Looking for the best sushi in Happy Valley? This restaurant is a local favorite

I just moved to Happy Valley a few weeks ago, and as someone with a variety of dietary restrictions, it’s not always easy to navigate a lunch on the town.

Sushi is typically a good option for me — although I don’t eat shellfish, I’m a huge fan of salmon and tuna. But I did wonder where I could find the best sushi in State College, since it’s not exactly a seaside town. Happy Valley has a large number of Asian fusion restaurants, and many of them offer sushi.

Three weeks into my summer internship with the Centre Daily Times, I may have already found my favorite spot.

Tadashi, recommended to me by a local, is a Japanese restaurant that offers sushi, udon noodles, and donburi, a Japanese rice-bowl dish. There are two locations in State College — one at 100 S. Atherton St. and one at 206 W. College Avenue.

The menu’s real bang for your buck gem is the lunch special. At $15.95 for three rolls of sushi, a bowl of miso soup, and a salad, you can’t beat the quality of food for the quantity of cash. I had a king-sized meal for less than $20 (including tip). It’s worth the walk from downtown public parking to the Atherton Street location.

The miso soup and the salad came first. Even though it was a hot day, I enjoyed the rich flavor of the miso. The salad had a ginger dressing that went well with the carrots and lettuce.

I decided to go for a yellowtail scallion roll, a salmon roll, and (my go-to for sushi) a spicy tuna roll. The crunch of the yellowtail scallion roll was incredible, especially when dunked in soy sauce and the salmon tasted especially fresh. The spicy tuna roll had a crunchy element inside of it, as well as sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

The restaurant itself mostly consists of tables with benches, so eating there with friends has a distinctly picnic-like feel that’s great for a casual meal or business lunch — though I wouldn’t shrug it off as a first date location, either.

Locals I’ve talked to raved about the pork kimchi udon — I don’t eat pork, but if you do, it definitely sounds like the thing on the menu to try. There’s also several truly vegetarian options on the menu, including fish-free sushi.

Both the College Avenue and Atherton Street restaurants are open 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. You can find more information on Tadashi’s website.

This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 2:43 PM.

Hope Perry

Centre Daily Times

Hope Perry is an intern for the Centre Daily Times reporting on courts and crime. She loves watching football and listening to thunderstorms.