203 Rehoboth Ave. 302/226-0877; www.abstractionssushi.com

Kim and Carmine Capano purchased the four-year-old restaurant in 2008 and gave it an interior makeover and a menu boost. The most popular roll remains the Abstraction, made with tuna, salmon, and yellowtail, Kim says. The roll is decorated with multicolored tobiko (flying fish roe) and topped with lump crab.

Sushi virgins are welcome at Abstractions, which also offers such dishes as crab cakes and Hickman’s Meat Market’s local beef. Vegetarian rolls and fun creations, like the Oscar (lump crab, asparagus, and scallion—rolled, broiled, and served with hollandaise sauce), whet novices’ appetites.

“Once you get them to try it, they’re hooked,” Kim says. This year, Abstractions will offer lunch on Fridays and Saturdays and brunch on Sundays.

301 Rehoboth Ave. 302/227-8493; www.culturedpearl.us

The queen of coastal sushi restaurants, the Cultured Pearl opened in 1993 after founder Susan Wood got tired of traveling to Annapolis and Philadelphia to get her sushi fix. What started in a former clothing storeroom has become one of Rehoboth’s most novel restaurants.

The Pearl changed its look three times before moving in 2007 to new digs. The rooftop location has a 15,000-gallon “lake” stocked with koi and accented with fountains. The two bars, made from a single black walnut tree, together measure nearly 50 feet.

Since the restaurant’s opening, fans have applauded the Dynamite Roll—tuna and salmon topped with spicy mayonnaise, lightly broiled, and crowned with crabmeat. The roll is one of the only old ones remaining on the new sushi menu. “We have master sushi chefs with tons of experience who work in other areas in winter,” Wood says. “They bring ideas back.”

When Wood first started, she had to drive to get the fish. Now some of the best purveyors deliver to her. “We’re doing so much volume, we can get anything we want,” she says.

Sushi is popular, but the kitchen—manned by Susan’s husband, Robert, is responsible for 40 percent of the business, thanks to such dishes as Alaskan king crab, marinated char-grilled tuna steak, and nori- and sesame-crusted filet mignon.

There’s also the edamame bar, where you can get your steamed soybeans sautéed in butter and dusted with Old Bay, green onion, garlic, and lemon, or Indian-style—a blend of garam masala, ginger, and garlic paired with raita.

18814 Highway One. 302/645-2818; www.saketumirestaurant.com

Jasmine-lovers, rejoice. Owners Tammy Wang and Winson Chinupakit have opened Saketumi at the beach. It’s as hip as Jasmine, and it offers a blend of Asian fare that includes pad Thai, walnut shrimp, and Thai curries.

The signature roll—the Masago Cracker Shrimp roll—contains shrimp tempura and masago (roe from the capelin fish), all wrapped with marinated salmon and topped with a wasabi-aioli sauce. The innovative Miso-Chilean Sea Bass Roll contains the snowy white fish, Japanese red ginger, red tobiko, sliced jalapeno, and scallion, topped with bonito flakes.

59 Lake Ave. 302/227-6476; www.stingrayrestaurant.com

A sibling to Mikimotos Asian Grill in Wilmington, Stingray opened in late June 2008 in a space formerly occupied by 59 Lake and, before that, the Third Edition. A 16-seat round sushi bar now occupies the old dance floor, and stingrays float across concrete tiles embedded in the hardwood floors.

Those familiar with Mikimotos will find similar, if not identical, rolls on the menu, including the favored Hairy Mexican, fried shrimp, avocado, and spicy sauce topped with crabstick and eel sauce. “It put us on the map,” says owner Darius Mansoory.

A recent addition, the Rehoboth, features steamed scallops, masago, and Japanese mayonnaise topped with spicy tuna.

Mansoory says sushi is the main draw, but the rest of the menu is doing well. “We’re very pleased with the food business, as well as the sushi business,” says Mansoory, a life-long Delaware beachgoer.
The revamped seasonal menu includes fresh-made guacamole dressed to order with such ingredients as sesame-soy-marinated tuna or quesa fresco, toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, cilantro, and fresh tomatoes.