We've been living in the south of Spain for over a year (relocated from the U.S.) and had basically…read moredecided that European sushi was just not good based on our exploration of Andalusian options.
We were in Genoa to catch our flight after some time in the region and caught this place. We had a craving and figured okay sushi would be better than no sushi.
Call it dumb luck, but so happy we did. It was outstanding and measured up with some of the AYCEs (sushi buffet libre) in the states without some of the annoying European commonalities we've experienced. See below.
When I think about a good AYCE, there are a few key dimensions:
Fish Quality - 5: truly excellent. The fish was awesome and melted in our mouth. Seriously not a bad bite in the selection we tried.
Fish Selection - 5: a lot of European places we've experienced are limited to tuna and salmon and the occasional white fish - in Spain that's butter fish. This place had those plus scallops, shrimp (beyond fried), eel, tobiko, etc.
Menu Options - 5: beyond the selection of fish are the diversity of options and preparation. Their menu was insanely good: nigiri, sashimi, rolls, hand rolls, carpaccios, tartares, apps, cooked options, non dish options, etc.
Restrictions - 5: most sushi places have some limited order items and this place did as well. But the sheer number of high quality restricted items was unreal. Our group of three order predominately restricted dishes and both ate till we were super full and still didn't cap out our restrictions.
Intangibles:
The view: of the center from the terraza was a stunning way to spend our last night in Italy. Beautiful.
Presentation: look, some people might disagree with me here. I honestly don't care how it looks as long as it tastes good. But the presentation was awesome - check the photos.
Local Twists: I'm a sucker for a good fusion. They had so many cool and delicious options that infused regional Italian culture into their menu. Dishes with pesto, trufa (truffle), stracciatella, burata and more. So so good!
Hidden Fees - Cover: one of the things I find annoying in Europe is the cover charge. It's a mandatory charge for service, which I find incredibly irritating, not dissimilar from American tipping culture. While this place was a little bit more expensive than other places we've gone to, I really appreciated the fact that the price was the price and there were no surprises.
Hidden Fees - Beverages: Additionally, other places also require you to purchase a beverage at an additional charge, including another place we visited in Italy. This place did not. If you wanted a drink, you ordered a drink; if you didn't want to drink, you didn't order a drink. It was straightforward and clear.
Overall, I highly recommend this place, especially for those who enjoy a good AYCE sushi. This will be a place I dream about as I'm eating mediocre sushi in Spain!
