All You Can Eat Sushi Midvale: Inside Sukiya's 150-Item Japanese Buffet Where A5 Wagyu Meets Utah Hospitality

The first thing you notice when you walk into Sukiya Sushi & Japanese Buffet isn't the modern décor or even the sprawling buffet bars—it's the energy. It's packed. At 6:30 on a Wednesday evening, every booth along 7200 South in Midvale is filled with families, couples on date night, groups of friends hovering over plates stacked with snow crab legs and glistening sashimi. One TikTok reviewer put it plainly: "I go in to most all you can eat seafood buffets with a grain of salt because we are in Utah and you simply never know. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised with the offerings, cleanliness, and taste for everything we tried."

This is the kind of place that makes you reconsider what's possible at a sushi buffet in landlocked Utah. And honestly? Chef Ricky is betting everything on that exact realization.

How a Japanese Sushi Chef Brought Premium All You Can Eat to Utah's South Valley

Japanese Sushi Chef Ricky opened Sukiya in 2024 with a clear mission: to stretch and expand Utah's palate through authentic sushi creations and Asian-inspired dishes. It wasn't about opening just another buffet. In a state where sushi still feels novel to some diners, Ricky saw an opportunity to offer something that didn't exist—a premium all you can eat experience where the seafood is flown in fresh, where A5 Wagyu from Japan isn't a $75 add-on but included in the dinner price, where you can order from 58 different made-to-order sushi rolls and they arrive at your table still warm from the kitchen.

Sukiya flies in fresh seafood daily from around the world—the fish, sashimi, crabs, and lobsters. Some of them are still alive before they hit your table, like the lobsters, stone crabs, and sea clams. The A5 Wagyu beef gets shipped weekly from Japan. The bluefin tuna comes from Spain, where the best quality tuna in the world is sourced. Live lobsters and stone crabs arrive from Canada three times a week.

This isn't cut corners or compromises. It's the kind of sourcing you'd expect from a high-end omakase spot, transplanted into an AYCE format in a Midvale strip mall. And the result? A 4.7 out of 5 rating with over 1,000 Google reviews. That's not just good—that's a crowd that's found something special.

By September 2024, demand was strong enough that Ricky opened a second location in Orem. The Midvale flagship remains the heart of the operation, the place where Utah discovered you could get premium Japanese dining without the downtown Salt Lake City price tag.

The All You Can Eat Sushi Experience: 150+ Items and Made-to-Order Rolls

Walking through Sukiya feels like navigating a culinary atlas. The buffet spans multiple stations, each dedicated to a different aspect of Japanese cuisine. There's the sushi bar with 20 different nigiri options. The sashimi station where thick cuts of salmon, hamachi, and toro glisten on ice. Hot food bars loaded with yakitori skewers, tempura, gyoza, and Japanese steam buns. And then there's the seafood—snow crab legs, stone crab, fresh oysters, all waiting under soft lighting that makes everything look as good as it tastes.

But here's where Sukiya breaks from typical buffet protocol: those 58 sushi rolls? They're not sitting out getting stale. During lunch, you order your sushi rolls so they're fresh straight out of the kitchen. Each roll is made to order. You fill out a little paper menu, checking off the Spider Roll, the Volcano Roll, whatever sounds good, and ten minutes later it arrives at your table—still warm, rice still sticky, ingredients still crisp.

One diner noted: "I think if we go again it might be for dinner and we'd focus on the crab legs and sushi rolls, and then we'd feel like we got more money's worth." That's the move, honestly. Hit the premium items hard—the crab legs that you'd pay $40 a pound for elsewhere, the fresh sashimi, the A5 Wagyu nigiri that melts on your tongue like butter with a hint of smoke.

Another customer, managing pre-diabetic tendencies, found the extensive nigiri and sashimi options particularly valuable: "This buffet is amazing with what it offers. This can be an all-you-can-eat Nigiri or Sashimi bar if you want it to be. The octopus sashimi and baby octopus and takoyaki are some of the best I've ever tried."

The hot food is solid—the tempura stays crispy, the oden is warming, the yakitori has that charred-edge smokiness—but let's be real, you're coming here for the seafood. The unlimited boba milk tea is a nice touch, too. Not many sushi buffets let you wash down toro with a brown sugar boba.

Midvale's Answer to Premium Japanese Dining: Value Meets Quality

Here's the thing about Sukiya that throws people off: the quality-to-price ratio doesn't make sense. Lunch is $26.99 for adults and includes the buffet bar, all sushi rolls on the menu, and soft drinks. Dinner is $32.99 and adds snow crab, stone crab, oysters, and sashimi. The premium dinner experience at $39.99 includes everything plus lobster tail, A5 Wagyu, King Salmon, and Toro.

Think about that. For what you'd pay for two specialty rolls and an appetizer at a mid-range sushi spot, you're getting unlimited access to some of the highest-quality seafood available in Utah. As one enthusiastic customer put it: "Everything was fresh from Oysters to Crabs, Prawn, Sushi and lots more. The staff are welcoming and super nice. I also enjoyed the wishing golden tree outside of the Restaurant. I will definitely go back here."

The vibe inside Sukiya walks a line between casual and celebratory. There's a golden wishing tree out front that's become an Instagram staple. Inside, the space is open and modern with culturally-inspired decorations that nod to traditional Japanese aesthetics without feeling theme-park kitschy. Music plays at a conversational volume. Booths and tables accommodate everyone from solo diners to large family gatherings.

The staff—here's where Sukiya really shines—are attentive without hovering. One reviewer specifically mentioned: "Our server was a complete gem, and we felt very welcome." They'll explain how the ordering system works, recommend rolls if you're overwhelmed by the 58 options, and keep your table clear of empty plates without making you feel rushed.

After visiting both locations, one customer noted: "I recently visited the Midvale location of Sukiya Sushi & Buffet after having an incredible experience at their Orem location, and I'm happy to report that the quality and service were just as excellent." That consistency—between locations, between visits—is what builds loyalty.

Finding Your Place in Utah's Evolving Sushi Scene

Utah's relationship with sushi has always been complicated. We're landlocked. Fresh fish requires either exceptional sourcing relationships or a willingness to compromise on quality. For years, the Utah sushi scene split into two camps: expensive downtown spots serving omakase to adventurous diners, and budget AYCE places where freshness was... aspirational.

Sukiya exists in the gap between those extremes. It's premium all you can eat, which sounds like an oxymoron until you try it. Chef Ricky's commitment is clear: "We focus on serving the freshest and best quality food for our customers." That means daily flights of seafood from Japan, Spain, and Canada. It means A5 Wagyu shipments every week. It means lobsters that were alive that morning.

The South Valley location matters, too. Midvale isn't downtown Salt Lake City. It's not trying to be. It's families coming after soccer practice, couples who want a nice dinner without the parking hassle, groups celebrating birthdays who need space and value and variety. The restaurant gets packed—"which is always a good sign, too. Great for groups!"

And the expansion to Orem in late 2024 signals something bigger: there's demand across the Wasatch Front for this model. People want quality. They want value. They want to bring their kids without worrying about the bill, but they also want to impress their date with real bluefin tuna toro. Sukiya figured out how to deliver both.

Planning Your Visit to Sukiya Sushi & Japanese Buffet

Location & Hours
198 W 7200 S, Midvale, UT 84047
Just off I-15 near Fort Union Boulevard, easy access from Sandy, Murray, and South Salt Lake

Hours:
Monday–Thursday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Friday–Saturday: 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM
Sunday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Best Times to Visit
According to the restaurant's own recommendations: "For weekdays, we would recommend all weekday nights from 6-8 PM. For Friday, lunch time from 12-2 PM is a good choice. Dinner time we would recommend 4-6 PM or after 7:30 PM if you want to avoid crowds."

What to Order First
Start with the snow crab legs and fresh sashimi—get your money's worth on the premium items. Order a few made-to-order rolls (the Spider Roll and Volcano Roll are customer favorites). Don't sleep on the octopus sashimi or the takoyaki. And if you're doing the premium dinner, absolutely try the A5 Wagyu nigiri and the toro.

Pricing Tiers

• Lunch ($26.99): All buffet items, 58 sushi rolls, soft drinks
• Dinner ($32.99): Everything in lunch plus snow crab, stone crab, oysters, premium sashimi
• Premium Dinner ($39.99): Everything plus lobster tail, A5 Wagyu, King Salmon, Toro

Note: Kids under 3 eat free, kids 3-5 years are $7.99-$11.99, kids 6-10 years are $12.99-$16.99 (kids over 5 feet are charged adult prices)

Follow Them
Instagram: @sukiyautslc
Website: sukiyautslc.net
Phone: (385) 395-4046

Why Sukiya Matters to Utah's Food Story

In a state still finding its culinary identity, Sukiya represents something important: the belief that Utah diners deserve world-class ingredients without the gatekeeping. That a family in Midvale should have access to the same A5 Wagyu that's served in Tokyo subway stations (yes, that's a Jiro Dreams of Sushi reference, and yes, it's intentional).

Chef Ricky's vision was to "stretch and expand Utah's palate through their own sushi creations and Asian-inspired dishes." Mission accomplished. Sukiya isn't just feeding people—it's changing expectations about what all you can eat sushi in Midvale can be. It's proving that premium Japanese buffet dining works in Utah, that there's hunger for quality and authenticity and value all wrapped into one experience.

The wishing tree outside isn't just décor. It's a symbol. People come here hoping for a good meal and leave having found something better—a place where the sushi buffet Utah residents have been waiting for finally exists. Where the crab legs are unlimited, the seafood is fresh daily, and the chef behind it all actually gives a damn about what ends up on your plate.

That's worth driving to Midvale for. That's worth coming back for. And based on those thousand-plus glowing reviews, that's exactly what people are doing.