Japanese Restaurants in O'Fallon

Bold flavors infuse Mizu Sushi Bar's menu of nigiri sushi, maki rolls, and cooked pan-Asian dishes. Spicy garlic sauce erupts from the Screaming Volcano roll, and tangy housemade teriyaki clings to charbroiled chicken and beef. Korean BBQ entrees such as beef ribs and bulgogi add international flavor, like the parts of Three Stooges films where Moe swears in Javanese. And for those who prefer less spice, tempura shrimp and veggies hide inside crisp batter, and udon noodles swirl in mild broth.

Though located in the trendy Washington Avenue district, Mizu's industrial-style space is "spacious and sleek without seeming hipper than thou," according to the Riverfront Times. Track lighting dangles from an exposed ceiling next to flat-screen TVs and a wall-mounted sculpture of tortoises striving to be seen as more than just potential eyeglass frames.

At each of Drunken Fish's upscale restaurants, chefs create traditional and specialty sushi, along with stir-frys and other Japanese entrees. Fresh tuna nigiri and 10 oz Teriyaki glazed strip steak make for tasty pairings with signature cocktails, such as the Madame Butterfly with raspberry vodka, mango puree, and pineapple juice. Drunken Fish has three convenient locations within St. Louis, each featuring modern decor.

Wasabi snares sushi seekers with more than 80 varieties of nigiri, maki, hand rolls, and gunkwan sushi. Begin your chopsticking with the Batman roll, which swoops in to save languishing taste buds with a savory combination of eel, avocado, and street justice ($9). Nighttime noshers can complement the sushi with one of the dinner menu’s mouth-friendly features, such as grilled salmon ($17), whereas day fuelers can avail themselves of the lunch menu’s bento offerings, including the four-part teriyaki beef bento ($9.50).

For $7, you get $15 toward lunch. For $15, you get $30 toward dinner.

The sea is all around at House of Thai. A tapestry of a merman-esque mythological character beams down on one table, a sea dragon slithers down a wooden post behind another, and seascapes float across the walls. Then, of course, is the menu, with its concise selection of maki, ranging from spicy salmon to a classic california roll to a saint louis roll filled with tuna, avocado, cucumber, pickled radish, and masago—all the foods that appear on St. Louis’s municipal flag. They also offer creamy curry, seafood-enriched fried rice, and daring dishes such as garlic and pepper frog legs.