Ama Sushi Edina: Worth the wait ... even when the weather is bad

Whenever my wife and I talk about going out for sushi,  Ama Sushi Edina is the first place we think of. The sushi is made from the freshest fish, and the presentation is beautiful. The price is reasonable and a great value. The only hitch - they don't take reservations, and it's so popular that we often have to wait to be seated. 

I don't mind waiting. But the last time we went, it was bitter cold which made the wait very uncomfortable. We've kind of decided that in the future, we'll go when the weather is more tolerable so we can stroll the neighborhood while waiting. 

When you do get seated, the first thing they bring you is a bowl of miso soup. When you place your order, it doesn't take long for the food to appear. On our most recent visit (when it was so cold), we accepted a seat at the bar. Not ideal, but it got us out of the cold. After the miso soup, we shared an order of squid salad. One word - Great! For my dinner, I had a sushi combo - 7 pieces of sushi and a California roll. (My order is pictured at the top of this post.) 

I also had a flight of sake. I like sake, but I don't know much about it, so I never know which one to order. Getting a flight is my strategy for discovering what I like best. 

The first time I went to Ama Sushi was for the Tibetan dumplings - momos. I met my son there for lunch. We shared a plate of Tibetan momos (beef. rice noodles and scallions) and vegetable momos (spinach, rice noodles, scallions and tofu). We also had a tri-color sashimi platter, three pieces each of salmon, tuna and yellowtail. 

Happy birthday!

On another visit, my wife and I took our teenage grandson for a birthday dinner (his request). We had a variety of items, including the squid salad and the sushi/sashimi combo which included 5 pieces of sushi, 9 pieces of sashimi, and a California roll. And Leo had a mango mochi for dessert. 

I'd really like to try more of the Tibetan items on the menu. But I like the sushi so much that's what I always end up ordering. 

Ama Sushi does a great take-out business. I suppose if you're put off by having to wait for a table, you could order take-out. But I really do prefer to eat in the restaurant. It's always so bustling and it's energizing to be with the crowd. Another option would be to go more often at lunchtime. 

Ama Sushi has 2 other sister restaurants. One is Apa Sushi in Maple Grove. The other is Momo Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis. A fourth restaurant by the same chef/owner, Momo Sushi, is currently closed after a fire in 2025. Its Facebook page says that the owner hopes to reopen at another location in Northeast. But as of this writing, nothing has been finalized.