Restaurant Review: Kozen

This week I visited one of my favorite Sacramento restaurants: Kozen. Kozen is a traditional sushi restaurant. The owners, a father and son from Japan, designed and decorated the restaurant themselves and designed many of their own dishes which are so creative both visually and taste wise that other local sushi places have reportedly been stealing their ideas.

The restaurant itself, which opened only several months ago, is simple and elegant. You enter and are greeted by trickling water fall wall. On the left is beautiful bar, great for spending time with close friends-but be careful who you bring, the owners don’t want customers coming to their bar to get hammered, but to enjoy the experience and atmosphere of the restaurant they put so much thought into. If you go to the right you walk into the dining room, where you’ll find modern but classic interior with a clean look so you’ll focus on the beauty of the dishes when they arrive.

Each roll is handmade right when you order so while you’re waiting we’ve typically been offered complimentary sake or miso soup, and the pace of the meal definitely allows for a relaxed dining experience and plenty of time to talk with your dining companion and maybe even enjoy a few drinks. When looking over the menu you’ll see they have an extensive variety of hand rolls, sashimi, sushi rolls, and even a few cooked dishes if you’re bringing along a diner that doesn’t enjoy raw seafood.

Each dish is served on an elegant square dish, letting the food shine. They have creative rolls such as the dragon roll and the caterpillar, which look just how they sound and taste divine. Their simple rolls such teka maki-tuna roll- is just as delicious as well because of the high quality and freshness of their seafood. They offer perfectly done baked rolls as well that those who can’t eat raw fish can enjoy as well.

Having recently converted to vegetarianism for mostly ethical and health reasons, seafood in the sushi from Kozen is the only meat I’ll make an exception for on very rare occasions. I had to share how great this restaurant is with everyone instead going to a place I’ve only been to just once and will probably find unsatisfactory. When you how to cook well, going out to a restaurant can be disappointing, but not once have I been disappointed by Kozen or received something and thought, ‘I could do a better job at making this.’

On my last visit I sampled several rolls with my dining companion. We ordered a California roll, which unlike most California rolls, this one was made with a solid piece of crab rather than shredded crab, giving it a more sturdy texture and pronounced crab flavored. Along with that we ordered a simple but delicious roll, the teka maki. A piece of solitary raw tuna rests in the middle of the roll and the flavor of the raw tuna will leave you in amazement in how raw tuna turns into that canned slop your mom used to use to make your sandwiches with in grade school. To top off the meal we ordered a baked salmon roll, which has a shredded crab center, topped with filets of salmon, baked, and topped with a creamy sauce, a red spicy sauce, orange tobiko caviar, and scallions. It looks and smells great when you get it, and although you may want to devour it immediately, it’s best to let it sit for a little bit and let it set up or else your delectable baked salmon roll might fall apart on the way to your mouth.

While the food may be a little pricier than other local sushi places, you’re getting what you pay for in the quality, detail, presentation, and consistently delicious food that will leave your taste buds, waste line, and conscience satisfied. So next time you’re craving amazing sushi and a great atmosphere, stop in at Kozen and sample some of their sushi that tastes the way sushi is meant to.


2310 Fair Oaks Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 641-8880

-Melissa Kilmer