jib71

Welcome to flyertalk.
http://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1313/A1...016/dtlrvwlst/
Why do you think Flyertalkers should only go there with Japanese-speaking friends? Does the restaurant find it difficult dealing with non-Japanese speakers? Or do you think it's too difficult for non-Japanese to find?

bocastephen

I went to the most convenient Choshimaru to Tokyo, which was closest to the Suidobashi subway (but I'm not 100% sure, I will need to double check) and was a 15 min walk or quick bus ride from the station.

The location was quite large, and while the sushi was a belt setup, nothing was on the belt and you ordered from a nearby chef in the large central area in the middle of the belt. This was definitely a locals-only area and restaurant, although as part of a chain, they had an English menu but I was with a Japanese friend.

Quality varied widely - some pieces were probably on par with a $300 sushi restaurant in the US, some were on par with any decent-average sushi restaurant, and some were - well- just not cutting it. The smoked bonito failed miserably to the version served by Jiro-san, yet the various saba, tai, iwashi, tobiko, ikura and even fresh salmon were all very, very good. Here, the simpler and local fish shine, the more complex creations tend to fail.

The toro was a crime - a piece of silky, buttery fully marbled toro was cut into a thick slab instead of a delicate slice against the grain designed to melt in your mouth - so what should have been an incredibly delicious piece of toro, for US$2.50 no less, was reduced to a mix of heavenly, buttery smoothness with too much sinew to work through. Had it been cut properly, I would have just had an endless supply of this for such a cheap price. Uni was sold out, so I wasn't able to try it.

Two of us stuffed ourselves almost unconscious for a total of US$50 - even with some mediocre pieces, the overall quality was excellent. I think the next visit will be to one of the smaller single-location places in my post upthread, or just return to my usual Zanmai location across from Shibuya Station.

One word of note - the sushi is all pre-cut and stored in large containers for volume service, this is not chef-cut sushi prepared to order, just assembled to order.

quirrow

For sushi, a mid-priced option that I enjoyed was Sushi Rosan (or Rozan) 鲁山 at the top floor of Isetan Shinjuku. Very convenient and lunch sets in ¥3,000 range, it was about the same price as the sushi stalls in Tsukiji and much better IMO.

bocastephen

Has anyone tried (or heard of) Senyuu?
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1314/A...dtlphotolst/1/

Appears to be all you can eat traditional edomae sushi for about US30 per person, which is a steal given the likely quality difference between American AYCE at US25 and what it appears they are serving at Senyuu.

returnoftheyeti

Just had dinner here. Fantastic. Highly recommended. Nice and relaxing, great food and presentation.

bocastephen

Update - the first time I tried to go here (Senyuu) a few weeks ago I discovered it was closed on Sundays. The second time, a few days ago, the place was open, but smoking is allowed inside (a deal breaker for us) and no credit cards - also, the menu is all Japanese, no English spoken and I got the impression that foreigners weren't exactly welcome with open arms. After checking more local reviews, we decided we weren't missing anything here.

Two other reviews from the past week:

1. Sushi Takase near Yoyogi Station (or a long walk from Times Sq/Takashimaya). Highly praised by locals, the only high scores (near 4.0) I found for sushi on Tablelog. There is an online review in English by the website Gurunavi, but their information is almost totally wrong including the pricing.

The restaurant is beautiful and not busy, but reservations are required. No English spoken at all, no English menu. The only real option for non-Japanese speakers is the very well priced Y3500 omakase with 10 pieces of delicious sushi. We went on a Sunday, so his supply was somewhat limited, but if you go on a weeknight or Saturday, there should be more choices.

We didn't want the omakase, but after a few tries of asking for specific fish in Japanese and getting a 'not available', we decided to just do the omakase rather than sit there doing sushi bingo for an hour. After the omakase, I was able to order a few more pieces and had a nice filling dinner for under US40 all-in. A la carte sushi is around Y300 per piece for good quality fish in a very quiet, luxurious setting.

2. Katsu Seibu Shibuya

Here is a reason I will never trust Yelp again in Japan....mostly reviews by ignorant westerners who think good sushi (or Katsu or anything for that matter) comes from a Chinese owned buffet or food-court Japanese restaurant. The reviews of this restaurant ("best sushi I ever had!", "the most delicious sushi ever!", "the best sushi in Tokyo!") should have been a tip-off, however, desperate for something open late and buoyed by the sheer number of reviews, we decided to give it a try. For conveyer belt sushi (actually made to order and delivered via the quick-slide trays), it wasn't what I would call terrible - if you need a quick, cheap sushi fix, the place is popular and has lots of options, but not what I would consider high quality or very fresh. This should not be your primary go-to place for lower price sushi in Tokyo, but if you want a quick, late evening sushi fix with better-than-USA quality at cheaper-than-USA prices, it could be a good option to try.

bocastephen

Not sure if it qualifies as "non" high-end, or just really good mid-range, but has anyone eaten at Bentenyama Miyako in Tokyo?

The sushigeek review seems rather glowing, and I would give the omakase a try when I'm back in Tokyo next month.

https://www.thesushigeek.com/the-sus...-asakusa-tokyo

kzap

Toriton in Solamachi/Skytree?

greendx

Not sure how I've missed this thread before.

I really love going to Tsukiji outer market as there are so many things to try from sushi to oysters to uni to grilled seafood.

Some of my recent go to places are:

Iwasa Sushi, similar to Sushi Dai and Daiwa and close to both of those but doesn't have a 4 hour wait. If you like shellfish I highly recommend getting the shellfish set for ~3600 yen.

There are multiple Uni don places at Tsukiji outer market. Most are in small alleys between buildings that connect the main streets/alleys. Most/all of those places are good and typically carry over a dozen types of uni from Japan, China, Russia, Korea, etc. The most expensive dons containing 5 types of Japanese uni will run you around $90USD. That said there is a restaurant that is directly across from the Saito Fisheries Oyster stand, it's called Unitora (note there is more than one unitora) you want to go to the one on the second floor and make a left for the largest overflowing delicious bowl of uni you'll ever see for ~3500 yen.

Sushi Kuni (4-14-15 Tsukiji Chuo Tokyo) which is another place for Uni don at Tsukiji outer market. It's very popular and has very long lines. If you don't want to wait the place next door, BAN-YA Seafood BBQ has uni that's just as good. I've also tried their squid sashimi and it was excellent.

Regarding sushi Zanmai, I'm a fan and go every time I'm in Japan. It's a bit inconsistent visit to visit and store to store but overall great value/qualty for the money. I've probably been to a dozen locations at this point. The original location is about a block away from Tsukiji. Opens at 11am and usually has a line out the door. Last time I was there, there was no line but it wasn't as good as on my previous visits. At least one of their Tsukiji restaurants is 24x7 as are 2-3 other 24x7 restaurants in or near the market. One of those 24x7 restaurants is Tsukiji Sushi Sen which is another chain. Sushi Sen location that is across the street from outer market is very good. Similar to Zanmai but less busy. They have an all squid/octopus set that I like.

If you're in Minato-ku area this place http://www.sushinomidori.co.jp/shop.php?name=akasaka which is apparently another chain, is very good. I stumbled on to this location walking around in the area near my hotel and have gone back to it again on another visit. Don't recall seeing any other tourists on either visit. It's a bit more expensive than Zanmai and is good to go for set menus that have ~12 sushi pieces rather than ala cart.

High end sushi, still not sure how I feel about it. I've been to about a half a dozen 1/2/3 star restaurants and have yet to re-visit any. If I had to pick one to call a favorite I'd probably have to go with Sushi Umi. Haven't been to Jiro and not sure if I want to try it. Really want to try Sushi Saito but have not been able to secure a reservation.

Pickles

You must have gone during a lull. The Midori chain is a favorite of ferners as it's in every guidebook these days. Or they could have been other Asians. They love that stuff.

LAX/HKG

Are children welcomed at these sushi restaurants?

PAX_fips

I liked this one very much - between Ushigome-Kagurazaka and Iidabashi Metrostration
https://goo.gl/maps/SeE26ygVqxK2

MikeFromTokyo

I enjoy Rosan, but find it much better if you sit at the counter, which is a bit more expensive. It’s a good casual sushi option in Shinjuku that does not require reservations.

bocastephen

We tried Bentenyama Miyako, I would definitely NOT recommend it for the following reasons:

1. dual menu system - a wider selection of sushi and other dishes for Japanese speaking customers with lower prices for the same menu items that are on the English menu given to foreigners which has a very limited selection of sushi "combo" plates only and no omakase - this was a huge turn-off, and the only reason we did not walk out at this point was 1. it's very rude to do so in Japan, 2. our hotel made the reservation and we did not want to disrespect them, and 3. we didn't realize how far downhill things would go from there

2. dual quality system - I probably eat as much sushi as most Americans eat hamburgers, so I can tell the difference on sight between lower quality, smaller cuts given to foreigners (us, plus one other couple) and the nicer looking pieces given to the rest of the restaurant patrons who were Japanese - a huge turn-off, and of course the chef and staff seem to assume foreigners are clueless and just smile and eat whatever is handed to them - which is what the other foreign couple did, while the two of us sat there and stewed unhappily

3. the fingernails - while we couldn't figure out if it was dirt, injury or stains from sauce, the fingernails of the senior sushi chef looked horrendous and were a huge turnoff, even though he was (thankfully) not the chef serving us. The Japanese ladies he was serving seemed unaffected by this, so maybe it's no big deal over here, but in this case, I can say that a foreign guest would probably be very turned off by this

4. it just wasn't that good - maybe the Japanese guests had excellent sushi, but we didn't - and the point was driven home pretty well a couple days later when we decided to try the small stand-up sushi spot around the corner from the central gate at Shinagawa Station, and for about 1/4 the price, we had a variety of sushi that blew away what Bentoenyama served, and even gave our favorite 'authentic edomae' place in Orange, CA a run for its money.

So, after a few tries of Jiro, followed by a sampling of Zanmai, popular conveyor belt spots and now Bentenyama, my conclusion is there is a huge gap between sub-$200 and over-$200 sushi in Tokyo in terms of quality and experience, and far less of a gap between $25-$150 sushi where you're better off cost-wise to go with the most popular, yet cheapest option and keep your expectations low. I think going forward we will just save up for, and expect to pay $200-300pp for one of Jiro's locations or another restaurant of comparable quality to avoid spending over $100-150 and being very disappointed. For something quick, simple and tasty, we will stop at the Shinagawa stand-up spot.

MikeFromTokyo

That’s something I’ve never encountered re inferior cuts being served to foreigners. As a regular of my favorite sushi restaurant, where I eat almost exclusively, I do know that I often get the most beautiful kohada, as the taisho knows it’s always one of my favorites.

Quality price ratio is not always that simple, but I basically agree that one should expect to spend ¥20,000~¥30,000 at top restaurants, although that also can vary depending on alcohol consumption, having sashimi and other items in addition to the nigiri, and on one’s rapport with the restaurant (at that level prices aren’t itemized or listed).

There can be a huge quality difference at casual and mid range restaurants, so that is very subjective. For people comfortable spending ¥10,000~ on a casual but very good meal, without any expectations beyond that, that can also be a very satisfying and enjoyable meal. But, I believe I get your point and basically agree. If looking for maximum bang for your buck, it would be better to go for top restaurants and then also enjoy some casual, moderately priced places, avoiding the middle ground.