Located just outside of Rittenhouse Square, Uchi is one of Center City’s newer sushi restaurants. After hearing good things about their happy hour, my wife and I decided to stop by and check it out for ourselves one Sunday in October. All in all, we were impressed with the quality of both the food and service, and considering the happy hour pricing, I’d say Uchi might have one of the best happy hour deals in CC right now!
Uchi’s servers were knowledgeable and helpful and the food came out of the kitchen quickly (having started my working life in kitchens and having gone on to own restaurants in Philly, I pay close attention to things like this, the speed and style in which food comes out, how well servers know a menu, etc.).
Uchi Philadelphia at a Glance
- Address: 1620 Sansom St, Suite C1, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (ground floor of the Josephine)
- Hours: 4pm to 10pm Sunday through Thursday, 4pm to 11pm Friday and Saturday
- Happy hour: 4pm to 6pm every day, in the bar and the dining room
- Reservations: SevenRooms, Resy and OpenTable; walk-ins welcome
- Our bill for two: $262.50 before tip
What Is Uchi?
Uchi (Japanese for “house,” in reference to the little red house in Austin, Texas, where it began in 2003) comes from Tyson Cole, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2011. His group, Hai Hospitality, has grown it from those Austin roots to Dallas, Houston, Miami, Denver, Scottsdale and West Hollywood, and on November 17, 2025, Philly became city number seven.
Thai chili, mint chimichurri and au poivre sauce share menu space with no-frills bluefin nigiri at this far-from-traditional sushi restaurant. At the helm of the Philadelphia kitchen is chef de cuisine Ford Sonnenberg, with Josephine Fry as head sushi chef. They also do what they call “omakase anywhere,” meaning plates come out two or so at a time, paced like you’re sitting at the sushi bar even if you’re in a booth.
The Uchi Happy Hour Menu
Unlike many other restaurants that confine their happy hour to the bar (which can get crowded quickly, so you end up standing around if you want to participate), Happy Hour at this restaurant takes place in the dining room as well as at the bar and lasts from 4 to 6 pm daily.
From cool and hot tastings to nigiri, hand rolls, desserts and a full list of drinks, the menu is more expansive than I imagined. Most dishes range from $6 to $12 (nigiri, which comes in orders of two, runs from $6 for avocado or eggplant to $14 for bluefin akami to $22 for crab).
There are also vegetarian/vegan options for those that don’t care for fish (designated on the menu). We also noted that they offer a happy hour omakase, a nine course menu for $120 for two. We decided to build our own menu this go around but will definitely check this out next time!
Drinks: The Subarashi and Brooklyn Kura Sake
We ordered the Subarashi cocktail (Mi Campo reposado tequila, Montelobos mezcal and hibiscus lime agave) three times; it has a nice salted rim (on the darker side) and is slightly smoky and tart. It’s $18.50 on the regular menu and just $9 at happy hour, so we took full advantage.
We also had two glasses of Brooklyn Kura Catskills ($15 a glass at happy hour, $19 otherwise), a junmai daiginjo sake that’s actually brewed in Brooklyn. Other happy hour drinks include $9 cocktails (lychee martini, Toki highball), an $8 carafe of hot sake, $9 wines and a $5 Sapporo.
Cool Tastings
You can’t go to Uchi and skip the hama chili. It’s their signature dish: yellowtail with Thai chili, ponzu and orange. Clean, bright and just a little bit of heat. It’s $10 at happy hour, and it’s the dish you’ll see in almost every photo of this place for a reason.
The $9.50 sake tom kha takes the flavors of Thai coconut soup and puts them on raw salmon with coconut, lime leaf and dill. Not sure what to order? Try something you’ve never had before.
Another great appetizer was the scallop crudo with jimmy nardello zu, charred shallot and pumpkin seeds ($11). I loved the contrasting textures of the crunchy pumpkin seeds and the soft scallop (we had two of these on our check!).
Nigiri and Hand Rolls
Nigiri selections included kurodai (black bream) for $8 and bluefin akami (lean tuna) for $14. Since nigiri is seasoned by the sushi chef, there’s no need to drench it in soy sauce; just pick it up and enjoy.
Hand rolls are best enjoyed immediately, while the nori is still crunchy. We ordered the nasu temaki ($7; eggplant and cucumber, served with mint chimichurri on the side) and the sake temaki ($11; salmon, zhug, jalapeño and white chili aioli).
Hot Tastings
On cooler nights, I’d order the fried onigiri ($9), a crispy fried rice ball served in a warm soy broth with some braised greens and kinoko mushrooms. It’s the sort of thing that really hits the spot when you’re craving something comforting.
Walu walu (Uchi’s happy hour special for $9.50) is a simple preparation that shows off the buttery richness of the escolar: oak grilled, dressed with ponzu and topped with myoga (Japanese ginger).
I also ordered the mapo dumplings ($10). These were fried dumplings stuffed with pork belly and came with a tofu purée with mapo oil on top for dipping. The dumplings were crispy and flavorful.
An easy way to add some green to your plate was the $6 grilled snap peas with lemon, served with a jalapeño edamame purée, which was also the least expensive dish we ordered.
The $12 happy hour wagyu au poivre (basically Uchi’s answer to steak frites, wagyu, tamari au poivre sauce and sweet potato fries) is a total steal.
A Few Plates Off the Regular Menu
Ordering off the regular menu is still a-okay during happy hour, so we added a few things. The Ham & Eggs roll ($16) is like breakfast in a sushi roll: pork belly katsu with egg yolk and beer mustard.
For $8.50 a piece, grilled oysters are served on half shells with a caramelized onion, jus and gruyère mixture (think French onion soup, but on a half shell). We had two of them.
Finally, the raw Westholme wagyu was seared to perfection on a hot rock at $24. This fun and interactive dish has you searing your own thinly sliced pieces of beef for a few seconds on either side and served with two dipping sauces: a whisky maple ponzu and kosho tamari butter. It’s a nice way to end the meal.
What We Spent
All in, we ordered 15 different dishes plus five drinks. The happy hour items came to $185 and the regular menu plates added $57, for a $242 subtotal. With $20.50 in tax, our total was $262.50 before tip.
Drinks alone saved us quite a bit at happy hour, as three Subarashis at full price would’ve cost $55.50, not $27, and two glasses of sake would’ve set us back $38, not $30. That’s $36.50 we didn’t spend on drinks alone, let alone factor in the food.
Happy hour ends at 6, and our check started at 5:08, so make sure you place your orders before 6 if you want happy hour pricing. Anything after that is full price.
Service and Atmosphere
Food and drink came out in timely fashion (not too fast that the table got cluttered, not so slow that we felt rushed). Our waiter knew the menu and drink list extremely well and gave great suggestions. Service was attentive without hovering or making us feel like they wanted us to beat a path to the door (important since we were coming in for happy hour!).
This isn’t your typical happy hour joint, as dim lights, leather booths and wood trimmed tables give the place a warm ambiance. There’s even a patio (when the weather allows!) The restaurant is quite expansive, with both a sushi and “regular” bar.
Tips for Uchi Happy Hour
- Get there close to 4pm so you have the full two hours to order.
- Happy hour is good in the dining room too, so book a table instead of fighting for a bar seat.
- Order in rounds of two or three plates. It keeps the table clear and everything comes out hot.
- Put in your last happy hour order before 6pm.
- Add the hot rock from the regular menu. It’s worth it.
Is Uchi Philadelphia Worth It?
I highly recommend happy hour! The food (created by a James Beard Award winning chef!) is amazing and only $6 to $12 a plate. We left stuffed and satisfied, and still talking about what we’d like to order next time (we have our eye on the happy hour omakase). The decor made it feel like a special night out.
If you’re looking for more places to eat in the city, check out our list of the 50 best restaurants in Philadelphia.
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