Always a favorite of mine. One of the best happy hours in the city. The bartenders are terrific and I really enjoy the unique cocktails they cycle in. Prices are very reasonable which is terrific. Pizza is always delightfully tasty. It'll get crowded on a Friday or Saturday night around 10 but other than that it's always a great time.

Cynthia Brent

I am new to ROC - and tried three other places and hand down - best sushi is Shema. Fresh, delicious, presentation - hit every mark. Service was great. Atmosphere - clean and modern.

Umeya Hansen

Such a lovely place! Food was incredible, Michelle was wonderful and the ambiance was so nice. Will most definitely be a returning customer! Thanks Shema 🤍

Valerie McKiernan

Such a cozy, warm spot. Everyone is so nice and the food was great. Highly recommend.

Bat Woman

This can be tricky if you are in a wheelchair, but the staff can get you in the back way. One door is between the Old Toad and Shema Sushi (at the front of the building). They can get you through the outside door and then an inner door. A short distance will be the back door and you can enter there and the waitress' will help seat you. They are so nice there and will make sure that you are seated and able to reach everything on the table. The sushi is to die for!! Everything you can think of and more. Every bite is delectably fresh ingredients and arranged on your plate with precise placements. Anyone, who is not sure, should ask what is what and if you have any allergies to some ingredients. It was a very quiet and peaceful experience and very tastefully done!! My friend will want to visit there a little more often. There is handicap parking in the back of the building and a short walk to the door in the front, which is a slanted ramp into the building. It is a very old building, but it does accommodate handicap people.

Lily X

Had the fish lever appetizer very unique! Sushi and sashimi are very fresh and tasty as well! The kids had udon noodles and loved it! We finished everything no left over to take home lol

Daniel Sawler

Fantastic sushi selection. I particularly like the sushi deluxe (chef's choice nigiri and California rolls) and the spicy salmon rolls. Service can be slow. There is a parking lot in the back and their sign says you pack park there until 9:30pm

Deborah Magone

Very good fresh sushi, sashimi, teriyaki etc, made to order. Dine in or out. Excellent service, easy parking, unique location on the first floor of an architectural art deco landmark.

+2

Jake Puglisi

The best sushi in all of Rochester if not all of NY! We love the vibe and we love the food. Never any leftovers when we got to Shema Sushi. Great atmosphere and great service! Wish i could give more than 5 stars!

tran tuan

This is a great place to eat sushi in Rochester. I've ordered takeout here multiple times to have at home or the office. So far, I've had the best experience with the staff and the food.

Gyoungmin Ahn

This is one of the best sushi I've ever eaten! The quality of the fish and rice was far beyond extraordinary. All of my friends were amazed by the quality of the fish and the fact that they had been properly seasoned. The spicy tuna roll was my ultimate favorite, it reminded me of the ones I had when I was a child that I still remember vividly. The staff members were so friendly and made us immediately feel as if we were a part of their family.

MD062010

Wow- a legitimate sushi place. If you’re looking for a good sushi place in Rochester, you don’t have many options— however, Shema Sushi, is one of the few exceptions. The fish was exceptionally fresh- the rolls were delicious and generously proportioned. The tempura was some of the best I have had- you could appreciate the flavor of the vegyet the crust was perfectly fried and crisp without being overly oily . The takoyaki is the best I’ve had in Rochester, thus far and a must try! The service was great and the atmosphere is low key and relaxed. Looking forward to going back soon! Update: have now been here multiple times- service is always excellent, food is always incredible! Their ramen was awesome- absolutely the best in Rochester!

+3

You Jia

We had an amazing time at Shema sushi today. We are a family of 5 with 3 kids. The place was busy when we got there so I expected slow service. But to our pleasant surprise we were seated and waited promptly. Food came out quickly as well. Everything was delicious. Especially impressed with the freshness and quality of the sushi. Their menus has many options for the entire family. We will definitely come back!

Alona Davis

You cannot beat the quality served here. I've eaten at just about every other Japanese place in Rochester, but Shema always comes out on top. Their food is consistently good. I would order it every day if I could. Keep doing what you're doing, It's beautiful.

Alden Merchant

I'll be honest we were skeptical about getting sushi so far from the ocean, but this place really delivered. The fish we had was nice and fresh and the quality was was really good for the cost. I wouldny hesitate to stop here any time I was in the Buffalo area. Also, the seaweed wasnt stale, a problem I see a lot at sushi places across the country. It was super crisp and fresh.

Sheena W

First time visit, and wow wow wow. I had a great quick chat the night before via Facebook messenger to verify they were open tonight for dinner. They were quick to respond and gave great information as to when the best time to arrive would be. We showed up and our server was friendly and very helpful when we had questions about menu items. The sake she helped us land on was the best I’ve ever had and was so good with our meal. The sushi boat was a huge value for everything you got, side note those pickles on there are AMAZING and should be a side dish of their own! The rolls are high quality ingredients and flavorful. The dishes arrived to our table so quickly, it was incredible. Everything looked beautiful and tasted even better. Again, our server was a delight and attentive to us, we have many other items we want to try, having the menu to review on your phone before ordering is helpful and well labeled to help deciding easier. I’m already wanting more sushi! Thank you for such a great experience, and will be back again soon. Highly recommend anyone to give this restaurant a try.

Mike Donohue

Coming from Seattle and NYC, I consider myself a little spoiled. I thought Rochester wouldn't have stellar sushi, I was wrong! This little gem can easily compete with the best east and west coast Sushi bars. Great food, good service, and overall great people!

Robert D

Beautiful presentation and very fresh fish! Unique rolls, rare fish, very high quality flavors. I've eaten sushi in many places... Shema rates high. Unassuming location and cool decor combined with authentically friendly service. Everything from the Kani salad to the Toro was excellent and super fresh. We found this place by googling 'Best Sushi in Rochester." Shema didn't disappoint.

Stephen Powell

I had always heard good things about this place, but had never gone there until tonight. I was not disappointed with the result! There was a good crowd there for a Friday night (always a good sign), so we had to wait but we were still seated fairly quickly. Our server was friendly and very helpful in choosing our selections. They even brought us a complementary edamame when they thought they had kept us waiting too long. We ordered a selection of sushi, their Pheonix roll, and the salmon donburi. All was beautiful to look at and tasted just as fantastic. The donburi's presentation did throw us off slightly since we are used to it being in a bowl, etc, but the taste was all there. In short, this is a lovely gem that is definitely worth your time, all for a reasonable price for such quality.

Hey now. Wanted to try a new place so I made a random pizza and wings order to Swan Dive- no idea what or where it was when I ordered. Got there, East & Alexander area and found the bartenders were super friendly and while waiting for my food I ordered a Spruced Up - which was a pink margarita-ish tequila drink with a crispy rosemary sprig. Fantastic! Off to a great start. Food was also really good! Pizza was fresh and perfectly cooked (hard to find in Rochester) - and wings were crispy and the hot sauce was bangin’. The only downside, which isn’t a downside for the business, but just for me personally, was a group of about a dozen super drunk and obnoxious bachelorette party women but they took their rowdy sloppiness upstairs, thankfully. Nature of the bar environment I guess and I’m sure they had fun. Still, I would def order to go food again. Actually looking forward to it!

On this day for some reason the lemonade was homemade and it was amazing. The service was great and the patio was cozy. The food was pretty good as well.

Met some friends for drinks and dinner, walking in the decor was very different but neat. I ordered a drink called “hank!” And boy was it an experience, it is served in a Chinese take out container! With a metal straw (I would serve with 2 to look like chopsticks, but that’s just me) it was a well crafted cocktail and I would order it again! We then sat down for dinner and decided to share a few items as the menu suggests. We took advantage for the pizza special and ordered one of those as well as another pizza and the fries off the app menu. The fun guy pizza was good but was missing something over all flavor wise. The dough was great in texture an flavor for both pizzas. The fries were good as well as the dipping sauce they came with. There are a few other items on the menu I’d be interesting in trying. The staff were nice and friendly. Didn’t go above and beyond, but we didn’t need them too. It was an overall good experience and would happily go back.

Music was great - up beat! Good cocktails. They also have a little pizza stand for late night snacks!

Lark Farlee

A great place for sushi. The spicy tuna roll is one of my favorites as well as the tempura cheesecake. The QR menu is not my favorite but other than that if you like sushi I'd recommend checking it out.

Todd DePuy

Sushi and sashimi were very good! I'm not a big fan of QR code menus as it was hard to scroll around to different areas and remember all the different a la carte items you wanted to order. I'd recommend menus but other than that it was delicious.

Such a cute atmosphere during the day. Decent cocktails and the pizza is ok. It is a party scene during the night so heads up if your looking for chill go during the day.

Walking distance from the hotel so figured I'd get a slice to go. Service was quick. Crust was really good. Right amount of cheese, sauce, and pepperoni. Just too much oregano for my liking. Probably could ask for less oregano if ordering a full pie, but doubtfully for a slice.

This place is probably one of the hippest in the area to eat and drink in terms of design. I got the wutang pizza with no peppers. They burnt a good portion of it and sat my friend and I at a table way too small for grown men. Service is fast and attentive. But places like this always fall short because they're inherently overcrowded. The games upstairs are nice little distraction. I'm definitely going back within a few months at the least.

Would NOT recommend the drinks. They are overpriced, especially for them being 75% juice, 23% ice, and 1% liquor. Pizza and mozzarella sticks were a 3/10. Wings were AMAZING 9.5/10 If it weren't for the wings, it would be a 2 star.

I wish I knew what the food tasted like. We ordered takeout. It say 45-55 minutes. Got there around 45 minutes to be told that it would be 45 minutes. I thought she had misheard me and thought I was just putting in an order. Nope. Something with the oven. Which I honestly dont care about because it happens and it wasn't something she could control. BUT they knew who had orders in and when. They have my phone number. They could have offered to cancel my order over the phone instead of letting me show up just to unconcernedly tell me that it would be another 45 minutes. Or at least let me know. Or updated the timeline on their online ordering. Or shut off online ordering. It was a waste of my time and they seemed to not care at all.