The 6 Best And 3 Worst Grocery Stores For Sushi

For many of us, sushi is typically considered a luxury item. It might cost a little more than casual fare, but you get to experience a nice restaurant and indulge in a high-quality treat. Until recently, sushi was synonymous with foodie culture and an adventurous palate. However, things have since changed, and you can now find sushi at almost any grocery store. 

That's right — grocery store sushi is a thing, and people seem to love it. According to the Wall Street Journal, over the last few years, grocery store sushi sales have increased over 70%, meaning the phenomenon is clearly more than a trend. While you can find sushi practically anywhere, not all grocery store sushi is created equal. We've compiled a list of the best and worst grocery stores for sushi, considering things like freshness, flavor, variety, overall look and feel, and value for money, based on customer reviews and personal experience. While you can't expect restaurant quality from a grocery store, the standards are pretty high.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

Whole Foods is considered one of the best places to buy grocery store sushi. It is a little pricier than other stores, but it does not compromise on quality. The store has sold sushi since 1997, long before its competitors, and it still uses the same sushi vendor today. Genji provides in-house sushi for most of the Whole Foods stores in the United States, though some locations also stock Kikka sushi. Having first functioned as a well-known Japanese restaurant, Genji maintains quality by training its chefs at a very high level and considers the freshness and sustainability of its ingredients a top priority.

The sushi is made daily at the sushi counter, and as far as variety goes, there are plenty of types to choose from. The chain offers the classics: California rolls, nigiri, maki, and rolls made from tuna, salmon, shrimp, as well as multiple vegetarian options. Whole Foods also boasts a wide range of specialty rolls, such as the crab meat California roll, made with real crab, as opposed to the popular imitation crab substitute. 

While customers rave about the rice, the variety boxes, specialty rolls, and the sauces, they universally agree that it is the freshness that sets Whole Foods sushi apart. Reddit and Facebook reviewers rate its sushi very highly, and many remark that they've never had a bad sushi experience there. 

Sushi is a Japanese tradition, so it is no surprise that some of the best grocery store sushi comes from a Japanese market. Nijiya Market is known for its selection of Japanese products as well as its deli. 

Nijiya Market is beloved by customers, as evidenced by Yelp reviews. They especially love the sushi section of the deli, with one customer claiming that Nijiya has the best sushi in all of Los Angeles. In fact, many reviewers found Nijiya Market by searching "best sushi in Los Angeles." Considering the number of high-end sushi restaurants in the city, this speaks volumes. Multiple reviewers specifically recommended the onigiri as a delicious on-the-go snack, and they often praised how fresh the sushi is while still being affordable. Nijiya Market also offers various party sets:sushi platters with more than 50 pieces for less than $60. For comparison, a platter of the same size from a store like Whole Foods costs around $100. 

Nijiya's portions are generous. Redditors have praised the thick and buttery sashimi cuts in posts, while commenting that the assortment of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and scallops look outrageously delicious. They suggest it could have come from a restaurant, and considering that scallops are an uncommon offering at most grocery store sushi counters, we tend to agree.

Erewhon is not your average grocery store. In the last few years, it has gained notoriety for its exorbitant prices and celebrity-branded smoothies. You could consider its rise in popularity as an inauthentic byproduct of social media hype, and while there is no way to justify spending $19 for a single strawberry, its sushi might just be the exception. 

Erewhon offers a wide variety of sushi, but its viral spicy sushi sandwich and premium sushi box are the most popular. The spicy sushi sandwich consists of wild salmon and tuna, real crab, cucumber, avocado, nori, and an umami spicy sauce sandwiched between two pieces of crispy rice. The sandwich is priced around $20 — which is on the higher end for a single sushi item — but customers feel that the generous portions of wild fish and avocado explain the price. One customer even described how badly she wanted to dislike the sandwich, given its hefty price tag, but felt it was simply too delicious. 

The Erewhon premium sushi box ranges anywhere between $25 and $30, though the reviews equally as positive. The boxes include sashimi, nigiri, and various rolls. There is a clear focus on simplicity, authenticity, and quality. You will not find crispy onion or cream cheese in a premium box, only the best cuts of fish and organic ingredients — meaning grocery store convenience with restaurant quality. 

Kroger has the highest sushi sales in America, so they must be doing something right. According to the Wall Street Journal, the retailer sells over 40 million sushi rolls annually and, despite the demand, the quality is consistent. Kroger offers a wide variety of affordable sushi including California rolls, nigiri, maki, and various crunch rolls. Its boxes are very affordable and it even offers deals, like $5 sushi on Wednesdays. 

Its bento box-style is perfect for a quick snack or lunch on the go, and it caters to universal sushi tastes by including cream cheese, jalapeños, crispy onion, and cooked fish in many of the rolls. In fact, the most popular cooked roll is the crunch California roll, which is made with imitation crab. However, Kroger is also known for having creative specialty rolls, like the spicy mango roll, Spam sushi roll, and the controversial Doritos tempura roll. Customers are obsessed with Kroger sushi given its variety, affordability, and convenience. Customers referred to it as their go-to meal, especially on special occasions, sometimes even preferring Kroger sushi over restaurant sushi. Several customers on Instagram and TikTok remarked that they were surprised by how delicious the sushi was. 

If you are looking for variety when it comes to sushi, look no further than Ralphs. The Ralphs sushi counter may as well be an entire aisle. It's stocked with all types of sushi. You can find the classics — California rolls, maki, and nigiri — as well as less common sushi varieties like tiger rolls. 

The specialty rolls are particularly unique, including the mango crunchy dragon roll and the avocado salad roll. Ralphs' sushi is supplied by Zenshi– a sushi vendor that prioritizes tradition while still accommodating American palates. The sushi is made fresh daily, and is beloved by customers seeking a reliable sushi fix. Overall, Customers rate Ralphs sushi above average for a grocery store, often on account of its freshness. 

Customers have commented that the rice was perfect, unlike other grocery store sushi they've had. The delicious buttery texture of the tuna was also praised, with some insisting that the sushi was of better quality than some restaurants. All in all, much like Kroger, Ralphs sushi is consistently good. However, it is slightly more affordable than Kroger. 

The sushi at Sprouts is made in-house daily and, unlike many other grocery stores, is rolled by hand. While there is nothing wrong with machine-rolled sushi, the rolls can sometimes feel mass-produced, especially when the rice is too densely packed. After all, many believe that good sushi is all about the rice. TikTokers specifically mention Sprouts' rice as being very well made, retaining its sticky texture, without becoming gummy, with some calling the rice flawless. On the Sprouts products page, the sushi selection has consistently high customer ratings, with customers praising the softness of the rice while still maintaining the roll's shape. 

Besides generous portions, Sprouts also offers a wide variety of sushi to choose from. While you are less likely to find unique creations at Sprouts than stores like Ralphs, you will find multiple flavor variations of classic rolls, including Krispy Krab rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and, of course, California rolls. The quality of the sushi can be likened to Whole Foods — bright fish with fresh avocado and crispy cucumber — but at a fraction of the price. On Wednesdays, Sprouts even offers $5 sushi specials. Several customer reviews rave about the freshness and flavor of the rolls, with some referring to the store as their go-to spot for sushi.

Walmart is a great store for many things, but sushi (or seafood in general) is not one of them. According to a survey by Mashed, 33% of consumers report being unhappy with the quality of Walmart's seafood. It should come as no surprise that the spicy tuna rolls from Walmart are not entirely made from tuna. The spicy tuna mixture is actually a combination of tuna, pollock, and crustacean shellfish (shrimp). While spicy tuna is generally made from off-cuts of tuna – like from the spine — mixed with spice and mayo, this one is not 100% tuna. 

Customers are not happy with the results. One customer on TikTok referred to the cream cheese salmon roll as tasting like cat food, while pro chef Josh Scherer called the spicy tuna roll "deeply upsetting to [his] constitution as a human being" in a video ranking grocery store sushi shared on his YouTube channel. If that wasn't reason enough, a Walmart employee also took to Reddit stating that they would never buy sushi from the store, revealing that it arrives frozen. Finally, apart from a frozen aisle sushi item, the Walmart sushi selection is so limited that you'll only find a few different rolls squeezed into the corner of the deli section, near the sandwiches or dairy.

Trader Joe's, beloved by millions, is rarely on the "worst of anything" list. It is generally everybody's favorite spot for snacks — unless that snack is sushi. The bad reviews are plenty, and the consensus is unanimous: People really hate sushi from Trader Joe's. 

The store carries California rolls made with imitation crab and avocado or a very similar veggie option. Even after a nationwide recall in 2019, customers would have preferred that the grocer stop selling sushi because it was just that bad. One customer on Reddit claimed that they "had to spit it out within a second of eating it," noting that it was very mushy. Multiple customers on the same Reddit thread agreed that Trader Joe's sushi could not get any worse and concluded that you cannot expect anything better from sushi that is kept out all day. 

This is a crucial factor; the longer sushi sits out, the worse it gets, regardless of how good it was to begin with. Trader Joe's sushi is not made in-house, and since the rolls only contain imitation crab and vegetables, they aren't made daily either. This could account for why customers describe the rice as "mushy." The rolls were also described as having brown avocado and limp vegetables, and in a BuzzFeed YouTube video reviewing grocery store sushi, the sushi chef Yoya Takahashi rated the still-frozen sushi "minus zero stars."

Aldi might be the most controversial pick on our list, because most customers agree that its selection cannot be considered sushi at all (not even the grocery-store kind). If you consider it an unspecified frozen snack, then, and only then, is it edible. Aldi only sells frozen sushi in several varieties, including an imitation crab California roll and a shrimp and avocado roll. The sushi comes in boxes of 15 pieces and has three methods of preparation. You can either remove it from the box and let it thaw at room temperature for two hours, place the sushi in an airtight bag and submerge it in cold water for 30 minutes, or pop it in the microwave. It shouldn't be microwaved for longer than about 40 to 50 seconds, or else it starts to warm up. The only thing stranger than frozen sushi, is warm sushi. 

YouTube reviewers say that the sushi is not worth it, despite being affordable. Considering that Sprouts offers $5 freshly made sushi deals, we tend to agree. Customers have taken to Reddit to share their bad experiences with the sushi, while Facebook users expressed similar sentiments. Many of them were affronted by the very notion of the snack, calling the product an abomination and noting it should never be called sushi. Regardless of what you call it, you can give this one a skip.

There are many things to look at when considering what makes "good sushi." While grocery store sushi may not be as good as restaurant sushi, a chain still had to have quality offerings to make the "best of" portion of the list. We looked at some of the qualities that customers commented on, including freshness, flavor, and the variety of sushi available at the store. Chains with a larger selection and specialty rolls generally garnered favor from customers. Lastly, we considered value for money based on the quality and quantity of the sushi.

To compile our list, we looked at the feedback shared about these chains on Reddit, Yelp, and various social media platforms from both customers and professional reviewers. Regardless of where you're shopping, it's important to note that the time you purchase your sushi may alter its quality, so be sure to grab your favorites while they're still fresh.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.