"But what about insert your favorite spot here?!"

Sure, that place is probably decent—but it's no Nippon Tei. What chef/owner Nick Bognar is doing with fish really never been done in St. Louis and the accolades, rave reviews, and increasing difficult in obtaining a reservation are proof of that.

On paper, the restaurant might not sound like one of the hottest spots in town—20 year old sushi joint located in a strip mall in Ballwin—but we would never lead you astray. Nick took over the family restaurant after spending time working at famed sushi restaurant Uchiko in Austin and has slowly revamped the menu (and will continue doing so). So long, fried sushi rolls! Hello carefully aged fish straight from Japan!

Here's how we roll: start with the tuna tartare (w/candied cashews, thai chilis, shiso aioli) and/or the hamachi crudo (orange supremes, ponzu, jalapenos). Get a hijiki seaweed salad because you need more vegetables in your life.

Order the tempura prawns and dip them in the shiso aioli. Ask for more aioli. Live your best life.

Now comes the hard part: sushi. You could order sushi and makimono rolls a la carte, and if you did, we'd definitely get some sake toro (seared salmon belly with lemon zest), A5 Wagyu beef, and the sake san roll, filled with spicy, crunchy salmon skin, sake-washed ikura, and scallions, topped with seared salmon sahshimi. Plus anything from the daily specials menu.

The better choice is to just order the chef's omakase. We just say, "mess us up, fam". It's really the best option—they know what the day's best cuts are and they always have lots of fun, unexpected twists. If you're lucky, you'll get one of Bognar's Thai-Japanese fusion dishes that will almost literally blow up your little brain.

If you aren't a sushi eater, this is the place to give it a go. Nowhere else in St. Louis.

If you are a sushi eater, we're assuming you've been here. If you haven't, SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

Nippon Tei