Orem’s AhiMuse sushi, steak restaurant packs flavorful punch
A Sexy Bomb sushi roll is served à la carte at AhiMuse.
Miso Soup is served at AhiMuse.
From top: A Fantastic Roll, Dancing Eel Roll and Sexy Bomb are served from AhiMuse's all-you-can-eat sushi menu.
A Beef Teriyaki Bento Box is served at AhiMuse.
A Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box is served at AhiMuse.
A Salmon Steak Bento Box is served at AhiMuse.
A Cinderella Roll is served from AhiMuse's all-you-can-eat sushi menu.
A Volcano baked roll is served from AhiMuse's all-you-can-eat sushi menu.
Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream is served at AhiMuse.
When it comes to enjoying a truly excellent sushi and steak experience, Orem’s AhiMuse at University Place offers the whole package.
From its synergistic flavor combinations to its perfectly cooked meats, AhiMuse goes above and beyond.
My party of four visited AhiMuse for lunch and received excellent service. We were the first customers to arrive for the day and enjoyed the calm and quiet environment, as few others arrived during our time there.
We were impressed with the classy and inviting atmosphere of the restaurant, which features brick walls and stained glass windows accented with wood paneling, all united by muted tones of red, brown and green. The tables are set up surrounding a central stage, which regularly hosts live tribute concerts by CineStage. (Seriously, what doesn’t this place do?)
AhiMuse offers a Bento Box lunch special, an option so tantalizing, three of us couldn’t resist choosing it. For between $8.99-$9.99, customers can choose between Chicken or Beef Teriyaki, Chicken or Pork Katsu and Salmon Steak as an entrée, which comes in a Bento Box with Miso Soup on the side, salad, four pieces of either California Roll or Spicy Tuna Roll, shrimp and veggie tempura, and steamed rice.
Wanting to try the restaurant’s steak, I ordered the Beef Teriyaki Bento Box, which our waitress said contained the same meat as AhiMuse’s regular steak option, only served already sliced and topped with teriyaki sauce. This sounded reasonable enough to me, so I ordered the meat medium cooked and asked for the sauce on the side. Our guests ordered Chicken Teriyaki and Salmon Steak Bento Boxes.
Our food was brought to the table before long, and the Miso Soup, which was served first, proved to be a warm and appetizing way to start our meals. When the Bento Boxes came out shortly afterward, I felt I’d been offered an artist’s palette. Each item offered a unique flavor that complemented the others beautifully.
The fresh, leafy salad was topped with a delicious Asian sesame dressing. All three of us chose the California Roll option, which proved to be a yummy blend of avocado, cucumber and crab. The shrimp and veggie tempura was cooked perfectly, and we enjoyed the variety of the vegetables — from potato slices to asparagus to mushrooms — dipped in the accompanying vinegary sauce.
Our Bento Boxes also came with fried spring rolls, which offered a delightful crunchy texture, accompanied by a mouthwatering zesty Italian-like sauce. Even the steamed rice was topped with a savory sprinkling of spices.
The meat entrées were equally packed with flavor. In my experience, restaurants that specialize in sushi tend to serve cooked meat options that taste largely dry and flavorless. In AhiMuse’s case, this could not be further from the truth.
We all agreed the cooked meat we’d been served was among some of the best we’d ever eaten. My Beef Teriyaki was served exactly the way I had asked for it, with the perfect balance of brown and red meat resulting in a tasty and tender entrée. The Chicken Teriyaki and Salmon Steak were likewise sweet and juicy.
My husband ordered the all-you-can-eat sushi, which is one of his favorite meals. I should note here that AhiMuse’s lunch menu is slightly more limited than its dinner menu, which extends the options available to all-you-can-eat customers.
He tried the Dancing Eel Roll, Fantastic Roll, Cinderella Roll and Volcano baked roll, but his favorite by far was one of AhiMuse’s most popular rolls, the Sexy Bomb. Since the rest of us were in the mood for a bit more sushi than our Bento Boxes offered, we decided to order a roll for ourselves à la carte.
I’m happy to report that the taste of this sushi roll is as exciting as its title. The Sexy Bomb is made of tempura shrimp, avocado and cream cheese and topped with salmon, eel, crunchy flakes, spicy mayo and eel sauce.
Each piece’s careful combination of textures and flavors resulted in a delightful symphony of sweet, savory and spicy zing. AhiMuse also presented the roll beautifully, with the pieces arranged in a circle, surrounded by small leaves and flower petals, which made the dish all the more enticing.
We ended our visit with a personal favorite, Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream. The presentation was, again, lovely, with the quartered ice cream ball centered atop a strawberry topping decoration and garnished with whipped cream, a mint leaf and a sliced strawberry.
The dessert was still quite frozen when it was served, and the slices were a bit hard to separate, but the flavor of the sweet strawberry filling and texture of the signature rice-based outer layer did not disappoint.
Whether you enjoy a good sushi roll, a juicy cut of meat, live music, a classy atmosphere or all of the above, AhiMuse offers something for everyone.
AHIMUSE
Where: 1087 S. 750 East, Orem
Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner Monday-Thursday from 5-10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 5-11 p.m.
Price: All-you-can-eat $19.99-$37.99; appetizers and sides $1.50-$12.99; entrées and meals $4.99-$29.99; nigiri, fish and sushi rolls $2.99-$14.99; sashimi combos and sushi boats $30-$100; desserts $2.99-$6.99; drinks $1.99-$4.99
Info: (385) 505-0686, ahimuse.com