Blue Sushi Sake Grill first opened in 2002. Its original location was just a few doors down from its current location at 144th & West Maple Road. Blue opened at a time when Omaha had limited sushi offerings and is the first of many concepts from Flagship Restaurant Group.
Recently, the location at 16939 Wright Plaza expanded when a neighboring space became available. The restaurant had outgrown the space, as it was the smallest of the Omaha Blue locations. Once dubbed “Baby Blue,” it’s now “all grown up” and on par with the size of the other locations.
The renovations include some updates to the decor. There’s obvious Japanese influences with dark woods and deep red colors. On the walls, you’ll see renderings of Godzilla roaming around the Omaha skyline. The decorations are sophisticated, and the artwork is playful. That also speaks to what I found on the menu: Blue’s sushi and cocktails are sophisticated and playful.
Blue Sushi Legacy decor
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing several Flagship concepts and have enjoyed each one. Blue is no exception. There’s something consistent among Flagship restaurants that goes beyond good food. The servers at these restaurants are all excited to be part of the Flagship team. I’ve yet to meet an employee with anything remotely negative to say.
Mark Kantaras is the director of operations for Flagship and has been with them for 13 years. He has worked as an executive chef at Charleston’s and Kona Grill. No doubt, his culinary experience allows him to bring a leadership style that’s empathetic to the hard work required to run a successful restaurant.
“We are a ‘people first’ organization,” Kantaras said. “Our number one priority is making sure that everyone that walks in the door is super excited to be there. If they aren’t, we do everything in our power to change that. I consider the leaders that run these restaurants family. They are the best in the industry.”
Blue Sushi Legacy dining area
Running the ship at the Legacy location – where our visits took place – is general manager Phil Belk. He’s been with Flagship since 2014, when he became a bartender and shift manager at the original Maple location.
“They proceeded to take me in like family and teach me about the amazing Flagship culture,” Belk said. “It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I felt truly blessed.”
A year later, Belk opened a Blue in Kansas City as the general manager. In 2021, he moved back to Omaha to run Blue at Legacy to be closer to his family.
Blue Sushi Legacy bar
“Each move that I have done within the company has helped me gain new perspective and sharpened a different set of skills that I use to prepare my team to provide fulfilling and engaging experiences for our guests,” Belk recalled. “But my favorite part of my job is helping guide our younger staff to accomplish their goals and to become great leaders themselves.”
On our first visit, we had the cucumber jalapeño margarita, coconut breezy and samurai saketini for cocktails. We sampled the crispy brussels sprouts and truffle salmon sashimi as appetizers. From the maki offerings, we had the lion king, Cabo roll and tidal wave. We finished with the Mochi ice cream for dessert.
The cucumber jalapeño margarita is made with cucumber-infused Casa Noble tequila, Gran Marnier, lime and jalapeño. It’s an invigorating cocktail that’s not overly sweet. The cucumber element helps make this a very refreshing cocktail, and the jalapeño brings the right amount of heat.
Coconut breezy
The coconut breezy is made with Cruzan mango rum, coconut, lime hibiscus and ginger. The only thing missing is a beach to relax by. The mango rum with the coconut are a great combination with the warmth of ginger and the kick of lime. This paired great with everything we were able to sample on this visit.
The samurai saketini is a blend of cucumber infused Svedka vodka, unfiltered sake and lime. It’s the least sweet of the cocktails we tried. It’s both refreshing and sophisticated as the vodka brings out the sake’s umami notes. The cucumber infusion in the vodka plays nicely with the sake and lime. It’s not a cocktail to ignore.
Crispy brussels sprouts
The crispy brussels sprouts come tossed with a creamy lemon miso sauce and topped with toasted cashews. They’re delicately fried. The outer leaves have a pleasant, delicate crispiness to them. The inside were perfectly tender. The lemon miso sauce added notes of citrus that enhanced the sweet and savory profiles. We found this appetizer to be a great accompaniment to the sushi menu.
The truffle salmon sashimi is raw, fresh Atlantic salmon drizzled with hot sesame oil and topped with Ikura (Japanese for salmon roe), truffle ponzu sauce and wasabi sprouts. This is a fun sashimi to eat. The ponzu sauce added depth to the salmon with its natural citrus base as well as mushroom and garlic notes from the truffle. We enjoyed every bite.
Lion king maki
The lion king maki is rolled with a crab mix, cucumber, avocado, spicy salmon, scallions, eel sauce and topped with a chili aioli. There’s a lot of flavor going on in this sushi roll – sweet, spicy and savory. The chili aioli on top augmented the other ingredients, and if we didn’t have other sushi to try, we could have easily devoured a few more of these rolls.
The Cabo roll is elegant in its simplicity. It’s made with spicy bigeye tuna, a crab mix and cucumber. The bigeye tuna brings a tinge of heat, which the coolness of the cucumber balances nicely. This sushi roll looks modest but the ingredients work together very well.
Tidal wave
The tidal wave maki is made with shrimp and crab stick tempura, crab mix, cream cheese, honey wasabi and eel sauce. The shrimp tempura is in the middle, and the crab stick tempura sits atop the roll. Both add a lovely crunch and go well with the cream cheese. The honey wasabi adds a fantastic kick, while the eel sauce is sweet and tangy. It’s a delectable maki.
Mochi ice cream
Mochi ice cream is a Japanese dessert with an outer sweet rice dough and an ice cream center. You need to order a minimum of three flavors. We selected the seasonal triple berry, hazelnut chocolate and black sesame. The black sesame was the most simply stated, less sweet of the three but delicious nonetheless. Jennifer’s favorite was the seasonal berry, delicately sweet with a good dose of berry. I favored the hazelnut chocolate, which had an excellent mix of both elements. The rice dough helped to keep the ice cream from melting. It was a perfect, sweet-yet-light close to our first visit.
During our second visit, we had two cocktails each. Jennifer had the bluetini and the white peach daiquiri. I had the China doll and the raspberry mojito. For appetizers, we had the charred edamame and mango crab rangoon. Our sushi selections included the Thai hippi maki, hot popper maki, shiitake to me and crunchy LA maki. We finished with chocolate spring rolls for dessert.
China doll
The China doll cocktail is made with Skyy blood orange vodka, jasmine tea, pomegranate and lime. It’s a citrus-forward drink that’s elevated with herbal notes from the jasmine tea. It’s very refreshing and goes well with sushi.
Bluetini
The bluetini is made with blueberry-infused Svedka vodka, Chambord and lime. This delicious concoction features an inspired blend of blueberry and raspberry notes. It’s a sweet cocktail but not overtly so.
The raspberry mojito is made with bacardi rum, raspberry, lime and mint. It’s a standard mojito – sweet and minty – with prominent raspberry notes. It’s a straightforward mojito variant, and the raspberry adds an acidic sweet tartness.
White peach daiquiri
The white peach daiquiri might be one of the most fun drinks on the happy hour menu. It’s made with bacardi rum, white peach, lime, sparkling peach sake and peach boba. The peach boba balls are a big part of what makes it so much fun to drink. It’s wonderfully peachy and refreshing.
Charred edamame
The charred edamame is made with Maldon sea salt, garlic, tamari (a thick sauce made from fermented soy beans) and togarashi. This edamame is anything but simple. The char complements the savory garlic and tamari. The togarashi gives it a hint of spice. The edamame was cooked to perfection. It’s a scrumptious appetizer.
The mango crab rangoon is a fantastic starter. They’re crispy wonton wrappers stuffed with crab mix, mango and cream cheese with scallions. They’re served atop mango and fresh pepper sauces. The wontons were fried perfectly, just the right amount of crunch. The filling inside carried a good amount of crab and wasn’t overpowered by the cream cheese. The mango lent a welcome tropical sweetness. It’s a fun appetizer that will test your chopstick skills.
Thai hippie maki
The Thai hippi maki is rolled with tofu vegan tempura, avocado, cucumber, carrots and cashews. It’s topped with Thai basil, cilantro, mint and Thai peanut sauce. The veggies inside were well seasoned. The cashews added a welcome nuttiness as did the sweet-and-savory Thai peanut sauce. As far as vegan sushi goes, this was complex and delicious.
The hot popper maki is made with smoked salmon, cream cheese and jalapeño tempura inside. It’s wrapped with soy paper that lends a delicate texture to the rice. The dot of siracha on top brings a hint of heat. Despite the jalapeño and sriracha, it isn’t overtly spicy. The cream cheese mellows the jalapeño heat yet allows its distinct flavor to pop through. It’s as tasty as it is eye-catching.
The shiitake to me comes with mushrooms sautéed in coconut milk and shiitake & sweet potato tempura. It’s topped with truffle oil, thai basil and a sweet soy sauce. The different soft and crunchy textures work well together. The natural heartiness of the mushrooms balance the punch of truffle oil, basil and sweet soy sauce. This might have been our favorite maki of the day.
Crunchy LA maki
The crunchy LA maki is made with a crab mix, avocado, cucumber in the center with crispy panko surrounding the outside rice. It’s topped with a sweet chili sauce. The panko crunch is a good counterbalance to the soft center. The sweet chili sauce provides a welcome sweet finish.
Chocolate spring rolls
I defy anyone to consume the chocolate spring rolls by themselves in one sitting. They are crispy wonton wrappers stuffed with toasted cashews, raspberry purée, topped with chocolate syrup and served with a side of vanilla ice cream. This is an indulgence that’s meant to be shared. The wontons are flaky, crispy and decadent. The toasted cashews are a great accompaniment to the chocolate sauce. Raspberry is a natural pairing with chocolate. Worth. Every. Calorie.
“Flagship believes that guest satisfaction is our purpose, the employees are the reason for our success, social responsibility is our obligation and uncompromising integrity is our standard,” Belk said. “That’s actually verbatim the mission statement for Flagship. We challenge our team to adhere to our company mission. The most important element to me is integrity, because if integrity is your standard, all the other elements will fall into place on their own.”
Clockwise: Hot popper shiitake to me Thai hippi and crunchy LA maki
Jennifer and I have been consistently impressed by the food and the atmosphere at each of the Flagship concepts we’ve evaluated. The decor is as vibrant and energetic as the teams running the restaurants. They’ve curated memorable culinary journeys, and Blue is absolutely no exception.
Kantaras said that Flagship is currently working on programs to bring more value to their guests. With rising costs nationwide, they are looking to get creative from a consumer pricing standpoint. There will also be some new updates to the Blue menu coming soon.
Blue Sushi Legacy dining area
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the awesome employees that work for us and the guests that continue to support us,” Kantaras said. “We’re always challenging ourselves to be better and are always evolving.”
He also said they’re looking forward to growing more in the Omaha market and continue to look for spaces in west Omaha.
I think their concepts would be welcome additions out west, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
