The best delivery sushi in downtown Philly

A notable gimmick sets this snug Center City sushi bar apart from the others on this list: their sushi donut, a ring of rice stuffed with spicy salmon, layered with slices of avocado, tuna, and salmon, then decorated with a smear of mayonnaise frosting and a sprinkle of bubu arare, or crispy rice balls. It’s possibly the silliest thing I’ve ever eaten for this job. But the rest of Kai’s menu is less gimmicky and mostly very good. You’re not going to find esoteric, difficult-to-source fish on this menu, but rather a list of generously portioned greatest hits. Kai’s sashimi and sushi set for two consists of thick rectangular slabs of tuna, salmon, kanpachi, and “white tuna” (likely escolar). Skip the over-the-top rolls, but get the Japanese-style potato croquette, somewhat of a rarity in Philly. 

My personal favorite neighborhood delivery and takeout option, Kei delivers rolls are relatively simple but always consistent. I order their Nihon roll (tuna, eel, avocado, yuzu-marinated roe, scallion, and toasted sesame seeds) every time. The Grad Hospital restaurant’s takoyaki is the very best in Philly — blazing-hot little globes of crisped dough encasing nuggets of octopus. Their fried oysters are positively enormous and crisp with fried panko. Their sashimi selection is relatively small but filled with hits like sweet shrimp, salmon, fluke, scallop, yellowtail, and tuna. 

When you’re in the mood for omakase-level nigiri in your pajamas, Kichi is an excellent choice. Priced not much higher than most takeout sushi spots, the Washington Square West one-hour omakase counter sends out truly high-quality fish with all the flourishes. Nigiri platters arrive in plywood boxes, and there’s real wasabi pinched into the corner and dotted onto tender slices of fluke, hamachi, tuna, and wagyu. No spicy Sriracha mayo was to be found. Instead, a generous smear of fresh uni came atop an expertly flayed scallop, and tiny dollops of red miso, pickled vegetables, and barley miso adorned an array of rolls and sashimi, including the melt-in-your-mouth toro.

This approachable Center City newcomer combines people-pleasing menu items (think deeply flavorful chicken karaage made with thigh meat and parmesan-dusted fries) with excellent, fairly priced sushi sets and chirashi bowls. Its delivery menu, on both UberEats and Doordash, is absolutely massive, so you’ll be spoiled for choice, even when ordering sashimi. Take tuna as an example, which includes three different cuts: akame (lean), chu toro (fatty), otoro (or fatty tuna belly). Be aware that prices are high — the dollar amounts are by the slice. Order by the set; individual pieces of sashimi are much pricier. For $50, their chirashi bowl isn’t massive, but rather than being puffed up with rice, it has generous helpings of diced fluke, salmon, hamachi, and tuna, plus crouton-sized spongy tamago and high-quality caviar and uni. 

Morimoto’s DoorDash menu features a selection of a la carte sushi and maki rolls that are refreshingly straightforward. You get one type of fish per roll. It’s dialed back, curated, and, overall, not terribly expensive (despite the Starr restaurant’s reputation as being quite fine dining). There are three sushi packages, delivering varying quantities of maki rolls and nigiri, none of which permit modifications. Expect cooked shrimp, kanpachi, tuna, salmon, spicy salmon rolls sprinkled in white and black sesame seeds, and the fluffiest, cakiest egg tamago. The nigiri are small, delicate, and beautifully formed, and the fish is high-quality across the board. The hoku hoku potato appetizer is simple but shockingly light, airy, and travels well. Ramekins of sauce — black garlic shio koji, aged yuzu ponzu, and wagyu tare — for $4 each (or $8 for fresh Japanese grated wasabi) put other delivery-sushi accompaniments to shame. 

The sashimi dinner from this tiny downtown sushi bar steps from the Ben Franklin Parkway is composed with expert levels of care. It consists of five different types of fish (salmon, sea bass, tuna, hamachi, and tuna), each sliced into three perfectly sized pieces, gorgeously decorated with edible flowers and specific, artfully arranged garnishes for each fish. At $40, it’s a shockingly good bargain, as are the rest of their thoughtful, beautifully constructed rolls. Qu’s White and Black roll is one of my favorites, consisting of seared black pepper-seasoned white tuna wrapped around a center of spicy, crunchy yellowtail and avocado. It’s inventive and unique without being weird. Qu is on Caviar, but doesn’t bump their presence up with marketing, so you’ll need to do a little searching through the app in order to find their page. (Note: Qu is temporarily closed for renovation; according to its owners, it should reopen by Friday, Feb. 27.)

Perhaps unsurprisingly for the sidekick restaurant to the city’s best omakase, Royal Izakaya’s delivery options on Caviar are extensive — far beyond the typical nigiri and sashimi. And you won’t have to wait till the end of the night for one of their legendary industry chirashi bowls, consisting of weirdly shaped leftover cuts of fish crammed into a deli pint with heavily soy-seasoned rice for $20. All of the fish is superb, especially the tuna. Delivery from this Queen Village destination benefits from chef Jesse Ito’s obsession with aging fish, and its sushi rice is perfect. The ikura (salmon roe) on the jumbo Aka-Taka roll gleams, nestled into its marvelous little bed of chopped tuna. Fancy maki rolls range in price from $20 to $27, making date night for two around $160, comparable to every other place on this list.

Open since 2007, this tiny Rittenhouse restaurant is a go-to for reliably good sushi, whether takeout, dine-in, or delivery. They don’t get too creative when it comes to rolls, which is generally a good thing. (I like the ones with spicy tuna.) Their nigiri is solid, and their sashimi offerings are small but intentional. Get the greatest hits: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, sweet shrimp, and mackerel. 

Zama’s delivery menu, also on Caviar, skews heavily toward cooked foods, as well as rolls that you will not find anywhere else in Philadelphia. The Philly Style maki consists of chopped washugyu (American-bred wagyu that is typically less fatty than the Japanese beef) tucked into a red pepper flake-sprinkled soy paper wrapper with Bibb lettuce, rice, provolone, and spicy mayo; it comes with a truly wonderful horseradish aioli for dipping, as well as a pickled whole cherry pepper (the only pepper acceptable on a cheesesteak). Hilariously, you need to select “wit” or “witout” before checkout. Their Bronzizzle roll sparkles with fantastically bitter olive oil, and their tuna usuzukuri — tuna sliced paper-thin — is strange to peel off its takeout paper plate, but nevertheless delicious dipped in ponzu.