Ajisai Sushi Bar – Hidden but no gem
I had high expectations when visiting Ajisai Sushi in Kerrisdale due to the number of rave reviews and acclamations on the intarwebs over the freshness of their ingredients and authentic preparation methods.
I don’t usually order sushi by the piece, and couldn’t tell you the difference between a red snapper and a yellowtail because I don’t eat them enough to remember, so after some head scratching and random finger placement on a >200 item menu, our party of four had the following plate ordered:
It consists of their spicy sushi combo, ebi mayo (shrimp with a dabble of Japanese mayo on top. Not what I expected at $1.90/piece), futomaki, negi hama (yellowtail), and a roll with taro and bbq eel in it. Not pictured is their BBQ black cod. A slice that took over half hour to get to our table. It was the most decadent and buttered up piece of fish I’ve ever tasted.
The bill was quite reasonable because we had little of their flown in from across the pacific ocean exotica.
It may be unrealistic expectations, or that the items we ordered didn’t contain enough raw fish to make the freshness factor stand out, but I’ve had plenty of sushi from places that weren’t hyped for purveying exceptionally fresh ingredients, yet still manages to impress a casual sushi eater such as myself. Ajisai Sushi is not a bad restaurant, and very well may have great appeal for the aficionados and gurus looking for the freshest pieces of raw fish. It just wasn’t a gem for me.
Interesting…I just put this on my list of places because I’ve heard so many good things about it. I’ll let you know how it goes on my end.
I’m with Degan… heard lots of positives so hearing your mixed take is interesting. But need to judge it for myself one day. I think though, going the “maki” route is never a good way to fully appreciate what a place does. Too much can be hidden under all that rice, those sauces, etc.
I’m looking forward to hear what you guys think.
Shokutsu, it sounds like you prefer the nigiri/bigger fish to rice ratio items, so this might be the place for you.
Yes, I am a strict nigiri-only guy when it comes to sushi. :)
That’s good to know! I will be looking to your reviews for recommendations when I get more into nigiri sushi.
that sushi looks great!!
You missed out on the spicy white tuna sashimi. Its to die for.
If you can’t tell the difference between Hamachi and Tai or Madai, you have no business trying to critique the subtleties of the food.