Sushi Hashimoto

Sushi Hashimoto (鮨 はしもと)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Shintomi

📓 Visits: 2 (2020-2021)

My first visit to Sushi Hashimoto was in May 2020 and I was not particularly impressed.  A lot of this was due to expectations.  The Tabelog rating then was 4.43 and it was very difficult to book.  There wasn't anything to fault and the sushi was top quality but it was 'just' traditional Edo-mae sushi and there wasn't a single piece of sushi that really stood out.  The best item was the chawanmushi - a unique combination of blue cheese and hairy crab and utterly delicious.  For 27K, I was expecting more.  Well here we are in 2021 and while restaurants are being asked to close by 8pm, Sushi Hashimoto have been running a nigiri-only lunch course, after the main lunch service has finished, for JPY 11,000 incl tax.  That's too-good an opportunity to miss.  Too good in fact that the price has already gone up to JPY 13,000.

The nigiri-only lunch comprises 12 nigiri and half a makimono and, if that's not enough, you can order anything else that happens to be available.  On this visit the best pieces were the kohada, hotaru ika gunkanmaki, sakuramasu and amai ebi, the standout being the hotaru ika.  As with last time, everything else was very good but not amazing.  The piece of shiro amadai I requested as an additional item did not have much flavour.  The same, aged, piece I ate at Sushi Akira (review here) recently was much better.  It's to be expected that the most expensive neta will not be included.  In particular, no uni was included and only two pieces of maguro.  However (with, perhaps, the exception of the cut of the chutoro) I'm assuming that everything that was included is of the same quality as in the full course so I think it's fair to compare.  In a Tabelog review of the nigiri lunch the content was the same as when I went except hirasuzuki was being served then instead of kue.

On both my visits there wasn't much of an atmosphere.  Despite the big smiles in photos, there wasn't much smiling when I went and limited conversation with regulars only.  My interaction was limited to the naming of the sushi.  At this level, a lot does come down to personal preference and I think I prefer a shari with a stronger flavour and more funk from aged sushi, which you don't seem to get at Hashimoto.  Rice is al dente and has a mild flavour.  The neta is relatively large.

Since my visit a year ago the Tabelog rating has come down from 4.43 to 4.29 and bookings are a lot easier.  The nigiri-only lunch was a Corona special and, alas, no longer available.  13K for sushi of this quality is excellent value.  However, it did re-enforce my opinion that 28K for the full course is not good value when very little or nothing is outstanding.  It was probably great value a few years ago but there's much better value to be found elsewhere now.  Hashimoto-san previously worked at Sugita, which is the main reason there was such interest in this restaurant when it opened.  But the quality and variety at Sugita (review here) is on another level and there's none of the theatre or reverence.

Sushidokoro Yamato opened in 2021.  The chef is another Sugita alumnus so there's a similar level of excitement with this opening as with Hashimoto's.  I've been fortunate enough to visit Yamato early on, while pricing is low and my expectations moderate.  Right now, Yamato is much better value than Hashimoto.

Sushi reservations are very difficult to get and, especially if you're not resident in Japan, you often have to take what you can get rather than what you want.  If you dine at Hashimoto you will be eating top-quality sushi.  I just wouldn't make it one of my first preferences.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131301/13238306/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.1

📱 Booking: 🟧 A lot easier than in the past.  There were still plenty of seats available for August 2021, 24 hours after reservations were being accepted.  Cancellations are fairly regularly available but unfortunately they are not generally accompanied with notifications.  Omakase-only. 

📍 Location:

1-8-2 Shintomi.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.  3 minutes from Hatchobori station Exit A3 or 3 minutes from Shintomicho station Exit 3.

Map data ©2021 Google

📅 Visit June 2021

Kohada
Sumi ika
Kue
Hokkikai
Akami
Chutoro
Aji
Hotaru ika gunkanmaki
Kasugo kobujime
Sakuramasu
Amai ebi
Anago
Owan
Torotaku makimono
+Shiro amadai
+Tamago-yaki

💴 Damage: 13,400 incl one bottle of water
⏱️ Time taken: 45m

📅 Visit May 2020

Torigai
Shako
Mushi awabi
Kegani chawanmushi
Taco
Hotaru ika, shiro ebi, karasumi, ankimo
Hikari yakimono
Kohada (nigiri)
Isaki
Kuromutsu
Akami
Chutoro
Aji
Otoro
Masunosuke
Kuruma ebi
Uni
Anago
Tamago
Owan

💴 Damage: 27,400
⏱️ Time taken: 1h40m