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Best Sushi: Kemosabe Sushi

Komosabe Sushi head chef Tyler Carley.
Photo from Tyler Carley

When it comes to sushi in Summit County, Best of Summit voters said there’s no place better than Kemosabe Sushi on Main Street in Frisco, a casual fine dining experience that provides visitors and local foodies with some welcome twists to the traditional Japanese cuisine.

Kemosabe opened in 2009, brought on by popular demand from customers at Silverheels Bar & Grill, a sister restaurant next door where patrons used to take advantage of twice-weekly sushi nights. Not long after, the standalone Kemosabe Sushi restaurant replaced the special offerings. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Kemosabe offers an eclectic menu of Asian-fusion options designed to complement Silverheels’ Southwest-inspired offerings.



“We’ve been fusing flavors and trying new things,” said Tyler Carley, the restaurant’s head chef. “In that way, we’ve found we can do things a little off the cuff, which gives our guests a little bit of a different experience from more traditional sushi bars.”

Guests can dive into one of Kemosabe’s signature creations like the Curtis-C roll with fried jalapeno peppers, cream cheese, avocado and cilantro oil topped with yellowtail tuna. Or try out the restaurant’s most memorable appetizer: the spicy tuna tower, a Japanese-style take on nachos with wonton chips, avocado, raw spicy tuna, pico de gallo and eel sauce.



While a tempting menu of contemporary and innovative blends is usually more than enough to get customers in the door, Carley said it’s the restaurant’s dedication to fresh ingredients and simple, powerful flavors that keeps community members coming back to try something new.

“I buy the best quality fish that I can from my providers,” Carley said. “And simple fish needs simple sauces to taste good. We make every single one of our sauces right here in-house with as few ingredients as we can to really let the fish speak for itself.”

And for Carley and the rest of the team at Kemosabe Sushi, getting the nod of approval from regulars and visitors is a satisfying experience as they strive to solidify themselves as the best in the county.

“We work really hard to look at things every day to see what’s working and what’s not so that we can create a dynamic dining experience year-round,” Carley said. “Especially with the competition we have and all the other great sushi bars, it really means a lot for the community to recognize us. We work really hard here, and that’s the payoff.”

Kemosabe Sushi is at 605 Main St. in Frisco.


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