Tony T.
Yelp
Great fish at great pricing and fantastic service!
Tried to make day of reservations at Sushi Bar Mauimi, but it was booked for a week in advance. Since we were just tourists in this beautiful city, we decided to move onto the next: Tetsu Sushi Bar. I found it on yelp, and the most recent review left by Traci C. - though brief - caught my eye, due to the mention of Hokkaido uni and foie gras.
Opted to go for the omakase without the otsumami, udon and dessert, because we wanted to try as much fish as we could. At $58 CAD ($40ish USD), we thought this was a steal compared to what we pay back home for more mediocre fish. Omakase for 2 please! Only disappointment was that we ended up at a table instead of the bar (I absolutely HATE omakase at a table, there is no interaction with the itamae, which is half the experience- how can the itamae get a feel for what you like/dislike?).
Out comes the tray of sushi. There was hirame, Spanish mackerel, Japanese mackerel, sea bream, amberjack, otoro and Hokkaido uni. The sea bream and amberjack were great - the itamae's knife skills were really on point, because these pieces were not overly thick and chewy, but sliced just right. The kama toro was melt-in-your-mouth delicious (of course). But the Hokkaido uni? It was good, but I've had better elsewhere: the texture was super delicate, but i could barely detect the sweet and slightly salty flavor of the uni. It might have been my taste buds, because my wife said it tasted delicious.
We wanted more fish! Out came the nodoguro, king salmon, and Hokkaido scallop nigiri. All were great, but the nodoguro was amazing! Never had this fish before in Japan or in California. Then came the last piece, so we ordered the foie gras aburi. Mind.blown. My eyes rolled back into my skull, and I had to check my pants because I was in bliss.
My only gripes about this restaurant is that its too small, bar seating is only limited to 4 people and the rice for the nigiri broke off too easily when held by my fingers. All these things can be easily overlooked when your chomping down on that foie gras aburi! Kanpai!!