SushiYa combines quality food with great service and decent prices
The fact that Japanese cuisine has grown amazingly popular in the capital is clearly manifested by the number of rather affordable sushi bars that keep springing up around town. Naturally, demand generates supply, but as often happens, demand is not always satisfied in the most suitable way, and there is no guarantee that what you get is worth the money you’re paying for it. And if the cost at least falls in line with the quality of food, it’s usually as much as you can ask for. Considering all the above-mentioned, SushiYa became quite a surprising revelation for me.
Opened about a few months ago, SushiYa is already on its way to becoming a chain, with another Sushiya eatery set to open on Lesi Ukrayinky very soon, and three more to appear by the end of the year.
My friend and I entered SushiYa on Moskovska street (right across from Limoncello Grill) on a Monday evening, wanting nothing but a relaxing meal after a busy working day, and if it was to be a tasty one too, all the better.
Some people were sitting on the summer terrace, but having just recovered from a cold I didn’t even consider that, and headed for the inside hall, brightly lit and filled with soft white couches and chairs. A minimalist design complete with a few bonsai trees, an aquarium and photographs depicting some casual scenes from Japanese life, birds and landscapes created just the proper ambience for the place, where people could come to enjoy a good meal.
Right at the door we were met by the hostess, who led us to a table and promptly handed out the menus – green and round-shaped, and bearing the same childish-like logo that is seen on the signboard above the entrance to the restaurant – a smiling yellow face, which is supposed to be sushi with a red piece of fish on top.
Having looked through the menu, I discovered it didn’t contain actual sushi. Instead, we could see the whole assortment of sushi on a paper sheet that served as a tablecloth on the table.
However, this time we decided not to limit ourselves just to sushi, and try a wider variety of Japanese dishes.
So, having picked a dragon roll each – a “Golden Dragon” (Hr 78) for my friend, and a “Green Dragon” (Hr 54) for myself, we went for the “Unagi Nabe” soup (Hr 30) and Japanese pelmeni, “Gyoza” (Hr 32).
The latter were offered steamed and fried, and my friend chose the steamed ones first, but in a few moments the waitress returned to kindly explain that whatever device they used for steaming was broken, so if my friend didn’t mind, they would be fried.
Hardly a minute passed when our pot of steaming hot “Japanese Sakura” tea arrived at the table, and we had only just poured it into our cups, when my soup also arrived. The two rolls followed, and so did the fried pelmeni. It all seemed so incredibly fast, considering that the eatery was quite full – people, who looked like they had just left their offices after a tiresome day were helping themselves to sushi all around us, with wait staff moving back and forth among the tables, fetching them this and that.
Already impressed, I started on the soup, which (no exaggeration here) exceeded my expectations. I already knew that eel-based soup should be quite a wonderful thing if properly made and this one certainly was – a large bowl filled with boiled egg, tofu cheese and bits of eel. It was wonderfully hot and simply delicious with strong eel flavor. I gulped it down almost without noticing how quickly I did it.
In the meantime, my friend started on her “Golden Dragon” with eel and flying fish caviar, wrapped in eel and sprinkled with Unagi sauce. She pronounced it incredibly fresh and delicate.
As for the “Gyoza” pelmeni with shrimp, served with some spicy sauce filled with sesame, she concluded it wasn’t especially impressive and that the pastry had a strong flavor of sunflower oil.
I had to admit the same, after having tried crunchy dumplings myself. But when the waitress, who was removing used hot towels from our table (she came to clean up the table regularly), pleasantly mentioned that the fried pelmeni were in fact much more popular at the eatery than the steamed ones, and are meant to be much tastier, we didn’t have the heart to disagree.
My “Green Dragon” – one of my favorite rolls in fact – once again of eel and flying fish caviar, but in this case wrapped in avocado, was nothing but delicious, and inspired by such a positive experience I decided to go for a dessert.
However, the list featured nothing but two kinds of Japanese ice cream and a fruit plate. So we decided the ice cream it would be – “Tahini” ice cream of sesame for me, and one of green tea for my friend.
As we ordered it, the waitress suggested preparing for us desserts with both kinds of ice cream, allowing us to try the whole variety, and we naturally agreed.
The cold dessert arrived generously sprinkled with sesame. The Tahini indeed had a nut flavor to it, just as described on the menu, and was noticeably sweeter than the one based on green tea, which was slightly bitter, with the combination providing a perfectly balanced taste.
After we finished, the plates were quickly cleared away, and we sat for a while sipping fresh juices getting ready to leave.
Though I know that by sounding so entirely positive about an eatery I’m merely advertising it, but there is nowhere to hide the truth – SushiYa was indeed one of the best experiences I have had at restaurants in the last couple of months, and one of the best of all Japanese eateries in town. Everything – the quality of food, the ambience and the service, and waitresses keeping their smiles while working so fast at such a busy time – deserved high marks.
Sushiya (29A Moskovska, 280-9999). Open 11 a.m. till the last customer.
English menu: Yes
English-speaking staff: No
Average meal: Hr 100
