New sushi spot makes a splash on High Street. Here’s what to order

When a new spot opens in town, we’re eager to check it out, let you know our initial impressions, share photos and dish about menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just opened – an occasion to sample a few items and satisfy curiosities (both yours and ours).

Sushi options abound around central Phoenix, but once you’re north of Loop 101, things start to taper off. Kanoki Sushi & Cocktails challenges that on High Street. 

Chef Tyler Baggs, who previously led the kitchen at the Phoenix Art Museum eatery Alden, opened his sushi and cocktail bar on in north Phoenix in April. Kanoki replaced Pocha 54 Korean Tapas, which closed in November. The sushi bar joins more than a dozen restaurants in the residential, office and shopping hub, which include Hula’s Modern Tiki, Humble Bistro and Ocean Prime.

There are two large patios on each side of the corner restaurant, creating an expansive indoor-outdoor flow that, in cooler times, is ripe for a leisurely happy hour. Inside is far more intimate, with the drinks and sushi bar running parallel down one half of the restaurant and cozy booths occupying the other. Neon lights around the bars cast a warm glow over the quiet space, with the only TV running a loop of Japanese scenery. It’s the kind of place to bring a date and whisper coyly to each other. 

We’re seated at the sushi bar. Plush swivel stools offer comfort but bulk at the black-and-white leathered stone bar. It hasn’t filled out yet, so luckily, we avoid swerving into a neighboring diner.

Kanoki’s menu features a selection of shareable snacks from the kitchen and sushi options crafted to order at the bar, including temaki, nigiri, sashimi and rolls that range from the expected caterpillar and rainbow to a titular version featuring spicy shrimp and flounder. 

We order cauliflower karaage and pork-filled gyoza, then hand off our paper sushi ticket with salmon temaki, tuna belly nigiri and the restaurant’s namesake roll checked off. The dishes arrive as they’re ready from the kitchen and the sushi counter.

What to order at Kanoki

The vegetarian riff on karaage, Japanese fried chicken, managed to have both a shattering outer crunch and a tender interior that mimicked chicken better than most versions we’ve had. A generous dusting of nori flakes lent rich savory notes, while the accompanying shiso remoulade countered with creamy richness and fresh herbs.

The Kanoki roll shows what the chefs at the raw bar can do. Chopped spicy shrimp and cucumber are rolled into a log with nori paper and sushi rice, then topped with nearly translucent pieces of flounder. Orange salmon roe dotted every slice and a drizzle of delicately herbaceous, soft green shiso oil finished the plate. The sushi rice has the right balance of sweet tang that plays well with fiery diced shrimp and buttery flounder. We could take or leave the roe, which slides off each piece, but it adds a final burst of fresh ocean flavor.

Other bites, like the gyoza and tuna belly, are welcome, savory, rich bites that don’t break the mold, but certainly satisfy. 

Some of the other sushi fell flat. The salmon temaki is tender, fresh and generously portioned. Yet, the bundle is constructed like a taco. When bitten into, its contents, especially little orange orbs of roe, spill out the other end and onto the plate. A simple spicy tuna roll confounded. There was no discernible heat, and the cucumber lacked snap. Each bite begged for texture and spice. 

The kitchen recovered with a fun fusion dessert: matcha-and-pistachio cannoli drizzled with a miso caramel. The cigars have the airy texture of a fried wonton, which doesn’t shatter when digging in. The pistachio-green cream has delicate nutty notes that get more oomph and crunch from the pistachios studding the ends, while the salty caramel reigns in the sweetness. It’s an unexpected, playful end to the meal.

Though there were some stumbles, the menu boasts other enticing dishes we’d return to try: Kobe beef sliders on glossy buns, a twist on crispy rice with snow crab and colorful sashimi artfully arranged on a platter.

During our meal, it becomes clear that neighborhood diners have already taken note of their new local sushi spot. They file in, taking seats at the bar and in booths. If we’re back in that neck of the woods, we’d join them for another meal of solid bites and attentive service in a sleek space. And we’d be sure to order that ultra-crisp karaage.

Kanoki Sushi & Cocktails

5415 E. High St.