Blue Sushi Sake Grill at Grayhawk Pointe reopens next door
For more than a decade, Blue Sushi Sake Grill has been a West Omaha favorite. Over the years, the brand has expanded to include locations in Legacy, the Old Market downtown, the Haymarket in Lincoln, and now includes locations in Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and soon Illinois. With so much growth, Flagship Restaurant Group, which owns Blue, decided it was time to update its original location at Grayhawk Pointe off 144th between Blondo & Maple Streets.
This past January, the restaurant moved into the space next door to the former Red Lounge location and added a Sake Bombers Lounge, which is consistent with the concept at all its other locations. The move enabled Blue to have much needed additional space, including a sushi bar that can now seat 18 rather than just 10 as it did previously. There are more windows for natural light, and a unique combination between the two sides of the restaurant.
The Sake Bombers side includes a brick wall and warmer tones for a more intimate setting. Whereas the Blue Sushi side is wide open with modern décor such as the beautiful origami that hangs above the middle of the dining room. General Manager Megan Simpson, who has been working at the original location since 2004, said she’s so excited to have the new location and all the space it offers. “Everything about the restaurant provides more room,” she said. “Even our sushi chefs are happy to have everything up-to-date and so much more space for them to work.”
Although the new location has a completely updated look and feel, the restaurant’s menu continues to carry customer favorites, which holds true across all its locations. The two most popular sushi items are still the Crunchy Blue and Crunch L.A. rolls. However, Blue does have new offerings on its happy hour menu. The Itchy Salmon is a specialty nigiri dish that is baked salmon with spicy crab served warm with cilantro and ponzu sauce. The Cherry Bomb is another nigiri dish made with tuna, Serrano, rice tempuram, ponzu sauce, and a dab of sriracha.
Simpson said her favorite sushi roll is the Spanish Fly—yellow tail, spicy crab, tuna, shallots, cilantro, Serrano, and yuzu ponzu sauce. “As we enter into spring and summer, it’s the perfect dish because it’s so light and fresh tasting,” she said. They also offer seasonal drink specials, their current an Intense Ginger Mojito. It’s made with Titos vodka, Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur, fresh lime juice, crushed mint leaves, and fizz served with a sugar rim.
Blue’s most popular signature cocktail is the Bluetini, which is a blueberry infused vodka made in-house, raspberry liqueur, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice. “We use juices that we squeeze fresh daily in all of our drinks,” Simpson added. Blue offers happy hour Monday through Saturday from 3:00-6:30pm, all day Sunday from noon-8:00pm, and a reverse happy hour on Friday and Saturday nights from 10:30pm-Midnight.
The restaurant is also known for its lunch special offered Monday-Friday from 11:00am-2:00pm. It includes a choice of miso soup or house salad and a selection of two sushi rolls from the lunch menu, all starting at $11.00. And beginning in mid to late April, lunch, happy hour, and dinner can all be enjoyed outside on the new patio, which has been widened from what Red Lounge used to have.
Simpson said since the new location opened, it’s been very rewarding to see customers’ reactions to the new space. It’s also brought in a lot of faces they haven’t seen for awhile. “The entire staff, including head chef Jose Vega, who has been with the restaurant since it originally opened, are very proud to be in this beautiful new sushi bar,” she said. “We appreciate our loyal following, and welcome everyone to come see it for themselves.”
Blue Sushi Sake Grill
14450 Eagle Run Dr #210
(402) 445-2583
