I'm pumped to have finally found authentic Japanese food in Providence! The food and service are very good and the prices are reasonable. The inside is clean and unassuming. We will be back regularly.
Great quality sushi from a Japanese chef.I recommend the Spider Roll and their Snow Crab and Asparagus Roll made with real Snow Crab. Their rolls are small and inexpensive which means you can get more variety for your meal, always a plus.Their tempura sauce is high quality and not watered down like so many others.The fish is delicious and high quality.I will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rainbow Roll and Spider Roll, Bento
Allison F
We’ve been going to Ran Zan for many years and more recently, not as often as we’d like. We were there last Friday evening, on the early side, so we wouldn’t have to wait for a table. We were seated immediately and told that if we order sushi bar items, it would take a little longer. We don’t mind longer wait times, and appreciated the heads up so we could order some non-sushi appetizers.We had the grilled hamachi kama (fish collar), which is always delicious and highly recommended. If you haven’t tried it, please do!We also got the agedashi tofu and yakitori (grilled chicken). The tofu was very good, as usual, but not to my surprise, the chicken wasn’t anything special.With dinner, which was a mixture of a la carte selections of sashimi and nigiri, I had a nice, icy cold Sapporo. Tuna was very fresh, hamachi was delicious, and salmon was also good. Farm-raised salmon isn’t super tasty in general, but it was fresh.Also had unagi (eel) nigiri, ikura (salmon roe) nigiri, and uni (sea urchin) nigiri. The fish components were tasty, but the rice and nori (seaweed wrapper) were not very good. We’ve noticed this issue with the rice during the past few visits, and don’t order maki rolls anymore, but it would be great if the rice quality returned to its former quality.Service was polite and professional. Atmosphere is homey and what you would expect for a small, independent establishment. The older couple works hard to continue serving the community authentic Japanese food, so we appreciate the effort and food. There are so few Japanese restaurants in RI which offer authentic Japanese options.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Nigiri, Small
Raymond Therrien
Great local authentic Japanese food.Great quality food & service.AAAA++++
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nabeyaki Udon
Stephen C
Incredible and authentic sushi Very inexpensive they should raise their prices for the quality Awesome service as well
Nicholas Byers
If I was the last man on earth, and famine struck the land I tread on, with every ounce of my being I still wouldn’t choose this place to lay my body for a meal. If every restaurant was closed and I hadn’t eaten in weeks, I wouldn’t even ask this place if i could use their restroom. That being said…Maybe I caught them on a bad night. But it took over an hour to get my food. Based on this photo, you tell me if it was worth it. To be clear THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BEFORE I EVEN TOUCHED IT. I DID NOT ALTER IT IN ANY WAY. This dish was over $20 by the way. It’s incredibly stuffy inside to the point where my water glass (they never refilled btw) magically replenished due to the condensation and sweat particles that filled the air. The waiter didn’t even give me my miso soup that was supposed to come with my meal. When I brought it up, buddy had the audacity to ask me if “I still even wanted it”. Downright diabolical on his part to even say that. I asked him if Ashton Kutcher was making sushi in the back because there’s NO WAY this experience was real. I genuinely thought I was getting Punk’d. I left my body for the remainder of the meal so I can’t tell you if it was good or not. I ate about half of that tells you anything. I will never be returning. For what it’s worth, my partner liked her sushi
Michelle Breda
Truly fantastic sushi. Small cozy place. The same man is behind the sushi counter every time (sometimes with an assistant), a woman in the kitchen (I presume these are the owners), and someone serving. If you are looking for a quick bite of sushi, you will be frustrated by the wait. If you are in no rush and the priority is good food, this is your spot! We love this place.
Yeong Kim
We’ve been eating here 1-2 times a month for over a year, and the quality has never disappointed us? It’s a small family-owned restaurant, so there were times we had to wait a bit long or they didn’t have what we wanted, but it’s definitely worth it. If you’re looking for authentic traditional Japanese food, this is the place for you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Andrew Arruda
This little place is a hidden gem. I've been to MANY different sushi places, and this chef has perfected his art. The rolls are perfectly crafted in a mindful and thoughtful manner, and the price is really good! This will be my go-to place from here on out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
Amber C.
Great value katsudon and fresh sushi, but very slow service. Took over half an hour for a katsudon and sushi bowl at 4pm on a weekday. There was maybe 1 other customer in the restaurant at the time. Not sure what made the wait so long, but definitely one of the longer waits for food..
Simply the best sushi in Providence. When you know, you know. This is true Tokyo-style sushi. It’s simple and dare I say basic in all the best and right ways. If you are looking for sushi boats, colossal combination rolls, and a menu full of silly made-up names, keep looking… This is not the place for you. This is a family run, authentic, unpretentious sushi bar at its finest. Ran Zan is a very small restaurant and can get busy (both for dine-in and takeout) so be patient and enjoy the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
danny notofconcern
I've lived in Rhode Island all my life and by far this is the best sushi I have ever had living here. Real Japanese sushi. Run by a real Japanese sushi chef. The place is so comfortable. Perfect place to grab a bite. Nice place to eat solo too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
olivia may
I cannot believe how incredible the sushi is here, so perfect in everyway. I love that the place is small and personal and all the people are so kind. The one down fall besides the wait, it's really tough to know what their hours are,. There's no Info online
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kevin Loflin
Tremendous sushi always fresh priced extremely fair. Can't wait to go back
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Juan Pablo Salas
Once again Ran Zan comes up as my favorite restaurant for sushi. Always pretty busy so come early 5PM to 6PM or 8PM to 9PM, however if one gets there at 7PM is worth the wait!Kid-friendliness: Kids are always welcome. I have been bringing my kids since they were two and the owners always ask about them when we do not bring them. I belive this is a great place for kids to learn about sushi and Japanese food overall, there is no fancyness, just spectacular fresh flavors
I'm pumped to have finally found authentic Japanese food in Providence! The food and service are very good and the prices are reasonable. The inside is clean and unassuming. We will be back regularly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri, Katsu Don, Hamachi Kama, Tempura Appetizer
Great quality sushi from a Japanese chef.I recommend the Spider Roll and their Snow Crab and Asparagus Roll made with real Snow Crab. Their rolls are small and inexpensive which means you can get more variety for your meal, always a plus.Their tempura sauce is high quality and not watered down like so many others.The fish is delicious and high quality.I will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rainbow Roll and Spider Roll, Bento
We’ve been going to Ran Zan for many years and more recently, not as often as we’d like. We were there last Friday evening, on the early side, so we wouldn’t have to wait for a table. We were seated immediately and told that if we order sushi bar items, it would take a little longer. We don’t mind longer wait times, and appreciated the heads up so we could order some non-sushi appetizers.We had the grilled hamachi kama (fish collar), which is always delicious and highly recommended. If you haven’t tried it, please do!We also got the agedashi tofu and yakitori (grilled chicken). The tofu was very good, as usual, but not to my surprise, the chicken wasn’t anything special.With dinner, which was a mixture of a la carte selections of sashimi and nigiri, I had a nice, icy cold Sapporo. Tuna was very fresh, hamachi was delicious, and salmon was also good. Farm-raised salmon isn’t super tasty in general, but it was fresh.Also had unagi (eel) nigiri, ikura (salmon roe) nigiri, and uni (sea urchin) nigiri. The fish components were tasty, but the rice and nori (seaweed wrapper) were not very good. We’ve noticed this issue with the rice during the past few visits, and don’t order maki rolls anymore, but it would be great if the rice quality returned to its former quality.Service was polite and professional. Atmosphere is homey and what you would expect for a small, independent establishment. The older couple works hard to continue serving the community authentic Japanese food, so we appreciate the effort and food. There are so few Japanese restaurants in RI which offer authentic Japanese options.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Nigiri, Small
Great local authentic Japanese food.Great quality food & service.AAAA++++
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nabeyaki Udon
Incredible and authentic sushi Very inexpensive they should raise their prices for the quality Awesome service as well
If I was the last man on earth, and famine struck the land I tread on, with every ounce of my being I still wouldn’t choose this place to lay my body for a meal. If every restaurant was closed and I hadn’t eaten in weeks, I wouldn’t even ask this place if i could use their restroom. That being said…Maybe I caught them on a bad night. But it took over an hour to get my food. Based on this photo, you tell me if it was worth it. To be clear THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BEFORE I EVEN TOUCHED IT. I DID NOT ALTER IT IN ANY WAY. This dish was over $20 by the way. It’s incredibly stuffy inside to the point where my water glass (they never refilled btw) magically replenished due to the condensation and sweat particles that filled the air. The waiter didn’t even give me my miso soup that was supposed to come with my meal. When I brought it up, buddy had the audacity to ask me if “I still even wanted it”. Downright diabolical on his part to even say that. I asked him if Ashton Kutcher was making sushi in the back because there’s NO WAY this experience was real. I genuinely thought I was getting Punk’d. I left my body for the remainder of the meal so I can’t tell you if it was good or not. I ate about half of that tells you anything. I will never be returning. For what it’s worth, my partner liked her sushi
Truly fantastic sushi. Small cozy place. The same man is behind the sushi counter every time (sometimes with an assistant), a woman in the kitchen (I presume these are the owners), and someone serving. If you are looking for a quick bite of sushi, you will be frustrated by the wait. If you are in no rush and the priority is good food, this is your spot! We love this place.
We’ve been eating here 1-2 times a month for over a year, and the quality has never disappointed us? It’s a small family-owned restaurant, so there were times we had to wait a bit long or they didn’t have what we wanted, but it’s definitely worth it. If you’re looking for authentic traditional Japanese food, this is the place for you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
This little place is a hidden gem. I've been to MANY different sushi places, and this chef has perfected his art. The rolls are perfectly crafted in a mindful and thoughtful manner, and the price is really good! This will be my go-to place from here on out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
Great value katsudon and fresh sushi, but very slow service. Took over half an hour for a katsudon and sushi bowl at 4pm on a weekday. There was maybe 1 other customer in the restaurant at the time. Not sure what made the wait so long, but definitely one of the longer waits for food..
Restaurantji Recommends
Simply the best sushi in Providence. When you know, you know. This is true Tokyo-style sushi. It’s simple and dare I say basic in all the best and right ways. If you are looking for sushi boats, colossal combination rolls, and a menu full of silly made-up names, keep looking… This is not the place for you. This is a family run, authentic, unpretentious sushi bar at its finest. Ran Zan is a very small restaurant and can get busy (both for dine-in and takeout) so be patient and enjoy the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
I've lived in Rhode Island all my life and by far this is the best sushi I have ever had living here. Real Japanese sushi. Run by a real Japanese sushi chef. The place is so comfortable. Perfect place to grab a bite. Nice place to eat solo too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nigiri
I cannot believe how incredible the sushi is here, so perfect in everyway. I love that the place is small and personal and all the people are so kind. The one down fall besides the wait, it's really tough to know what their hours are,. There's no Info online
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tremendous sushi always fresh priced extremely fair. Can't wait to go back
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Once again Ran Zan comes up as my favorite restaurant for sushi. Always pretty busy so come early 5PM to 6PM or 8PM to 9PM, however if one gets there at 7PM is worth the wait!Kid-friendliness: Kids are always welcome. I have been bringing my kids since they were two and the owners always ask about them when we do not bring them. I belive this is a great place for kids to learn about sushi and Japanese food overall, there is no fancyness, just spectacular fresh flavors
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rainbow Roll and Spider Roll