that way there would be no surprises. He never refilled our drinks or brought us the check, we had to go stand by the door and wait for it. It may not sound like these things were a big deal, but for a great customer service experience it would've been nice if those things didn't happen. I have dealt with worse from them though. There are times I've gone when it's busy and they missed my friend and I somehow and we were sitting there waiting for 20min for someone to acknowledge us (yea 20, we really wanted sushi)....we had to wave our arms to get someone's attention. And the same things happened, no refills, no checking up on us, no check brought to us. As far as I've read where some people walk inside and stand there, waiting to be seated, that's not going to happen as far as I know. Since I've been going there for 5 years, they have never seated anyone, it's always been seat yourself. Also with the whole fusion thing, I can really care less about whether it's a "real" fusion restaurant. I just always saw it as "This place serves sushi...AND THEY SERVER MEXICAN FOOD TOO?! WHAAAAAT! That's cool, I was in the mood for both anyways" I will also say that this place is small and doesn't look that great on the inside, but they have come a long way since I started going there. In the end the check came out to $38 something before tax, which isn't bad. Would I recommend this place? Yes I would, in fact I have introduced my friends to saga and have never heard any complaints as far as food goes...but the customer service...yea they need to work on that.
(4)C B.
I highly recommend the Nogales Roll and the Mr Consul roll is decent too. And those are the last nice things I have to say about this place. To start this place is grungy but I try not to judge based on looks. Second, service is horrible. The menu needs a lot of explaining but don't expect anyone to help, your on your own. There are specials of the day but don't expect anyone to tell you that, you have to find the board yourself, go up to it, and then find someone to explain it to you. And when you finally call someone over to get your order, you can expect to have no one ask how your food is when you finally get it. Third: There are the prices, 11$ for a roll expect for Happy Hour where it is from 5$ to $5.50. And most of these rolls are not worth it at all. Fourth: so much cream cheese. They are obviously using it as a cheap filler which makes what should be a light bite into something super heavy. There are next to no rolls without cream cheese. So I hope you like cream cheese. Fifth: This is suppose to be Mexican Japanese infusion. The only Mexican influence I really see are the occasional additions of jalapeno and chipotle sauce. Not really that inventive.
(1)Kelly V.
Cute place with prices that can't be beat. While it wasn't the most amazing sushi I've ever had, it certainly hit the spot on a Saturday afternoon.
(4)Chelsea P.
The female owner is extremely rude, she yelled at me about having too many left overs to take home in front of the whole restaurant. She then tried to charge me twice for my rolls thinking I wouldn't notice. The waiters were nice and the food was great, but I didn't appreciate being yelled at as a paying customer.
(1)Ann E.
Freaking awesome Sushi!!!! We also had the teriyaki beef and spicy chicken dish... IT WAS ALL SOOOOO GOOD!!! We are from Raleigh, NC--- SAGA SUSHI is the best food that we have ever had! I really wish this little spot was in North Carolina. ... we will miss this place when we leave!
(5)Selene B.
Eh! Lately Haven't had the tastiest sushi here. Used to be a weekly favorite! Don't know where they went wrong. Maybe the Oil could be changed more often. I used to love the hazel roll still do but they became pricier and you aren't really getting what you pay for.
(3)John B.
Japanese, Sushi and Mexican food all on the same menu? Wah!?!? Sushi rolls with Mexican ingredients? Yep. Successful in their quest to join East and West through Latin America? Nope. Went for the happy hour which has a limited menu and does not allow you to take any of the inexpensive, rice laden rolls home in a doggy bag. The waiters - I'm using that term because they took my order then later dumped food in front of me - were both stoned and, attended to our needs as such (I'm down with medicinal weed my brothas but keep the self medicating at home.) Our order, and the place was not that busy mind you, came out all at once - appetizers, rolls, drinks...but no utensils, those we had to wait an extra 5 minutes for. Anyway, the food...meh. Perhaps the non-happy hour stuff is good? Although, I may never know as I'm not sure I'd ever go back. Oh, cheap drinks, though. Saki bomb = picture of warm saki and a 16 oz Sapporo for $5.
(2)Daniel K.
Saga is a special sushi place because it has a nice blend of Mexican influence with the sushi . This of course might not be everyone's taste, but I like it and I think it makes it stand out in a sea of run of the mill sushi places in Tucson. Rolls that blend Mexican flavors like the chipotle roll and mario's roll are tasty choices for people looking to add different sushi to their pallet. In addition to traditional and non-traditional japanese items they also serve tacos and mexican fare as well, which is very good. Overall a nice place to experience different sushi with good sized rolls and decent prices.
(3)Jace R.
It seems like one of the biggest issues people have with Saga is that it's run by Mexicans. Who the hell cares?! I have NEVER had a bad meal here, and I've been frequenting this place for over 5 years. The shrimp tacos are incredible. The rolls are some of the best sushi I've had, hands down. The mini rolls are between $5 and $6 are are perfect bite sized pieces of flavour. Try the Crazy Shrimp or the Unagi Crush, with avocado instead of cucumber. The mini Rainbow is excellent as well. Out of the full sized rolls, the Aguanta La Guerra is probably my favourite. Spicy tuna, sriracha sauce, avocado... the perfect blend of flavours and it definitely wakes up your taste buds! The standard rolls are great too. The Vegas Roll is awesome! The only thing i miss about this place is that I can't get a horchata with my meal anymore. But it's a small price to pay for such incredible sushi!
(4)Ricardo A.
Have to try the saga tacos either fish or shrimp. Yo will come back for more. Great place for Sushi and Mexican Food....Another thing you need to try are the green mussels the best in towns.
(5)Chad P.
Stopped in for lunch at 11:55am. The guy behind the sushi bar looked at me and then looked away. Another lady that worked there looked at me and then started chatting with another lady that looked like a customer but was not eating. The place was empty. I stood there for a full 3 minutes and then walked out. This place has a strange dull vibe to it. I don't plan to go back in there. I am shocked that this place stays in business considering their customer service is terrible.
(2)Trey D.
Stopped in for happy hour because the trident grill was packed and this place was close, I should have waited at trident. Ordered two rolls. The volcano did not taste anything close to fresh, and the chipotle had a nice hair resting on top for me (atleast it wasn't a short n curly). I had to ask for wasabi, and I haven't seen my waiter to refill my drink. Pass on this place.
(1)Jessica L.
My friend came to visit and suggested we come here since she had heard Happy Hour here is "awesome". I'm not sure who she heard this from...definitely not from a Yelper! I stepped into this place and thought it was a tad sketch; after looking at the Happy Hour menu (going wtf is this, wtf is that?), I decided not to bother with sushi and got the teriyaki chicken dinner combo instead. It was meh. Service was literally non-existent, which is bad considering there weren't many full tables. We only saw our waiter twice: when he took our orders and when he brought our orders. We had to go up to the front and wait for someone to spot us standing awkwardly waiting for the check. And don't get me started on the idea of Mexican-Japanese fusion.
(2)Anna W.
I will never be returning to Saga. Despite the looks of the place (not good: it doesn't look from the outside like a place at which I would like to consume raw fish), I arrived with a hungry stomach and an open mind. My dining partner, who had arrived before me, had a liter bottle of beer, which he was drinking out of a glass. I said I'd have the same thing. My liter of beer arrived, but no glass. It took some real effort to catch the server to ask him to bring me a glass. strike one. I ordered a Las Vegas roll, and was VERY underwhelmed: three of the pieces were not intact and impossible to pick up whole with chopsticks, and the apparently intact pieces fell apart very quickly. Part of the problem was poor construction, the and I think part of it was rice which was not sticky enough. Too many sesame seeds (overtook the flavor of the roll), and nothing was fried, like a Las Vegas roll should be. It was kind of... wet? Just not the right texture or moisture level. Literally the worst sushi I've ever had. strike two. A little after 9pm, employees started closing up shop: closed the windows and blinds, cleaned up, secured the patio, etc. It made me think that they were closing, but I looked at the sign on the door which I could see from where I was sitting, and it said they closed at 10pm, not 9pm. So I continued my drink and conversation. A few minutes later, the manager turned off half the lights in the place, clearly his way of saying "get the F out, please." Apparently they did close at 9, but haven't changed the info on the door. But even if they DID close at 9, it wasn't even 9:30: as a former waitress, I know that when you say your restaurant closes at 9, this means you can walk in until 9. People stay and eat and drink later than that. BUT even if we WERE being rude and overstaying our welcome, the way the manager acted, practically kicking us out (couldn't he just have said something to us?), was unacceptable. No matter, though. I'll NEVER be back.
(1)Caz C.
I'd rather this wasn't the first thing to address, but I will. If you have Japanese ancestry and live in Mexico and southern Arizona, why not open a Sushi place that also sells tacos? And really, anyone who wants to groove on that fusion and open one, should, without question. OK, I took a break from SAGA after having some fish that wasn't as fresh as I would've liked. Not deadly, just not the best texture. About a year passed before I went back about three weeks ago. I had a Chipolito and yellowtail nigiri. The Chipolito was hot and fresh, but the very serious disappointment was that the ratio of surimi to rice was about 1:7 or 1:8. Which when you consider that is is a MINI roll, means that it simply did not taste of crab at all. It was a somewhat interesting panko encrusted hot maki rice roll. (Kinda like a potato croquette but with rice and nori. heh) They've also taken to serving wider ribbons of mayo/sririchi sauce. Hot rice in a fried coating served with a lot of mayo does not sound all that appetizing to a lot of people. They need to get back to where they had been. I think it's just sad to see a restaurant go downhill. The yellowtail was OK, but not the freshest fish in Tucson. Flavor was OK, texture is where the difference was quite apparent. The quality has gone downhill at SAGA. The service is still friendly, and I like the concept, but they're cutting too many corners to win a lot of new fans. Meals include edamame and miso soup, both of which were perfectly OK.
(2)Terence L.
Peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, chips and salsa, fish and chips, gin and tonic, Spencer and Heidi: some things just go well together. Hard as they try, others do not. Sushi fused with Mexican sauces do not. Indeed, Sushi Saga is a fusion kind of place melding together Japanese with Mexican. The end result, in my humble opinion, does not provide for the best of both worlds. Allow me a bit of your precious time to elaborate. I like sushi. I like spicy sauces. I do not like spicy sauces drowning out sushi. Unless, perhaps, the sushi is of sub-par quality. Does this sum up the complete review of Sushi Saga? Partly. I cannot say with absolute certitude that the rather strong and spicy sauces they create is done intentionally to mask mediocre sushi. All I can attest to is that I did not particularly enjoy the sushi I had on this particular visit. On my most recent visit this evening (my last visit was literally years ago when I lived in the area), I ordered two mini rolls. One shrimp roll topped in a creamy/spicy shrimp sauce (Crazy Shrimp) and another with tuna roll topped with a ponzu sauce and green onions. There were a total of six pieces in each roll, and altogether each was moderately sized. Two mini rolls pretty much filled my tummy. I think if I separated the sauces from the sushi, each ingredient would tasted fine. Together, however, not so much. It didn't taste bad by any means. It may be that I am purist at heart, or stomach rather, when it comes to sushi. Honestly, this is really the only fusion sushi I've ever ate. Being a Saturday night, I can forgive an establishment for bad service. With that said, I forgive Sushi Saga's service. My poor friend arrived five minutes before I did. As I sat down next to him at the sushi bar (the place is fairly small and the bar accommodates 6 or 7), he quietly informed me that he thought that the staff there didn't like him. I asked why, and he replied that he never got a menu and that he sat himself at the bar. After a couple of minutes of my arrival, we got a menu. One set (with separate dinner and sushi menus) between the two us. After marking the sushi order list, I wasn't sure if I had to hand to the sushi chef, who looked busy and had gloves on, or give it to our server. Nearly five minutes elapsed when I flagged down our server to hand her our sushi order. Again, the place was close to capacity, so the spotty service wasn't a big deal for me. For some inexplicable reason, the signage out front is simply a question mark. Seriously. Perhaps it's because it's confounding why anyone would create sushi creations with a Mexican flair.
(2)E.J. K.
Hadn't been here in almost four years. Not much has changed design wise, but quality of sushi tonight was much imporved. Rolls were really incredible. Kind of cool that they have both normal size rolls and mini. Definitely will be back soon.
(4)Elizabeth Z.
The owner is always greAt! The owner is here all the time and likes to make sure you enjoy good food, you just have to le him know and he will take care of it. They have busy days in which the service takes a little longer but I have no complaints! I love this place!
(5)Jackie T.
A carne asada taco is not the best appetizer for a yellowtail roll. Saga exudes pride in its fusion cuisine. The sushi bar is lined up with all kinds of Mexican hot sauces such as Tapatio. The sushi is not very enjoyable. The portions are huge, but not a good value. The ratio of ingredients is off. There is much more rice than filling. It is rolled very poorly. I had to use fingers instead of chopsticks to eat, and even then the roll could not fall apart. The volcano roll was another bad experience. The rolls are fat from all the excessive rice, but they are sliced thinly. With the volcano roll, this creates a much larger surface area for the sauce. There was way too much mayo for my mouth to handle in that roll. I scraped off about 3/4 of the mayo per slice and it still tasted greasy. The menu is huge, but the choices are actually limited. There are many different rolls with random Mexican names, but they are all just mixing and matching a very limited amount of ingredients. Many are just variations of a California roll. I had tempura green tea ice cream for dessert. I was stuffed from the huge rolls, so my companion ordered a single dessert split into two. They were happy to cooperate. The dessert itself was average. The ice cream stayed solid and had a detectable green tea flavor. The tempura was crisp. It was topped with more whipped cream than I cared for. (I normally would embrace the extra topping but the heavy volcano roll killed it for me) I did not see any Japanese variations of Mexican cuisines, so no tempura tacos or the like were available. The service is fine. My service was attentive and accommodating. Miso soup and edamame is included. The server asked if I wanted ginger and wasabi, which is a first for me (the asking that is). The owner was actually sitting right behind me, but he appeared to have no interest whatsoever in my experience. The art on the wall is ugly and amateur. There are paintings of geishas that look like Anglo-girls in geisha make-up. There is also a few paintings that play off of a random guy with an umbrella and The Starry Night. It can make for an interesting conversation with your date trying to interpret the art, I suppose. Parking space is tiny and inconvenient. I doubt I will make a return trip. If somebody recommends their Mexican cuisine I will consider it.
(2)Cara S.
I have read back to some of the prior reviews and I have to say I do not agree. I have been to Saga Sushi so many times and have never left disappointed. I have brought many friends here, some are avid Sushi enthusiasts and some I was popping the sushi cherry, all were very impressed. The Mexican & sushi fusion is awesome and I am no longer much of a fan of traditional sushi. Some times their servers could use a little of a customer service boost, but they are by no mean rude.
(4)Kayla B.
The food unfortunately was not good enough to outweigh the bad service , perhaps i will try again some day =]
(1)Sham W.
Been here before and liked it. Went tonight and was completely ignore...ended up leaving without ever being acknowledged. Maybe it was a bad night, but there are other Sushi places more worth my time- Yuki's, or Sushi Hama are great!
(3)Dana O.
A couple of points here, since there seems to be some confusion about this establishment. Saga can and should be considered a fusion restaurant that combines the styles of Mexican and Japanese cuisine to create something new -- Saga should not be compared to other so-called "traditional" Japanese styles or flavor combinations (in reality, sushi was originally a grab-and-go street food) in the realms of either preparation, taste or style. Regarding the point made about it being "run by Mexicans", its supposed to be! ... Saga is the brainchild of former residents of Mexico (see Saga Sushi website for additional info on the history of the place). Might I also point out that there are quite a few persons of Japanese ancestry in Mexico? As an illustration of my point, the manager of planning and development at Saga is named Ramiro Kimoto. That said, Saga Sushi is a Tucson gem and an experience in itself. Where else can you get fish tacos and my fave, the Mario Roll (panko fried mix of euphoria-inducing foodtaculousness smothered in a sweet and tangy sauce) together on the same table? The service is fair -- table service is run by (what appear to be) young Mexican urbanites, probably students of the University who are courteous (but often busy as the floor is understaffed). They often play oldies at a pleasant level -- and food prep turnaround is usually very speedy. Customer base here is generally adventurous, so open your mind and prepare yourself for some status quo altering cuisine.
(4)Ana C.
had awesome sushi here once and then had awful sushi and service another time (apparently they had installed new machines and their orders got super messed up)...haven't been back since.
(2)Katie C.
Best sushi happy hour and delicious and different sushi. Awesome miso aswell.
(5)Claire D.
O.K., who gives a mouse's ass if this place is run by Mexicans? Service has been great here, so I don't think it matters what the staff's main nationality is. Does the fact that many latinos work in kitchens across the nation make the food any less enjoyable? I certainly hope not. What if the Asian sushi chef that you assume is Japanese somewhere else really is Chinese or Korean? Is that still better than a Mexican sushi chef? Let your mind accept a little more in this life, people. Being that its a Mexican-inspired take on sushi, it makes sense that there's a largely Mexican staff. I saw an Asian sushi chef there on one of my visits, I believe he spent many years in Mexico City and trained the staff well. I like their cool take on the cuisine. I'm shocked by the slightly racist reviews and NO BUENO comment, and think that people don't get that this place was disappointing to some because they were expecting traditional Japanese sushi. Its a Mexican spin on Japanese fare, the best comparison I can think of is the "hamburger" I had in Thailand. Their idea of ketchup was different, it was spicy, the bread was pretty sweet and sugary and the meat had a different consistency than an American burger, but this was a popular thing in the city and I thought it was rad that I got to try something the locals consider a treat. It wasn't bad, it was just different. I didn't let the fact that I know what a real American burger tastes like create some lame expectation, I didn't compare the two, I enjoyed it for what it was. God, I'm so awesome sometimes. Saga has an interesting and cool fusion of cuisines and feels very uniquely Tucson to me. The seafood is fresh, the greppa was good when I tried it (fish/shrimp with veggies), I can get maki or a shrimp taco or a crab-stuffed jalapeno and satisfy multiple cravings at once. It's not traditional for sure and it's not something I want all the time, but it's a unique mix of flavors and it spruces up Tucson's restaurant scene. I heard there's one of these in Hermosillo too.
(3)J. Felipe G.
Good rolls that are really big! If you enjoy both Mexican Food and Sushi, you will find a great combination here.
(5)David R.
I've always enjoyed it. Never had bad food or service. They get a little carried away with the rice on the rolls (huge), but not a big deal.
(4)H P.
truth be told, my wife wanted to go this place because she likes fusion food, and i relented, ignoring all the signs. there were more flies than patrons in the establishment. sushi was not fresh, the rice was too sticky and too dense. there is nothing wrong with fusion food, but it should not be used as an excuse when things are not made properly and don't taste good. you can introduce different flavors from various cultures while using various techniques, but the flavor profiles should still be well-rounded and balanced. most of what i tasted here just tasted like they splashed some tabasco or sriracha into some mayo. much too spicy and the heat drowned out and killed any other flavor. this has nothing to do with it being "fusion", they just don't know how to make proper sushi rice is all. there is a reason sushi chefs need to train for 3 years just to perfect making sushi rice in japan. it is an art form that has been disrespected in various establishments around the world due to the meteoric rise in popularity of sushi and also because enterprising restaurateurs see it as a way to make a profit instead respecting a time honored tradition and art form. i have no problem with sushi chefs that are not japanese as long as they are skilled and respect their art. in fact, most kitchen staffs of U.S. restaurants are comprised of chefs of hispanic origin, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. they are what make the restaurant universe go round. the people stressing the fact that the sushi chefs are not japanese here are clueless. but i digress. the scallops were slimy and had a chemical aftertaste. i have an iron stomach but was truly afraid, so i did spit it back out on to a napkin. i paid the check and did not look back. i have not been back there since...
(1)mookiedee f.
if you are looking for authentic japanese, this is not the place. if you are looking for good sushi and maybe a fish taco, this is your place. the food is good, prices are reasonable, and they have small sushi rolls so you can get a lot of different types without having way more than you can eat.
(4)Stephanie S.
Great for lunch! Good lunch deals and fast service! I recommend the special bento box lunch, the Makanouchi. Do not go for dinner, because they jack up the prices way high for the same thing you get at lunch! The sushi isn't the best. Not bad, just ok. Stick with the meals.
(3)