Nippon Japanese Restaurant

If everyone you know hears something slightly different when someone says, “let’s go get Japanese food,” you should check out Nippon. Opened in 1986, the Montrose restaurant serves a multi-page menu of sushi, makimono rolls, katsudon, ramen, katsu curry, teriyaki plates, noodles, hot pot, seafood dishes, and beyond—enough to satisfy just about anyone’s Japanese cuisine cravings. Nippon can feel a bit claustrophobic with such tiny, busy dining rooms and a patio that might make you nostalgic for squeezing past someone in an airplane row, but the staff does their best to move guests in and out by endlessly reconfiguring tables. Food reliably comes out fast, hot, and fresh no matter the time of day, so whether you get a table right away or not, the quick service and reasonable cost makes waiting worth it. Grab a casual dinner at the sushi bar or with a couple friends on the patio when the weather swings tolerable.

photo credit: Chelsea Thomas