Having finally snagged a reservation (and a dining partner willing to brave the unknown), I made my way to this hole on the wall (quite literally - the entrance is inside an unmarked door, set back a few feet from the sidewalk, leading up an inconspicuous set of stairs). There was a nice lounge adjoined to the room containing the (tiny, 6-seater) sushi bar, for pre-meal seating. I managed to forget to take a picture of the menu, though there wasn’t much on there that I didn’t note down anyways.
Asparagus Goma-ae
topped with chili strings
Marinated Gobo & Carrots
sesame seeds
Sea Trout Nitsuke(?)
celery ???, chili strings, simmered vegetables
Hirame
shiso
Shima Aji
lime zest
Kinmedai
seared
Aji
scallions, ginger
Hon Maguro
Kanpachi
yuzukosho
Saba
kelp
Masu
Tako no sumiso ae
Chawanmushi
hokkaido uni, mushroom, ginkgo nut
Okra
dashi(?) gelee, katsuobushi
Hotate
seared
Amaebi
Chutoro
Toro-takuan temaki
A5(?) Japanese Wagyu
seared, scallions, garlic chip, ???
Tamago
sweet
Akadashi
mushroom, zucchini, mitsuba
Mango Shiso Sorbet
coconut milk
Thoughts
Great meal. Rice was unobtrusive - this place hasn’t jumped on the akasu bandwagon - but good. If I were to pick out some highlights… the hirame, shima aji, maguro, saba, tako no sumiso, and the temaki shine a little brighter in memory. Nothing was a disappointment, though. The sorbet was cute - tasted very much like a thai soup (& wasn’t that sweet). Also a big fan of the part where I both was given the option to re-run any favorites, but didn’t feel like I needed to because there was actually enough food.
So far this is the clear winner for sushi in the easy bay. Not quite Shunji/Kaneyoshi/etc-level, but it’s maybe 75% of the way there, and half the price (though, admittedly, slightly less food as well). Highly recommended.