Can I order just ONE maki roll at a sushi restaurant?

Question

I frequently get carryout sushi, but I've never actually dined inside the restaurant. If I sit at a table, would it be normal to order just one sushi roll like I'd normally do for carryout, or is this only acceptable when dining at the sushi bar? I could maybe get a salad with it and a drink of course, but I was just wondering if that would be ok to do. The roll I like only costs like $7, but I'd be going with a friend so they would order something too. Please help as I don't want to look cheap or like an idiot!! Thanks!

To reiterate once again: I'd PREFER to sit at a table, not the sushi bar. And I want to know if it's ok to order ONE roll as my main entree.

And yes, I know "maki roll" is redundant, but I wanted to put as many buzz words in my question as possible :p

Answer 1

yes you can order i roll. you can dine on anything you like when you go in.
you can order as little or as much so long as you can pay lol

Answer 2

Yes you can. Makes for an easy job for the waitress. And saying "maki roll" is redundant as maki is Japanese for "roll". Saying "maki roll" will make the staff laugh at you when you leave.

(To the guy above:) ...So are you telling me that if someone asks for a "maki roll," they might want a Japanese musician rolled up in the rice?

All I'm saying is that the staff WILL giggle behind your back if you ask for a "tempura maki roll" or a "tekka maki roll" because within the context it's being used, it is redundant. It's like going somewhere and asking for a "Hamburger sandwich." The fact that it is a sandwich is already implied by the word "burger."

Answer 3

I would say a $7 food item is a very reasonable amount for customer to dine in. With that amount should get you a order of sashimi in many Japanese restaurant.
When ordering sushi, you should always order in even number, like 2pcs, 4pcs..etc., sashimi is in odd number, if you feel uncomfortable, why not order like a 2pcs salmon sushi+maki roll+a drink, or order everything together and share plate with your friend.

Answer 4

Sit at the Sushi bar and ask if you can order one maki roll.

Answer 5

I think one roll for one person would be fine. Most sushi is made for quick lunch and out the door...dont worry about it.

Answer 6

go ahead.... i have costumers that always eat only 1 california roll....
and it's my job to make the roll for them, if the chef compain about it, tell the manager...
i'm a sushi chef myself

Answer 7

Yes and No.

Yes, you can order as much or as little as you like if you sit at a table.

But if you sit at the sushi bar, depend on the "sushi" restaurant you go to, it might not be as acceptable. Caz there are some tranditional sushi restaurant out there, you are only allow to order sushi and drink if you want to sit at the sushi bar with min. order requirnment. For example Sushi Ann in New York have a $30 sushi min. if you want to sit at the sushi bar.

The main reason being is "Sushi Bar" are mean to show case the sushi chef skill, which the chef will start with white-fleshed or milder-tasting items and proceed into darker, stronger-flavored varieties later. In top-end sushi restaurants, it is considered a bad form to request or add extra wasabi when the chef has (or should have) already placed a suitable amount in each morsel. Likewise, one connoisseur counsels "adding wasabi to soy sauce is a disaster. It reduces the spiciness dramatically and masks the taste of the fish" So if you only order only one maki roll when you sitting at the sushi bar, you are actully saying "You Suck"


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To the user below, even though Maki (巻き) mean rolls but to be more corect in a Japanese Restaurant Maki-zushi (巻き寿司) mean sushi rolls not maki, most common types of makizushi are as fellow, but many other kinds exist. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Sushi.png)

Futomaki (太巻き, lit. large or fat rolls).
Hosomaki (細巻き, lit. thin rolls).
Uramaki (裏巻き, lit. inside-out rolls).
Temaki (手巻き, lit. hand rolls).
Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司, stuffed sushi).

As for just the word Maki (マーキー), to some Japanese Maki can also refer to

Maki, a Japanese musician.
Maki (current political party), the Communist Party of Israel.
Maki (constructor), a Grand Prix racing constructor.
At least two places in Japan:
Maki, Niigata (Kubiki)
Maki, Niigata (Kambara)
Makizushi, a variety of sushi.
Maki Goto, a Japanese pop singer.
Maki Seiichiro, a Japanese soccer player.
The word maki is another name for a Lemur.
The word maki is another name for a Levente.
Maki Fumihiko, an architect and Pritzker Prize winner.
Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata Matrix, a theoretical physics construct used in the study of neutrinos.
Maki Genryusai, a video game character from both the Final Fight and Street Fighter series.
Maki is also the name of a female protagonist in the Japanese television programme Seiun Kamen Machine Man.
Maki Kagura, a video game character from the King of Fighters series.
Maki Ichinose, a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach.
.maki is an extension used for Winamp scripting files.

So the way he also are just fine.

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To a Japanese People a good Japanese restaurant is most often not a good sushi place. A good sushi place is usually a good Japanese restaurant. Also Japanese are manic about quality, if we did not see "other" Japanese sitting in the restaurant (US), or the SUSHI are not make by a TRANDITIONAL TRAIN JAPANESE SUSHI CHEF (JAPANESE), we are out of there.

Here are my advise if you want to enjoy REAL SUSHI in US:

Eat only at the best place you can find. Many sushi bars are a bit expensive, but quality usually sucks, so price is no indicator of quality. Ask Japanese people where they go to eat sushi and go there.

Stick to one or two good places once you find them. Regulars get better sushi and better overall service than casual patrons.

Count the number of Japanese sitting at the sushi bar. The more Japanese people eating there, usually the better the sushi.

Most often than not, avoid the restaurants with little boats of sushi parading along a large sushi bar. It's a great gimmick, but remember that those restaurants are to sushi what McDonald's is to prime rib.

Greet the itamae (sushi chef) even if you don't eat at the bar. He'll recommend special stuff if he recognizes you as a regular and/or someone who truly knows how to eat sushi.
Remember that itamae are not just "cooks". They have traditions dating back to the time of the samurai. These same guys fed the meanest leanest macho hombre warriors of Japan. Be respectful and you shall enjoy the best sushi.

Order all sushi items from the itamae, everything else from the food servers, order one kind of sushi at a time, maximum three if the bar is busy. Don't be afraid to ask for things not listed in the menu. Chances are the chef has them under the counter for those people who truly know what they're doing. Kazunoko, inago, hebo and idtakko fall in this category.
As mention early order only one roll might offened a tranditional train Japanese Sushi Chef, also using the wet tower wipe any place other hand your hand will also offened them. If you are on a budget, is better of tell the chef what you like or how much you willing to spend and have him created somthing for you.

Don't be surprised if your itamae pours you a glass of the special reserve sake he keeps under the bar if he realizes that you know your sushi and how to order it. Thank him, raise your glass and toast by saying "kampai!".

Things you should watch for if you want to eat like a pro:

The fish and other seafood are not on display at the sushi bar.
The fish and other seafood on display look dry.
The sushi chef are not Japanese or tranditonallt train (American, keep in mind to become a sushi chef in Japan, a average trainning time is 15 years)
The sushi chef or (worse) a food server wants to take your order for all sushi items at once a food server wants to take your order for all sushi items at once
The sushi chef doesn't give you a chance to order "one or two pieces at a time", Japanese style
The restaurant advertises "all you can eat sushi" for a fixed price
The menu items are not listed in Japanese followed by a translation; they appear only in english.
The menu consists mostly of rolled sushi with names like California Roll, Caterpillar Roll, Dynamite Roll.
More than half of the available ingredients are cooked
The sushi chef hasn't the vaguest idea of what you're talking about if you ask for kazunoko, shiso, inago, chirashi, ankimo or yama gobo
The morsels of fish atop nigiri pieces are so large that you can barely see the rice underneath.
The sushi rice is flavorless; sushi rice must have a delicate aroma and flavor

If you notice any two of the "watch out" sign, goto a different restaurant.


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as a respond, to the user below here some example for you

I can goto a high-end Japanese Restaurant and ask "I will like some Maki sushi/roll please", to the staff I'm ask for maki style sushi. But if I ask " I want Maki style food" the staff will provide me food from Niigata region of Japan instead.

Here another one in a conversation if I just I say "I love Maki", it could ether refer to one of the singer, or it could refer to Maki in Niigata region, games and so for. That why "Maki Sushi" mean roll. The only Maki mean roll is if it behind a ingediance such as Tekkamaki (鉄火巻き) (Tuna roll), Kappamaki, (河童巻き) (Cucumber roll) .

So if some ask for Tekkamaki Roll, Yes you are right, the staff will most likely laugh behind, but if some just ask for Maki Roll, it is fine.

As for the "hamburger sandwich" the word hamburger does not mean sandwich, if you are old school, you will say it that way, we just accept hamburger=sandwich as time go by. Read this column in the Metropolitan News which pulish in 2004. http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/reminiscing010804.htm

Back to the question, I appolgize or this, but I like to info people as much as I can, especially you said you do not want to look like a fool. It's better off in the know rather than offeren someone without knowing.
Since you said you perfer table, there should not be any problem at all. But if you want to sit at the bar, since different good sushi restaurant have a different requirnment (Sushi Ann in new york have $30, Madori Cafe in Minneapolis you are only allow to eat nothing but sushi/sashimi at bar, Bar Masa in New York only offer nigiri style sushi, maki sushi are limit, there are also a few will only serve you up to 20 pieces of sushi, caz' they believe you can no long taste the fish) So if you want to sit at the bar, I will recommand ask the host/manager if there any special requirnment.