Any recomendation of sushi restaurant

Hello, searching for a restaurant for sushi, not kaitenzushi (conveyor belt) with a reasonable price, I'd like the ones that you sit in the counter, I only know Sushi Dai which I'd been in the past but had to wait 3 hours in Tsukiji.

Any other one? I mean it doesn't need to be Sushi Saito, or Sukibayashi Jiro or Kyubey because they are quite pricey, any restaurant you'd say is good in terms of price/quality in Tokyo? or Osaka?

Thanks

Hello! I am also looking forward to the answers to your post :)

Here are my recommendations (I don't have much experience in eating sushi though, please take with a grain of salt). They all have counter seats, but only the first one is a casual type where you don't need to pre-book a menu.

1) すし大
I haven't been to "the" Sushi Dai at Tsukiji/Toyosu so I cannot compare, but there is a すし大 (6 Chome-21-2 Tsukiji, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0045) that offers decent and reasonably priced sushis. I like to order "à la carte" there, but if I recall correctly, there are menus (3,000~4,000) that offer one or two "free" pieces, at the end. You can choose what you want, even otoro.

2) Sushi Ginza Onodera
More expensive but totally worth it. We went there for lunch, and it was delicious. We had the medium menu with 15 nigiris (11,000 yens). Beware that several of their netas were slightly yuzu flavoured, either in the marinade, or topped with yuzu zest.

3) 京都 鮨 まつもと (Kyoto)
I got that recommendation from this forum. There are two different "Sushi Matsumoto" restaurants in Kyoto. I went to the cheapest one which is near Kyoto station, again for lunch and took the cheapest menu 5800 yens (7 pieces). The pricier menu has almost the same sushis, with some upgrades (eg : uni instead of ikura, caviar and truffle add-on...). I personally don't care much for these luxury toppings. The service was quite fast, I arrived at 12:30 and left at 13:40.

They have pretty bad reviews on Google Maps, which I explain by two things:
- they boast being the sister branch of a Michelin star restaurant in Tokyo
- and for some nigiris, the rice was overcooked and/or too hot
Which can be a huge disappointment for someone who booked a pricier menu, or went hoping for a high-end dinner. I went in May, not long after they opened. They may have improved since then.


In Tokyo, I could not go to Kyubey (is it really worth it? I would like to try next time), but got a seat at Udatsu Sushi (8,800 for lunch, 12 pieces) and... meh. It was technically good, some pieces had a creative seasoning, but the lunch took way too long and I was still hungry when I finished. I enjoyed Sushi Matsumoto more. If you go, try to make a reservation for 12:30 or 13:00 - all meals finish at 13:45, no matter what menu you order or when you arrive.

Peter,

I second Ginza Onodera for a luxury experience. Their current dinner price for Omakase is Y25,000 / US$169 which is a bargain for where you are, what you get and the experience. Onodera group are also the one's that purchased the New Year's first auction tuna this year (and for the last several years).


However, for a nicer middle of the road Omakase experience (not luxury) that won't break the bank, I always go to (once or twice a trip) to Sushi Sei which is in Tsukiji. The omakase there is around Y4,000 ($27) and of course you can always order individually at the sushi bar. It is MOSTLY locals during the evenings which is nice, very few gaijin, however, during the day it gets like any other Tsukiji sushi restaurant at lunch with many gaijin. They only open for lunch then close at 2p and reopen at 5:30p when Tsukiji is mostly closed up. I highly recommend them.

The Sushi Say (spelled slightly different in US) branch in New York is right around the corner from the Japanese consulate and you will find that the NYC is mostly native Japanese either consulate people, local Japanese business people or Japanese tourists. When I am in NYC I always make a reservation to eat there and the omakase is 3x to 4x more expensive!!!

Hope this helps.

Stan