Oshen Brings Casual Sushi Experience to South Charlotte
Restaurant comes from the team behind Yunta
Sushi can be an expensive habit if the craving hits regularly. Sometimes it’s worth the splurge to pay for valet parking at a trendy uptown spot and sip $20 cocktails while you wait for a table. But sometimes you just want an affordable, consistently good spot on a Tuesday night, because let’s be honest: The grab-and-go stuff at the supermarket rarely gets it done.
That was the motivation behind Oshen, the 75-seat sushi restaurant that Randy and Cinthya Garcia opened in late October in the Colony Place shopping center. The couple also co-owns Viva Chicken, the fast-casual Peruvian chicken joint with 16 locations across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Utah. In 2022, they added Yunta to their Garcia Hospitality Group portfolio. The popular South End restaurant serves Nikkei cuisine, a fusion of Peruvian ingredients and Japanese cooking techniques.
Think of Oshen as Yunta’s laid-back little sister. Instead of electronic dance music and a 360-degree bar, you’ll find a coastal-inspired interior with an eight-seat bar in the corner. Sushi rolls are $16 or less, and cocktails range from $12 to $16. Oshen is also open for lunch and has a kids menu with pint-size Hibachi and Shrimp Tempura Rolls.
The Lychee Basil Martini (above). Below: Carrie Frye Interior Design Studio created the coastal-inspired interior.
Oshen for Charlotte Magazine by LunahZon Photography – www.lunahzon.com
Chef Seiya Noborikawa, who previously worked at Nobu Miami, leads the kitchen. In addition to sushi, the menu includes crudos, tartare, nigiri, hibachi, and a selection of hot dishes. The presentation isn’t as flashy and upscale as Nobu, but that’s not why you come here. This is uncomplicated sushi prepared by someone who knows how.
The cocktail lineup includes a Spicy Watermelon Margarita ($16), Lychee Basil Martini ($14), and Tokyo Bay Sour ($15), a Japanese whisky cocktail made with ginger liqueur, ginger-green tea syrup, lemon juice, and candied ginger. It also serves beer, wine, and mocktails.
The top of the menu has shareable, raw seafood. If you’re unclear on what’s what: Unlike ceviche, which uses citrus juice to cook the cubed fish, crudo is a blanket term for anything that’s raw and dressed. Tartare is a type of crudo made of raw meat or seafood that’s chopped up and bound with some sort of sauce, dressing, and other seasonings.
Tuna Tataki Crudo (above); Hibachi with fried rice, steak, and veggies (below).
The Tuna Tataki Crudo ($13) comes with eight slices of seared tuna drizzled in a sweet sesame-ginger ponzu. Hamachi Jalapeno Crudo ($15) is a buttery, soft yellowtail dressed in smoked-jalapeño sauce. Spicy Tuna Tartare ($12) is diced tuna topped with chives, sesame, avocado, and scallions, and served with Japanese garlic milk bread or crispy rice crackers.
Nigiri comes two to an order; highlights include Tuna Nigiri ($8) and Scallop Nigiri ($9). If you prefer hot appetizers, try the Beef Dumplings ($9), which come with a side of soy ponzu for dipping. The Pork Belly Bao Buns ($8) come two to an order and are stuffed with lettuce, pickled carrots, cucumber, and a sweet soy glaze.
Beef Dumplings with spicy ponzu (above). Below: Owners Cinthya and Randy Garcia of Garcia Hospitality Group.
Oshen for Charlotte Magazine by LunahZon Photography – www.lunahzon.com
Sushi rolls are the main attraction and feature a mix of traditional and Americanized varieties. The Baja California Roll ($11) is a basic California roll with a side of spicy mayo. The Steak House Roll ($12) is deep-fried and hearty, while the Hono-Maki Roll ($13) is stuffed with spicy tuna, cucumber, and chives for a light, refreshing bite. The Sanshu Roll ($13) is the most inventive of the bunch. It’s wrapped in soy paper instead of traditional seaweed; stuffed with yellowfin tuna, salmon, hamachi, and avocado; and served with a tangy wasabi dressing they should sell by the bottle.
Hot entrées like Chicken Katsu ($15) and Japanese Fried Rice ($10) are solid and straightforward. Hibachi ($12) comes with fried rice and veggies and your choice of steak (+$5), lobster (+$8), chicken (+$3), or shrimp (+$5). To end with something sweet, you can order the Japanese Cheesecake ($10), or head a few doors down to the TCBY, which the Garcias also own.
Oshen is a restaurant that’s exactly what it advertises. It’s affordable, family-friendly, and you can get in and out in under an hour. Is it the prettiest, most creative sushi you’ve ever had? Probably not. But will you come back for more? Absolutely.
OSHEN
7741 Colony Road, Ste. A1
Hours:
11 a.m.-9 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday
11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday
11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday
Know before you go:
Dinner reservations are highly recommended, but the full menu is available at the bar where seating is first come, first served.
TAYLOR BOWLER is the lifestyle editor.
