ra sushi. after a day of shopping and running errands in ahwatukee, arizona my friend shana and i decided to stop for a late lunch. she suggested sushi and ra was close by. i had never been to this restaurant so i was relying strictly on her recommendation. this location is right next to a theater and would be a fun date night. i don't drink but i have heard the bar has great cocktails and definitely has a party atmosphere after dark.
we arrived about 2:45pm on a saturday and were able to find a seat right away on the patio. our server came over quickly with our menus; my friend ordered the edamame appetizer. although our drinks came right away it seemed to take forever for our edamame to come, we found out why when our server brought over the happy hour menu and told us she waited so she could ring in our appetizer for the lower price. the happy hour prices are fantastic. the edamame was the perfect mix of salt and warmth. since i have never been to ra before i let shana guide my choices, she was right on the mark with the viva las vegas roll. the roll had crab and cream cheese with rice, seaweed, and tempura spinach. the roll wasgoodand very colorful. i like salmon and the tsunami salmon roll was perfect for me. it was light and cool, crab mix with cucumber and asparagus topped with salmon. as we were discussing our menu options the waitress arrived and i asked her about shrimp and her recommendation was the ra- ckn shrimp salad. she said it was a salad and shrimp dish in one. the shrimp was battered and spiced just perfectly and the ginger dressing wasgoodbut a bit thick and somewhat too sweet. the salad greens however were a bit too wet and some were wilted. although my friend and i were more interested in eating the shrimp, i would be disappointed if this had been my entrée. as we were eating my friend decided i should try the tempura calamari. happy hour pricing helped our decision to go for it. i'm glad we did. crispy calamari bits rolled with spinach, crab mix, cream cheese and eel sauce. quite a different combination but i liked it. i don't generally like cream cheese in my sushi, it wasn't overwhelming and didn't distract from the flavor of the calamari. overall the meal was great.
the atmosphere was great.goodmusic; not too loud since it was still early but i could see the place rocking as it was a saturday evening. i love the décor, black and red with a modern design and a round bar area. i really liked the open air patio with misters.
we had a great evening and i could see this as a perfect spot for a date night, a get together for friends and most importantly a great happy hour spot. if you are looking for a fun place with agoodmeal ra is for you, if you are a sushi conniseur this is not the place to come.