Jason F.
Yelp
Authentic Japanese cuisine is being served at Mainichi Sushi on a daily basis. Located on Solano Avenue near the Albany-Berkeley border, Mainichi Sushi arrived on the local scene just a couple of years ago replacing the long-standing Sushi 29. Now with an updated exterior with wooden paneling, and an interior that's full of light thanks to the floor to ceiling windows that open out onto Solano Avenue, Mainichi Sushi is ready to take on the world, and why shouldn't they, as the word Mainichi literally translates into the word "every day" in Japanese. Celebrating a recent weekend dinner with two friends recently, we were thinking of dining along the commercial corridor that stretches from the Albany lowlands all the way up to the Berkeley Hills, and none of us had ever heard of Mainichi until we did a little searching via our map apps. Once I saw how nice renovated their exterior looked, we took a look at their menu on our Yelp app and noticed how reasonable their prices were for their combinations and sushi rolls and decided to try something new. Despite coming after 6 p.m. on a weekend evening, there was both plenty of parking and not too much car traffic traveling up Solano Avenue, which would also be indicative of how busy they were, as they were not packed with customers and we were sitting at a table of four right away.
The menu at Mainichi Sushi is separated into categories including Appetizers; Kitchen, which was a variety of hot menu items; Rolls; Veggie Rolls; Special Rolls; Deep Fried Rolls; Teriyaki Plate; Sandwiches; Bento Box; Donburi; Ramen; Udon; Sashimi; Sushi; Hand Rolls; Sashimi & Sushi Special; and Dessert. After bringing our table three bowls of complimentary miso soup, we knew we wanted to share everything, so we ordered one of their Bento Box, which is served with steamed rice and a salad. You are supposed to select three menu items from columns labeled A, B, and C. We ordered beef teriyaki, tempura, and sashimi, of which we selected their salmon from options that also included tuna and hamachi. We also ordered their 15 piece Sashimi Tasting from their Sashimi & Sushi Special menu, their Hamachi Kama, which is grilled yellowtail cheek from their kitchen section of their menu, and their Jasmine Blossom Roll from their Special Rolls section of their menu, which featured yellowtail, avocado and tobiko. The latter roll was one of the first things to be brought out to our table and it was the perfect starter to what would be a wonderfully filling meal. Simple as it only had one freshly sliced raw fish, it was a nice palate cleanser. Then we were presented with our Sashimi Tasting, which featured no fewer than sixteen pieces of freshly sliced fish. I particularly liked the fresh Tai fish or Japanese sea bream and it was so rich with flavor.
After enjoying some lighter bites, out came both of our cooked entrées, led by our Bento Box dinner, which was easily shareable between three people. I have to admit a majority of elements of our Bento Box were rather subpar as the beef teriyaki was overcooked and the tempura, although delicious, was rather unremarkable. Although it came with sliced sashimi at an additional cost, I wouldn't recommend ordering this entrée again, as they have other items on their menu that are much better, which includes their Hamachi Kama, which was buttery and nicely grilled at the same time. We decided to order one more roll as our dinner progressed, we ordered one more of their speciality sushi rolls, and their Solano Roll, with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, unagi, cucumber, avocado and tobiko, had an overabundance of ingredients with every bite, but still was very good and satiated our appetites. We had a wonderful time at Mainichi Sushi, as everything was fresh and authentic, as their staff clearly knew what they were doing. Our total bill was $134.51 before gratuity was added in, which was rather reasonable considering how much food we enjoyed this evening, and we were able to take home a few extra small bites for a future meal. We cannot wait to return to Mainichi Sushi in the future, as we now have a place where we can take visitors who have a craving for freshly sliced and prepared Japanese raw fish and sushi rolls. Here's hoping that Mainichi Sushi will reign along Solano Avenue for many years to come!