Quality All-You-Can-Eat Sushi

One of those words is not like the other. AYCE sushi brings to mind those skeezy Chinese/Japanese/American buffets that offer only California rolls with trace amounts of questionable “fish.” I assure you, Sushi House in Rocky Hill is not like that.

For $20 per person, we sat at the sushi bar, observing the three chefs pump our plate after plate to keep up with demand. The restaurant has a pretty typical Japanese vibe, with manekineko (lucky cat) waving at the cash register and Asahi beer behind the bar. We are given a pair of menus and a pen. The menus are sectioned into appetizers, soups, salads, fried, sashimi, rolls, etc. Each offering has a blank next to it, and we as diners are to write a number next to each denoting how much we want. At the top of each paper we are reminded to not waste food, which isn’t a problem considering that each piece you order is small. While I am a sushi veteran, my dining partner was trying a lot of things for the first time. As one might expect, soups and salad (seaweed and kani) came out quickly, while the plate of sushi took a bit longer. Word to the wise, don’t go to sushi house if you are in a hurry. They artistically plate every piece, and more than one round of sushi can take a while. This is especially true when the entire restaurant was full with a line out the door (yeah, they are that popular).

I checked numerous offerings to create a customized sampling and handed off the menu. Miso soup, mushroom soup, and seaweed salad came quickly. The soups were earthy and had an umami flavor, and the salad was a bright contrast. Chicken skewers and tempura vegetables came next, each tasted like they were made to order. My favorite was the miso eggplant. Order a few, because each is about one bite. The eggplant is soft and is dotted with sesame seeds and a sweet sauce, a tasty combination of sweet, nutty, and savory.

Then our first sushi plate came. I tried to stick to mostly sashimi as to not fill up on rice, but some fish are only offered as maki. We also got a few rolls that have some pretty interesting components including mango and kiwi. My dining partner, who I was guiding through the tasting, enjoyed the roll stuffed with lobster salad and topped with a mango sauce. I was partial to the warm unagi (eel) and liked to add tobiko (fish roe) to the Godzilla roll, already stuffed with maguro (tuna) and sake (salmon). The saba (mackerel) was salty and a little firm and brought an almost Norwegian flavor to the evening. Overall, I was continually and pleasantly surprised at the quality considering the price point.

We ended our evening with red bean and green tea ice cream (also included in the all you can eat price). Very full, we both walked away happy at my friend’s pushing the envelope of her gastronomic comfort zone.