Patrick W.
Yelp
Sugarfish is my go-to place when I want consistent, good quality nigiri - it's also clean and dimly lit with just the right amount of spacing between tables to make it a great casual date night spot. Most importantly for me, though, is that this location is one of the Sugarfish locations that has a dog friendly patio! I find that good quality sushi and dog-friendly seating is a surprisingly rare pairing, so we come here pretty often since I'm rarely NOT in the mood for sushi. The wait is usually not too bad as long as it's not a holiday or a weekend (specifically dinner), which is nice as they don't take reservations.
My go-to order is the "don't think, just eat", which is currently priced at $59. I will say that I really only order the other lower priced options if I'm not too hungry. Everything overall is delicious, and the selection - which is technically supposed to be "omakase style" in which they serve you whatever the kitchen decides that day - is actually very consistent. The pictures attached to this review are pretty much what you're going to get 90% of the time, with maybe an exception here or there if they're out of a specific fish. This, however, means that you can't make alterations to what comes out unlike the other sets. Here's my item by item breakdown of your typical "don't think, just eat":
Tuna ponzu appetizer (5/5): So, the thing is with this appetizer is that it's kind of a roll of the dice as to what kind of cuts you're going to get. Some days, it'll be mostly lean tuna, and some days, you might get pieces of what tastes like toro (see picture attached!). The good part is that even if you mostly just get lean tuna, it's still going to taste great - the citrusy ponzu-based marinade really helps neutralize the iron-y flavors that typically turn me off of lean tuna. But if you get fattier tuna - well, it only gets better.
Toro (5/5): Sugarfish never misses with their quality control. The toro is always buttery, melt in your mouth goodness.
Salmon Konbu (4.5/5): The very first time I had this nigiri, I was a little bit confused by the addition of the konbu - it really makes it taste nothing like a normal salmon nigiri. After having it several times, I've really grown to like it! It has a mellow sweetness that adds additional depth to the flavor of the salmon.
Albacore (4/5): The albacore tastes is paired with what I presume is some kind of ponzu - the sauce is quite tart. Since albacore is a pretty mild flavored fish, the tartness really comes through. I've definitely been more impressed with other executions of albacore nigiri/sushi, but there's nothing inherently wrong with this one.
Toro Handroll (5/5): I'm a big fan of Kazunori, and since they're all under sushi Nozawa, it's no surprise that the handrolls at Sugarfish are great too. Finely chopped toro, crisp nori, and warm rice is always a winning combo.
Chutoro (5/5): Some days, this can be hard to distinguish from the toro. Same remarks here, consistently good.
Pink Lobster (5/5): If you like raw shrimp, you'll love this - though I can understand the "slimier" texture potentially being off putting for people unfamiliar with raw shellfish. It has a mild sweetness and slight springiness to the bite.
Red Snapper with Shiso (3/5): Red snapper is not one of my favorite fish - it's slightly chewy, firm, and tastes very clean but in a "has practically no flavor" kind of way since it's a very lean fish. Adding the shiso leaf really just makes this taste mostly of shiso since shiso is such a powerful flavor - and if you love shiso, this might be for you, but for me this one is always the fish I hope they're conveniently out of stock on when I go, haha.
Lobster Handroll (5/5): I would be happy eating just this the entire meal. Also available at Kazunori and it's always the highlight of my meal.
Anago (4.5/5): Sister to unagi, anago is saltwater eel (vs unagi being freshwater) and tends to be slightly less fatty. You still get a very soft, buttery bite though and it's a great finisher to the meal.
Thanks for all the great meals, and we'll definitely be back soon!