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 ordered some nigiri pieces. The unagi (freshwater eel) was cold and there was only little dressing to enjoy. The tako (octopus) and ika (squid) were kinda tasty, but the saba (mackerel) tasted very bland and did not exactly feel super fresh. The sake (salmon) and maguro (tuna back) sashimi was not any good and poorly cut to say the least. The sake (salmon) temaki (hand roll) was also not very convincing. Then I had an avocado uramaki (inside out roll) with wasabi and hotategai (scallop) topping and a ebi tempura (fried shrimp) uramaki (inside out roll). Both were ok, but nothing special. All in all it was not super bad, but also nothing I would repeat.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Overall, the experience was not that encouraging. Even though I was one of 2 parties ordering take out food, it took almost 30 minutes for the few items to be ready. The atmosphere inside was very cold and uninviting, but then again I was there for takeout food. The menu options were extensive, but lacked in variety and only covered a basic variety recombined with dressings etc. The quality and taste of the food was really not convincing. Even though I would hope that during regular restaurant operation the quality would be better, I would not go there based on the experience I had. The drink menu is quite nice and the bar also offers a large selection of cocktails. For takeaway, the options were quite constrained. The service staff was not unfriendly per se, but generally not interested in any interaction beyond the absolutely necessary. All in all, I would suggest to look somewhere else for decent take away sushi in Düsseldorf.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: June 17, 2021

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Quick Dinner

I had an upscale moriawase style plate that came with chu toro (medium fatty tuna belly), otoro (fatty tuna belly), hotategai (scallop), hamachi (yellowtail), sabe (mackerel), suzuki (sea bass) and ebi (shrimp) nigiri, one ikura (salmon roe) and one maguro (tuna back) tartare as well as some maguro (tuna back) maki (roll). Overall it was a bit of an disappointing experience, compared to my last visit. The plate seemed pre-prepared and was not as cold or fresh as I would have liked it. This was not so much of problem for the white fish and shrimp that were all fine, but the tuna variety did not impress that much, which is a contrasting experience to what I was expecting. The scallop was excellent however, so overall I was content with my dish. Even though I might have ordered seconds, I left it at that to not risk adding to the disappointment.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Yabase is catering to its guests with a minimalistic interior that now is a bit obstructed with plastic shield between tables due to the COVIC-19 pandemic. Overall, the resulting atmosphere is quite cool and impersonal, but its great that they found a way to effective run the restaurant in these days. The menu options are extensive and leave little room for even advance sushi aficionados. The restaurant has a particular emphasis on unagi (freshwater eel), but it was sold out during this day. The good quality and taste was mixed. White fish, shrimp and scallops were great, but the tuna was quite disappointing.This is most striking, because of previous contrasting experiences. The drink menu is a bit limited, but sufficient for a nice dinner. The service team was friendly and forthcoming yet the hectic energy of the night did not help in overcoming the disappointments from the moriawase plate. Based on this experience, this restaurant should be considered with caution. It may be excellent or not, without being able predict which way it will go.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: September 24, 2020

The post Yabase – Traditional Sushi in Düsseldorf, Germany appeared first on Sushi Guide.

Walk In Dinner

Even though I had no reservation, I was able to gain a seat at a table on a weekday during the COVID-19 pandemic. With their limited capacity I considered myself lucky as usually most Japanese restaurant a fully booked these days on literally any day. Especially with recent closure of established restaurants such as Kikaku, it is getting tougher to find seats with our reservation. On the way to my seat I was able to get a look at the fridge on the sushi bar and like the suzuki (sea bass), aji (mackerel) and tako (octopus).

Specials of the day

I got distracted from my intention to sample the mackerel and octopus by the staff highlighting the bonito fish exclusive. So I ordered a plate of katsuo (bonito fish) sashimi which was served with negi (green onion) and shoga (ginger). It was a very nice composition and an amazing start to my experience.

The main course was a moriawase style plate that came with maguro (tuna back), chu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly), ebi (shrimp), hamachi (yellowtail), hotategai (scallop) nigiri pieces, a ikura (salmon roe) gunkan (battleship sushi), some maguro (tuna back) maki (roll) and sake (salmon) nigiri served with fresh wasabi. The scallop was outstanding and is one of my favourite pieces anyway. The tuna was also quite good but not as outstanding as I hoped it would be. All in all it was an excellent plate and even the salmon, that usually does not impress in other restaurants around, was excellent.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Nagomi is small and somewhat inconspicuous restaurant. It is easy to walk by and was not on my radar prior the recent increase in fully booked Japanese restaurants. However, the atmosphere is a bit sterile and too bright for my taste, leaving mixed impressions. The menu options are good but exhaustive. All basic needs are covered and some select exclusives present nice surprises. The taste and quality of the food is very good but in some areas there is room for improvement. The drink menu is basic but covers what one would expect for any dinner. The service staff was very friendly and forthcoming and made this an enjoyable stay. Overall the restaurant ranks among the average competitions but that is not a bad thing considered the number of decent Japanese restaurants in the area.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: October 14, 2020

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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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Simple Sushi Dishes

The menu features some appertizers, such as edamame, wakame our soups, and a broad selection of nigiri dishes. The sashimi options a very limited and the largest portion of the menu is made of maki, uramaki, te maki and some additional fried dishes. Some other dishes seem to have a little asian influence and would best be described as simple and huge.

I decided to stick with classical sushi dishes and tried the sake (salmon) and suzuki (sea bass) sashimi and some ika (squid), saba (mackerel), tai (red snapper) and tako (octopus) nigiri. The suzuki was nice and the ika was so good that I ordered another two pieces. However, the second two pieces were not convincing. I also tried the sake cava te maki (grilled salmon skin hand roll) which sounded very appealing. Unfortunately the grilled salmon skin was also deep fried, which dominated the taste of the hand roll. I also tried a tako tempura (deep fried octopus) uramaki (inside out roll), which probably was the best dish during the dinner. The last order was a sake (salmon) maki tempura (deep fried roll) that was also too dominated by the fried taste.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Koi Sushi is a very busy and super crowded and therefor extremely loud restaurant. On all three stories the restaurant has a dark asian decor that feels a little depressing. Still everything looked well maintained and on brand. The menu options are extensive but at the same time very limited in their variety. There only few different fish and the taste and quality of the dishes was average. Due to the all you can eat policy, most dishes come with plenty of rice and certainly well suited to fill guest up quickly. Drinks are not included in the fixed menu price, but still the drink menu is rather basic. The service team was very forthcoming and friendly. However, the crew is super busy so waiters are difficult to catch and for some dishes the wait was more than 30 minutes. Overall the restaurant provided everything one could look for in an all you can eat restaurant, but the quality of the food could be better. Compared to other restaurants in Napoli with similar offers, I would recommend to go somewhere else.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

 

Review date: October 13, 2018

The post Koi Sushi – Japanese restaurant in the center of Napoli appeared first on Sushi Guide.

Sashimi à la carte

I ordered a broad selection from the substantial list of dished and focussed mainly on sashimi to focus in the fish freshness and taste. I had some ikura (salmon roe), maguro (tuna back), ibodai (butterfish), ama ebi (sweet shrimp), tai (sea beam), ika (squid) as well as sake (salmon). In addition I tried some saba (mackerel), tai (sea beam) and unagi (freshwater eel) nigiri.

The overall taste of the fish was ok but not above average. For delivery service I would consider the menu options and quality as very good but still it felt uninspiring. Only the sake (salmon), ika (squid) and sabe (mackerel) were surprisingly good. The overall presentation of the food could also be improved upon. There are various sushi delivery services that focus more on the optical aesthetics of the experience.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Although I ordered food for delivery, I checked out the restaurants atmosphere. It is a simple place that is ok for a quick meal but it does not feel suited for a longer dinner. The menu options are very good considering it is a delivery service. Compared to other Japanese restaurants around however, it is just average. The taste and quality of the food is good but did not feel inspiring. The drink menu options are limited, which is to be expected from a delivery service. The service at the restaurant is ok, nothing more. I talked with them over the phone various times and also had to complain about a very long delivery time. With all the other options of excellent Japanese restaurants in Düsseldorf, I personally would rather go somewhere else if I am about to go out. For a delivery service ManThei might be an option to be considered. I am sure it is way above average.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: January 8, 2018

The post ManThei Sushi – Restaurant and Sushitaxi in Duesseldorf appeared first on Sushi Guide.

The restaurant has a small sushi bar with about 8 to 10 seats and some additional regular tables in the back. The atmosphere is cozy, and welcoming although the bright lighting mismatches the otherwise warm experience. The menu offers 10-12 different kinds of fish, served as sashimi, nigiri, maki and temaki, in addition to some select meat options. In addition the restaurant offers a substantial wine and sake menu, allowing for great accompanying drinks for any Japanese meal.

Sashimi and Nigiri Dinner

As a group of three, we decided to start with a 25 piece moriawase sashimi plate that overdelivered on our modest expectations. With previous disappointing experiences at local sushi restaurants in mind, we were very happy with our choice. The nicely decorated plate came with hamachi (yellowtail), chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna belly), hotategai (scallop). hokkigai (surf clam), tamago yaki (egg omelet), hirame (halibut), sake (salmon), maguro (bluefin tuna back), tako (octopus), kanpachi (amber jack), suzuki (sea bass) and ebi (shrimp). I personally enjoyed the hirame (halibut) and kanpachi (amber jack) most as they had a very unique and intense taste. The sake (salmon) was also very nice and almost seemed like salmon belly in texture. The chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna) was good but not overly special.

After the sashimi plate I got my sake (salmon) te maki which I originally ordered as starter. Then, the dinner went on with an à la carte 12 piece nigiri plate. We chose 4 pieces of chu turo (bluefin medium fatty tuna belly), 2 pieces of ika (squid), 2 pieces of hamachi (yellowtail), 2 pieces of saba (mackerel) and another 2 pieces of suzuki (sea bass). I liked the ika (squid) and saba (mackerel) best and also enjoyed the suzuki (sea bass). After 2 additional pieces of chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna belly) and hamachi (yellowtail), we were done with our dinner. If there had been room for more, we might have even tried the sake (salmon) and ebi (shrimp) plate that was prepared in front of our eyes. So maybe, we need to come back for that one.

Sushi Guide Verdict

‘Osushi delivers on the promise of being an authentic Japanese restaurant. The atmosphere is very nice except for the bright lighting. The menu options are better than at most other sushi restaurant in Napoli but still leaves some room for improvement. The overall quality and taste of the food was very good. Some locally sourced dishes were especially worth mentioning, such as the ebi (shrimp), hirame (halibut) or suzuki (amber jack). Still, especially the tuna was not as amazing as one might have hoped. The drink menu ist extensive and offers anything one might be looking for in any price range. The service staff was exceptionally friendly and forthcoming. Overall it was a very satisfying experience and while there is plenty room for improvement, I would go back there for dinner and can recommend the restaurant without hesitation.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

 

Review date: November 12, 2017

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