East by Southwest in La Plata County

Really good food and great service. Totally lived up to its reviews. Give the Hand Grenade a try🤤. The Colorado cooler is refreshing & fun. We will be back.

Really great sushi but the staff will ignore you during happy hour. Happens every time I go during happy hour. I give them 3 stars still only because the food is good, so kudos to the master chefs, otherwise the rest of the staff is lacking.

One of our favorite places when we come to Durango.Can be hard to get into around dinner time, so definitely recommend reservations which can be done through Open Table. There is bar seating on a “first come first serve” basis, but being a popular spot, is often full also.As we were seated, our waiter “Mamo” told us there were still a few minutes left on happy hour, so we ordered a couple drinks and an order of gyoza which got us the happy hour discount for both.For our main course, ordered sushi as we have done before as it is well made and delicious. Had 3 rolls, the Vampiro (it is spicy!), spicy crunchy tuna roll, and the East by Southwest roll. All were delicious and flavorful.Staff is busy, but efficient and friendly.Will we come here again…absolutely!Would we recommend…most definitely!

Fabulous dinner for five; absolutely delicious. Not a morsel left.

We loved the food!!! Sushi was so fresh and delightful!! The Lotus Blossom is a ‘must try’. It was delicious!!

Excellent food and server (Olivia). We eat off the Happy Hour menu. Everything was incredible!

The food was both interesting and good. Most enjoyable. The service was less than desired, but we still had an enjoyable dinner

Totally awesome food,cooked in very appealing premises . Will visit again GO HAPPY HOUR 👍

Great food with very great service. Waitress was friendly and knowledgeable on the menu. Definitely recommend it

East by southwest is the direction that the dumplings take straight to my tummy.Also, to avoid any confusion, this place is actually on the south southwest side of the intersection.

We heard great things about this place since my boyfriend and I travel a lot all around the US so we decided to give it a shot. We have traveled from Florida through Utah trying all different kinds of restaurants of all different cuisines and this experience was unfortunately one of the worst we have ever dealt with to the point that we decide to go somewhere else. What is crazy is that this experience happened right outside the establishment right before we were going in, an employee (with green hairhad a HUGE attitude about a parking spot on the street that was NEAR a loading zone, but was in the clear for general parking due to the sign posted out front. She/He (..?then started yelling at us as we decided to go somewhere else because of their behavior. It was super unprofessional and lack of couth. It’s a really big bummer since we drove 20 minutes just to get yelled at in the rain.

A Durango staple! Dont pass up the creative rolls and plates at ExSW, and if you are here in the summer order the Palisade Peach mojito! You wont regret any of it...

So. There’s this waitress, Olivia. That chick is the best in the biz. Mark my words. 10 out of 10 best service. Tip her 30% or more

Great sushi and I really liked the spicy edamame.

Amazing Happy Hour! Jeni is the best Bar tender in town! Best bang for your buck in town!

Sushi was HUGE and DELICIOUS, my friend cant eat raw fish, so seeing options that were cooked was encouraging! Other places I need to order three rolls to feel full without apps, here, I think one and a half would be just perfect for me. So get ready for large rolls and regular prices!!!

Excellent Food and fantastic atmosphere. Could not be more pleased with the service and food quality. Fried cheesecake and Green Tea ice cream at the end of the meal was the cherry on top of an excellent experience. Bravo EastXSW!

Arrived here for part of our themed girls night, the staff was amazing and helped us tremendously in our adventure in foods.

Interesting concept. Love the interior decoration. Our server was friendly and gave good recommendations. We only went wrong when we deviated from her choices. Loved the fresh rolls — tuna in lettuce and the spiced hamachi with jalapeño and sriracha. Very fusion But the Philly roll was terrible. Unexpectedly deep fried and gummy. Rice was terrible. Yuck.

So good. We didn’t have reservations but were accommodated at the sushi bar. Great service, food and presentation. We made a point of getting reservations for a second dinner while we were in town!

Great food and service. I got a miso soup along with a dragon roll, all was delicious.

After driving many hours, my wife and I arrived in Durango, CO, and wanted something tasty but light for dinner. The EAST MEETS SOUTHWEST was in walking distance, so we tried it, and we were very glad we did. There were a lot of dinner options on the menu. I started with the SEAWEED SALAD and my wife chose the CUCUMBER SALAD. Then we decided to share the PAD THAI SHRIMP & CHICKEN, accompanied with a TEMPURA SHRIMP ROLL. Everything was absolutely well-seasoned and delicious, service was very efficient, prices were reasonable, and ambience was very comfortable. Highly recommended.

We were the last table of the night and they treated us extremely well, all the sushi was prepared beautifully. Deliciousness.

The food was cold when it arrived and we were missing half of our order. We had to drive into town to pick it up and the hostess was curt and non-apologetic, and offered no recourse. I wouldn’t have spent 20$ on a delivery fee and tip if I had known I would have to pick up my food anyway. Rice Monkey is usually our go to, won’t make that mistake again.

Food is AMAZING. But service… that’s a different story. You only get treated great if you’re WHITE.

Definitely Eat here!!! We want to go again but were in Texas lol 😆 i loved my ramen and my husband loved his noodles ! I didnt even take pictures we were so hungry from skiing and i cant find our dishes online but i am sure anything you pick will be delicious!

When the only problem is that Id prefer more ginger, Id say its pretty good. Im also a ginger fiend though, I buy jars from the store

Love This place. My wife and I drive from Pagosa every weekend and eat here! The manager may consider getting us a free meal. We eat here so much and it’s Always good! 😙😌😉🙌

The sushi wasnt bad. Different they have their own two at for sure. Not the best not the worst. The Bento box was amazing. The rainbow poke was good we like its better than the sushi rolls. The spider roll I got had lettuce. It was hard to pick up because it would just fall apart. The philly roll my daughter got was fried she didnt hate it but she didnt love it.

My favorite place to go to lately. Fast service, friendly staff, great food. Never fails to disappoint. Highly recommend for others to try.

This place never disappoints. We have eaten here many times. The service is fantastic. The food is beyond delicious. The mint micro greens grown in house that topped the creme brulee, holy smokes. The dessert was so good we ate it all before I remembered to take a picture. This place is a must when visiting Durango.

Got sushi and the bag ended up tearing and my food spilt. The owners refunded my purchase with a gift card, i ended up gettin 2 sushi rolls and chicken teriyaki and it was delicious! Highly recommend!

I havent eaten here in a decade but its still very good. This is not a cheap meal, but I remember a skeleton I had here 12 years ago. How many other dishes that you ate can you remember in detail after more than a decade?

This spot did not disappoint. We loved the ambiance and got seated in a quiet, tucked away corner behind a waterfall (!It was romantic and cozy. Super clean restaurant while still bustling busy. Tons of vegan sushi options from basic to super complex rolls. (There were more options on the online menu than the physical one but the staff said we could order off of the online one too)Our waiter was super attentive and friendly. Will definitely be back to try more delicious food here!

Enjoyed the food every time. Sometimes the service is a little slow, but the food is amazing. Always make sure to get a grenade sushi, and the soup is the best around!

Jeni is absolutely the best! Everything she suggested was top notch. And the service was really very good. I will be back and will make sure to sit in her area or at her bar.

Great environment, amazing food. Even our waiter was incredible. Everyone in our group was beyond impressed! My chicken teriyaki was the absolute best that I have ever had.

Popular spot in Durango featuring tasty Asian food, neat decor, and cocktails. Several vegan and vegetarian options. Friendly staff.

Parking is a bit dicey, but the food is fantastic. Im not much of a sushi person but I had some of my wifes and was delicious. Ive always thought sushi was fine but the flavor never justified the price. This was totally different. Cocktails were refined and excellent. Every ingredient was well placed and contributed to overall awesome dinner. Would suggest making a reservation though.

This is my first time visiting here. Its a very unassuming place. If I hadnt drove around the block twice I dont think I would have noticed it. The atmosphere looks like it would be really nice if there werent a pandemic going on. As it is, all of the booths are separated by shower curtains. It does detract from the experience, but I understand that they had to adapt somehow. The service was overall top notch. Our waiter was both friendly and fun. We ended up getting 6 sushi rolls for dinner and they were excellent. Competitive with the best places Ive been to.Side note: I was very tempted to dock a star because we were given a wait estimate of about 20-25 minutes and it was actually almost an hour. However, Ive never been here before and dont know if this is a once off fluke or regular issue.

After being seated by a very nice host. We were never waited on and I dont know why. Waitstaff stood in front of us as they chatted with each other, but nobody came by to ask us for even water. We have been looking forward dining there for some time, but owning a bed and breakfast keeps us busy. I dont know if I can recommend this place to our guests cause I will never know what the food taste like. I too am in the service business and we thrive to please our guess at all times. Thank you for listening. Ken

EATERS BEWARE! You most certainly will over do it here😁 Excellent dining experience, everything was delicious and you will still be full the next morning. Very good COVID-19 precautions in place.

Pleasantly surprised with their food. It was very delicious. Had a horrible first time experience with the service but they more than made up for it. Waited 20 minutes and nobody came up to take our drink order or anything. They had a mix up with their servers or something like that but the manager came and gave us $19 off our bill and apologized several times. The poor server was very apologetic and checked in on us frequently. Definitely recommend the food. As for service, they need to come up with a better system and probably a new host.

Good food, but small portions and overpriced. Not the friendliest staff either.***Edit in response to Owners reply***The living wage you pay must not be enough to make your staff friendly. Looking at other reviews it seems I am not the only one experiencing bad customer service. Also, I lived in Vail for 8 years (significantly higher transportation costs than Durango), paid similar prices for similar food, but received way better food quality and better portions. So your transportation cost excuse is just that-an excuse. With that, no, I dont agree with you. By now you shouldnt be striving to offer a good portion-you should just be serving good portions. Sounds like you still have a lot to figure out and I am not the only reviewer with these experiences.

Attended a Sushi-Making class today and it was incredibly fun and informative. Not a regular event, but if you can go to one of these the next time Cafe of Life hosts one, I highly recommend it.

This is a nicely run, in style restaurant. And I am sure many people like it. But please adjust the expectation that this is not a authenticate Japanese restaurant at all. The ramen and udon noodle soup is awful. Ingredients are totally wrong. Soup base is off too. And uses wrong noodle for the ramen. Plays Chinese music instrument, not Japanese. Noodle soup cost twice compare other good restaurant. But I guess if you are at Durango, you are looking for a good time. Not really looking for a good Japanese food.

Absolutely incredible meal with fantastic service. Monika gave us perfect suggestions and walked us through the menu. Her passion for the food and the restaurant was super inspiring. I cant wait to come back again.

Top choice for sushi and Asian food in Durango. Waitress was extremely friendly, attentive to our needs, flexible due to our group size and two babies. Food delivered fast, including sushi. Happy hour offers great deals. Original sushi recipes. Great atmosphere and fun vibe. Highly recommend.

East by Southwest is a family favorite! Cant go wrong with the Salmon & Lemon along with a Katoi😘

We really enjoyed our experience here. Though they had a 10 minute wait the bar was open so we were able to sit right away. The bartender Ryan gave us the best service we could have asked for and our food came.out quickly and timed perfectly in between courses. Definitely will try this place again the next time we travel to Durango!