Roppongi is home to massive business towers Midtown and Roppongi Hills that have started initiating remote work from home due to Coronavirus. The area is also known for very expensive hostess bars that are frequented by athletes, business elite and famous actors but all came to a screeching halt with the arrival of Covid and restaurants have suffered in the processes.
So to support one of my favorite sushi chains Sushizanmai I ventured to a very desolate Roppongi for some sushi and beeru!
Automatic appetizer if you order alcohol. Seasoned daikon white raddish, carrot and fish.
Menu is nicely pictured
You can see the clear partition between the chef and counter seating.
Rolls if you like.
2 Sushi chefs on duty... an older gentlemen taking care of the tables and the middle aged manager the counter.
There are 2 ways to pour shoyu. Out of the little pottery bottle into the mini plate or you can use the push button dispenser and drip the shoyu directly onto your sushi.
Of course if the Akami BUT if the basic maguro isn't very good then you can well guess the rest will be very unmemorable.
Also got some Ika (Squid)...
And another of my favorites Amaebi (Sweet Fresh Shrimp).
Here we go!
Had a bite of the Ika and honestly I just could not bite into it... gave it about 30 seconds and had the option to spit it out or just swallow it... I swallowed it pretty much whole. It came in 2 pieces and I left the second alone. Normally these are have a bit of texture that you can bite into... It was just off for me. Maybe it was just old stock.
One look at this tuna and I knew it was going to be mushy... low and behold it was like eating mashed potatoes. It was just so below supermarket grade.
The only thing I managed to finish was the negi-toro rolls.
Another shot of the mushy tuna. You can compare it with this previous entry with a brief mention of Lady Gaga's visit.
This is the manager of the place who prepared my sushi and I later had a talk with him
My Amaebi... Lazy. The shrimp was unusually big for amaebi and there was clearly a line of the digestive track along the back. There was just no effort to keep any standards this night. Normally any sushi chef with some pride would slice the back and clean it out.
It was in all 4 pieces of my Amaebi... poop line.
I was done.... I never leave sushi unfinished.
I'm not one to complain but you expect a certain quality from a sushi franchise that has paid millions for the 1st Tsukiji auction Maguro catch of the year. I mentioned to the manager that for the past 15 years I have been dining at Sushizanmai in Tokyo and was sadly disappointed with tonight's quality. He asked the cashier to comp my meal... I won't be back.
Restaurant; Sushi Zanmai Roppongi Hayuzamae Branch
Sushizanmai Website: http://www.kiyomura.co.jp/
Tabelog Foodie website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13009721/
Address J: 東京都港区六本木3-10-9 三経２８ビル 1F
Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 3-10-9
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