Adam D.
Yelp
When you live a 75 minute flight away the question is not 'Why go to Rome?' it's 'Why don't we go to Rome more often?' So on a recent weekend trip I grabbed an early dinner at Sushisen based on the strength of its Yelp reviews (as I had not eaten here before).
Quick Summary: It's great, good service, good food and good value, so go.
Now the longer version: There is a selection of Kaisen seating and tables. The tables filled quickly so I assume they were reserved. If you want to seat quickly then get there when it opens, or be prepared to stand and wait. I ate alone and got there ten minutes before it opened, along with about twenty others on a Saturday night, so was seated immediately.
Despite the fact I was alone (and therefore had an empty seat next to me as they counted on seating a couple) they were perfectly hospitable and I was sat and watched the Kaisen fill up quickly.
As well as the food on the Kaisen there is a menu for other items and I quickly ordered some cold Soba noodles and a 300ml bottle of Dai Ginjo Sake. They have a decent selection of 300ml sake, one of the better selections I've seen outside of London.
The noodle choices are very good as well, Soba and Udon in multiple options. I chose cold Soba with dipping sauce and they were very good, the noodles tasted fresh and the dipping sauce was very flavourful. The Soba came with lots of excellent Wasabi which was great as I had started to use Wasabi out of little sachets on the table and it was pretty poor. Some of the Kaisen selections also had the same Wasabi so make sure to ask for some rather than use that awful packet stuff.
As I had a light coloured shirt on (and I was sat so close to the people on one side of me) I neglected to 'slurp' my Soba for fear of spots on my shirt.
I didn't take shots of the food as I was in close proximity to other diners and felt a little silly, presentation was excellent though.
After the noodles I turned my attention to the Kaisen selection. Usually I eat Sashimi and Nigiri and avoid rolls (rarely eat them) and the more inventive (i.e. poor) selections. However there were a very tempting selection of interesting items on the belt. You might want to check out the menu in advance as I didn't have much time to check out the selections as they went past.
Towards the end of the meal, after gorging on excellent Sashimi and Nigiri I tried the yaki karaage (crispy fried chicken) as I saw it go onto the belt fresh from the kitchen. Many times this dish is dry as the chicken is over cooked.
This version was incredible, the pieces of chicken had some fat on them which had caramelized during cooking and the pieces came in a lightly applied pistachio sauce. This dish was just incredible, I had two portions, the second was also good but not as good as the first so get them when they are hot. Between these two orders of chicken I ordered some Uni from the Waiter, again this was just excellent and the quality of the Sea Urchin just shone through.
I ate the Chicken and Sea Urchin dishes with a second Sake, this time an unfiltered one which was milky (of course) and slightly sweet and really enjoyable.
My total bill was just under 100 Euros, which when you consider I spent 45 on Sake and had eaten more than your average diner would that is excellent value (a large meal for 55 Eurors of soba, chicken, Uni, two mixed sashimi plates of 6 pieces each and multiple pieces of Nigiri)
Honestly there are a number of decent Sushi options in Rome but this one is excellent value, loads of fun with great quality fish, rice and service.
I shall go back for sure.