Prime Fish Cellar debuts as a sushi-and-wine bar near Cotswold
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The premium handroll service ($50) brings enough supplies for eight build-your-own sushi rolls, including truffle salmon, bluefin tuna, Japan yellowtail, Hokkaido scallop and salmon roe. Photo: Laura Barrero/Axios
A new dining restaurant from the team behind Prime Fish and Omakase Experience by Prime Fish quietly opened late last year.
Why it matters: Prime Fish Cellar gives Charlotte diners more access to the sourcing and seafood that helped put Omakase Experience by Prime Fish on the map — without the full omakase time commitment and price tag.
Driving the news: Chef-owner Robin Anthony is Charlotte's only 2026 James Beard Awards semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast, recognized for his work at Omakase Experience by Prime Fish.
- Prime Fish Cellar is in the same shopping plaza near Cotswold as Omakase Experience by Prime Fish — and is positioned as a middle ground between Prime Fish's casual raw bar in Ballantyne and the six-seat omakase counter nearby.
Context: Anthony opened Prime Fish Cellar in 2024 as a gourmet market and bottle shop specializing in premium wine, Japanese sake and provisions.
- But "so many people [were] asking for sushi," outside the omakase experience, Anthony tells Axios.
- Late last year, his team transformed the 1,200-square-foot space into a small and casual restaurant inside the former bottle shop.
What to expect: While the focus has shifted to dining, Prime Fish Cellar still operates as a curated wine and sake shop.
- Bottles are selected by a certified sommelier, and diners can purchase bottles at retail price, without restaurant markup.
- Anthony says the restaurant imports seafood weekly from global suppliers — including fish from Japan, Spain and Denmark — and caviar shipped weekly from Europe.
Dig in: Prime Fish Cellar's menu includes nigiri, sashimi, specialty rolls, plus lunch special rolls for $12 — and several items you won't find at the other Prime Fish locations.
- Caviar service featuring Kaluga hybrid or Royal Ossetra ($85/oz).
- Build-your-own hand rolls ($50–$100).
- Jewel boxes ($45–$120) served with sushi rice, avocado and furikake.
- Temari sushi for lunch ($20-$50).
The big picture: Tasting-menu dining and high-end Japanese restaurants continue to reshape Charlotte's food scene, and Prime Fish Cellar shows how chefs are meeting diners halfway.
- Instead of asking guests to "leave it up to the chef" (what "omakase" translates to), Prime Fish Cellar offers omakase-level ingredients in a more approachable format.
Stop by: Prime Fish Cellar is at 2921 Providence Road.