Utzutzu - Alameda

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.

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Nice report back! Wagyu is a rather unorthodox nigiri piece to end the dinner on, but hey it’s Cali and we forge our own tasty ways, so kudos.

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Yeah, it wasn’t really the star of the show; I’d’ve been happy with pretty much any fish instead.

I’ve done a bit of checking and reservations are manageable, compared to some LA stalwarts - it looks like they might be rolling out new availability daily. (There weren’t any openings when I made the initial post, but there’s a couple of slots open on January 11th as I’m posting this comment.)