An all time classic

Since decades Akio Ando is serving sushi to go in his various Maruyasu outlets across Düsseldorf. The prime location however, seems to be the sushi bar in the Schadow Arkaden where also Akio himself can be found on most days behind the counter. At its long counter, a huge variety of different sushi dishes can be found, among which usually is a huge selection of premium nigiri pieces to choose from. Most interestingly, the selection usually features a variety of bluefin tuna cuts, as can be seen in this video (among other nice impressions).

This time I went for a nice selection of nigiri pieces for a quick meal. I chose 2 pieces of otoro (fatty bluefin tuna belly) and chu toro (medium fatty bluefin tuna belly) nigiri, which on its one would be reason enough to revisit the restaurant any day. I was told it was off a 300 kg tuna that was received and cut just some days ago and this day was perfect for trying the new arrival. It was certainly so and an absolute delight.

Also the rest of my nigiri plate was outstanding. I had some hamachi (yellowtail), hotategai (scallop), sake zuke toro (grilled salmon belly), karei (founder), unagi (freshwater eel), aburi sake (roasted salmon), ika (squid) and katsuo (bonito fish) nigiri. Needless to say, that all of these were of excellent quality and taste. Especially amazing were the scallop, squid and ell, which usually rank among my favorites. Also the bonito was great and is a rare find among the options in Düsseldorf. As a small gift from the kitchen, I also received two pieces of gyuza, which where also nice.

As always, the experience was outstanding and even though the concept is more that of a takeout shop, I appreciate the canteen style in house dining options for my visits. If I could take the tuna variety with me everywhere I go, I would really look anything else.

Sushi Guide Verdict

The atmosphere at Maruyaso is always a mix between very nice and welcoming and a bit cold and transitory. The sushi to go approach renders the restaurant not super inviting for in-house dining, but it is possible and certainly worth it. The menu options are extensive and cover even rare and exquisite fish to choose from. Most intriguingly, the tuna variety is excellent and of the highest quality. The drink menu is limited as the main focus of Maruyasu is not in-house dining. The service team is always super friendly, forth coming and happy to share about the amazing options they have on the menu. It is also always a special delight to experience Akino Ando behind the counter, serving as a sushi chef since 1983.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: December 28, 2021

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Dinner a la carte

I went there for an early dinner during late summer 2021. The restaurants closes incredibly early (8 PM), so you have to be early to get in and out in time. In a long vitrine there are extensive options to choose from. The menu features a huge variety of nigiri dishes, of which I chose most of my options on this day.

Most happily I tried the variety of bluefin tuna they offered with maguro (tuna back), chu toro (medium fatty tuna belly) and otoro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri. There were outstanding and among the best tuna I had in Düsseldorf. The rest of the plate came with ebi tempura (fried shrimp) and tatsuta age (fried chicken) chu maki (rolled sushi) as well as sake (salmon), ika (squid) and aburi maguro (roasted tuna back) nigiri. Then there was an amazing aburi battery (box pressed sushi) with roasted saba (mackerel), sake zuke toro (grilled salmon belly) and two amazing pieces of unagi (freshwater eel) nigiri.

Sushi Guide Verdict

All in all, I have to say that Maruyaso is a mixed bag for me. The atmosphere if the restaurant is very basic and canteen style but anything else is just amazing. The menu options are extensive, the taste and quality of the fish is among the best around and especially their tuna varieties are just outstanding. The drink menu is ok and provides everything you might want in a canteen setting. For sophisticated dining, unfortunately, you would have to go somewhere else. The service staff is friendly but also very direct, especially in regards to closing the restaurant on time at 8 PM.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: September 13, 2021

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I chose a mariawase sushi set that came with unagi (freshwater eel), karuma ebi (tiger prawn), hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), chu toro (medium fatty tuna belly), otoro (fatty tuna belly) and ebi (shrimp) nigiri as well as some maguro (tuna back) maki (roll). In addition I tried some hotategai aburi (roasted scallop) nigiri, which were especially awesome.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Even though the takeout options looses largely in comparison to in house dining, the experience is still above and beyond the competition. I was quite satisfied with my choices from the Kushi-Tei of Tokyo menu. The sushi was as outstanding as always and taste and quality is among the best around and despite some limited availability due to the pandemic. I cannot wait to get back there once they are open again but until then, this is certainly a welcome addition to the take out or delivery options around in Düsseldorf.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: April 6, 2021

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Unagi Kabayaki and other delights

Beyond claiming to serve always fresh and high quality fish, Yabase has also a considerable reputation for unagi (freshwater eel) dishes, which is what attracted us to check it out. We started the dinner with an amazing plate of unagi kabayaki, which is basically split, gutted, boned, butterfried and grilled freshwater eel. I was served with teriyaki sauce, of which there could have been even more. This was an amazing dish and among the best unagi I have ever had. They also served some fried eel bones, which were nice to try, but it is not a must on this dish.

As a main course, we opted for an omakase style luxury sushi plate that came with 10 pieces of nigiri and 8 pieces of sashimi and was a very representative selection of the sushi menu. The plate came with sake (salmon), maguro (tuna back) and hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi. Both the salmon and yellowtail were of excellent taste and texture and were even surpassed by the outstanding lean tuna back. It made us wonder about the tuna belly cuts they also had on the menu, but we will get back to that.

Then there were zuke chu toro (seared medium fatty tuna belly), maguro (tuna back), unagi (freshwater eel), sake yaki (grilled salmon), suzuki (sea bass), hotategai (scallop), hamachi (yellowtail), ebi (shrimp) and saba (mackerel) nigiri pieces, and ikura (salmon roe) gunkan (battleship sushi) and tamago (egg omelet). The chu toro was mind-blowing, as was the scallop and mackerel. It was clear that we hat to sample the menu a bit more, to make the most of the experience.

And so we ordered another small plate with chu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly) and o toro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri pieces, which were absolutely outstanding. To round things off, we had another small plate with unagi (freshwater eel), saba (mackerel), hotategai (scallop) and ika (squid) nigiris. squid is also one of my favourites and even though it had fierce competition this night, it was an excellent close to an outstanding dinner.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Yabase is simple but authentic restaurant with very minimalistic interior. It is neither stylish nor particularly traditional, it is simple, effective and provides a somewhat cool atmosphere. Even though it serves well as a backdrop to the experience, it is not the most inviting of all Japanese restaurant around. The menu options are extensive but leave few things to desire for demanding sushi aficionados looking for a complete experience. The food quality and taste was outstanding and rank this restaurant among the higher tier places around. The drink menu is a bit limited, but there is decent selection of wine and sake to choose from. Considering the fierce competition in Germany’s largest Japanese community, this is quite an achievement. The service team was friendly and forthcoming and made this stay and enjoyable visit, despite the glass shields between tables and somewhat steril vibe of the night.

There have been mixed reports about Yabase in recent months, so this experience has to be taken with a grain of salt. Based on this experience, this restaurant can definitely be recommend. We will be back to double check.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: July 31, 2020

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