Half a century ago, the groundbreaking Jeffersons show opened with a theme song describing how the Black neighbors of notorious bigot Archie Bunker found success and were “movin’ on up to the east side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky.” For one sushi restaurant in downtown Phoenix, the movin’ on up has been to the east side of First Avenue after over a decade of success and growth across the street on the west side. Harumi’s newest address is not in the sky per se, but it is on the ground floor of the 31-story US Bank building in downtown Phoenix.
Harumi’s Sushi’s latest location is halfway between the Van Buren light rail stations on the B Line and the Downtown Phoenix Hub to the south. From any of those platforms, the restaurant is an easy walk of no more than two blocks. For those who arrive via bicycle, parking meters with side loops for bike lock-up are found across the street on the east side of First Avenue, as well as around the corner on both Adams and Monroe streets. The entrance is found inside the building’s lobby, which is accessible via doors along First Avenue, Monroe, and Adams.
The new space at the base of the recently renovated bank building is not only larger than Harumi’s previous iterations, but also aesthetically distinct. There’s a stylish new look and a lot more light in contrast to the dark interior of the old space. Seating is found at brand new furnishings throughout the dining room and along an L-shaped sushi bar. One design misstep is head-to-toe patio fences that made the restaurant look like a jail at first. Those have since been softened with plants, but it’s still unclear why such drastic separation from the street is needed,
One aspect that has not changed is the restaurant’s no-reservation policy; while there is no longer a line out on First Avenue, a cluster of people waiting in the restaurant’s lounge area is still a frequent sight at peak times. The menu at Harumi is now printed with an elegant font on nice paper, but it retains all the favorites that have made the restaurant popular since 2013. The appetizers include standards such as miso soup, gyoza, and edamame. A recent addition is a Japanese Caesar salad with radishes and panko bread crumbs over a bed of little gem lettuce.
All rolls and nigiri, whether traditional or trendy, incorporate the restaurant’s signature purple rice. The result is sushi much darker than is typically seen and a slightly nutty taste due to the colorful grains. The flavor and texture of Harumi’s rice are as distinctive as its look; however, they never overpower the clean, simple, and fresh taste of the fish. Chef’s selections of sushi and sashimi are good choices for those who don’t want to pick and choose a la carte. Harumi also offers the option of chirashi, an assortment of fish, vegetables, egg, and roe over sushi rice.
The menu of sushi and sashimi offers the usual staples and more. Salmon, albacore,and yellowtail are consistently good and distinguished not only by the suppleness of the fish, but also by the vibrant pigment of the rice underneath. If there’s ever any doubt if Harumi has appeal beyond its colorful rice, the sashimi selection should prove the fish has plenty of appeal of its own. In fact, the Oasis Roll is an entirely rice-less preparation. A core of tuna, salmon, and avocado is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber instead of the usual outer layer of grain.
Most of the rolls, whether classic or creative, do include rice as their foundation. The Mango roll combines tuna and salmon with the popular tropical fruit, and a layer of crunch on top from little tempura flakes. The spicy salmon roll shines by never letting the added ingredients overpower the fish. The rainbow roll is clever with a standard California roll wrapped in an outer layer of fresh fish: salmon, tuna, hamachi. A vegetarian choice is the garden roll, a simple, light creation of asparagus and mango unencumbered by cream cheese or other heavy ingredients.
During the lunch hour, Harumi offers five different value-priced specials in addition to its all-day regular menu. Most are combinations of popular sushi items with sides like miso soup, gyoza, or seaweed salad, and one is a bowl of udon noodle soup served with a choice of two miniature versions of popular hand rolls. The ahi poke bowl is also a popular lunch choice, and is uniquely presented in a nearly vertical fashion with a long leaf rising out of a bowl full of copious cubes of tuna with a bit of spice from sriracha over a bed or purple rice with avocado and scallions.
At its old location, Harumi offered little more than mochi for dessert. Consistent with its sleek new location, the restaurant now offers a burnt cheesecake with seasonal fruit, most recently pears, as another choice. The drink selection has also expanded to match a space three times bigger than the previous location across the street. While Harumi has long offered an impressive selection of sake, there are now cocktails such as Sunblind, a creation of smoked mezcal, coconut water, green tea, pineapple, and yuzu with a puffed rice wafer on top of the glass.
Harumi’s progression over more than a decade has been from its original shoebox space to an expansion in situ that doubled its size and now just a few years later to a much bigger space across First Avenue. There is now also a second branch in far north Peoria near Lake Pleasant, but Harumi has thankfully remained true to its Downtown roots. The high-rise office building the restaurant now occupies is nearly half a century old itself, just a year or two younger than the classic Jeffersons sitcom, making it a fitting venue for a restaurant that keeps “movin’ on up.”
101 N. 1st Ave, Phoenix AZ 85003
https://www.harumisushiaz.com
PHX Rail Food 