Sugita

Sugita (日本橋蛎殻町 すぎた)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Nihonbashi Kakigaracho

📓 Visits: 2 (2020-2021)

Sugita, or Nihonbashi-kakigaracho Sugita, to give it its full name, needs little introduction.  It's been the number one ranked sushi restaurant in Japan on Tabelog for 3 years, is currently the overall number one restaurant in Tokyo and is occasionally overall number one restaurant for the whole of Japan.  A lot has been written about Sugita so there's no point in repeating that here.  The two questions everyone has are (1) without an introduction, how do you get a seat at Sugita?  I'll tell you how.  And (2) is it really the best?  I'll give my view on that but it really doesn't matter what one person's verdict is because a visit to Sugita is on every sushi connoisseur's bucket list.

There are two counters at Sugita.  The main counter seats 8 to 9 and there's a side counter behind a curtain seating up to 4.  Wherever you sit, all the sushi is prepared by Sugita-san.  If you end up at the side counter Sugita-san will bring out one or two pieces at the start but delegates the remainder of that task to his sous chef.  At the main counter Sugita-san will ask you a few questions about your preferences and if you'd like any additional tsumami or nigiri so you do need to be able to understand some Japanese to dine here.  The big shortfall of dining at the side counter seems to be that that part of the experience is missing and (while I might be wrong) you're restricted to the basic course.  As reservations are so difficult to get (and the sushi is so good) I would not refuse a visit at the side counter but it's not the same experience.  On both my visits I got the main counter.

With one big exception, the sushi is faultless.  Rice is on the softer side and sour.  Neta are large to very large.  Temperature control is perfect.  The masunosuke, kasugo and kinmedai are the best I've had anywhere.  Uni tsukudani is something I've not had anywhere else and even beats ankimo.  But...the kuruma ebi is cooked quite a while before it is served.  It's peeled at the counter and then taken back into the kitchen for I don't know what before it is finally served.  Whatever the intention of this process is it results in a dry prawn with little taste.  This was the same on both my visits.  At all the other top sushi restaurants I've been to the kuruma ebi is served very shortly after peeling.  In particular, it's much better at Sushi Saito (review here).  I really don't understand why Sugita-san serves his the way he does.

It's a very big and long meal.  The basic course is about 7 tsumami and 13 nigiri, owan and tamago-yaki but almost everyone orders two extra tsumami, one or two extra nigiri and sometimes the famous norimaki.  The sakizuke came out fairly quickly but it was about 25 minutes before the first two servings of sashimi were served.  After that, tsumami came out at a good pace but there were large gaps between the nigiri - 10+ diners is a lot to serve.  If you don't like waits this would be worse at the side counter as there would be no visual cues as to when the next piece is coming.  To my complete surprise, one regular requested nigiri only.  I didn't know that was possible and I don't know of another top sushi restaurant in Tokyo where you can request that at dinner.

If you're serious about sushi a visit to Sugita is a must, but make sure you have some experience at cheaper and more orthodox restaurants before dining here.  Is it better than Sushi Saito?  Saito sources some of the best maguro on the market, is the best orthodox Edo-mae sushi restaurant in Japan and is the cheapest among the very top.  But Saito uses a very restricted selection of neta.  Sugita focuses less on tuna and uses a much wider range of fish from all over Japan.  Everything you could eat at Saito you could eat at Suigta plus more and, with the exception of the kuruma ebi, it would all be flawless.  You'll end up paying more at Sugita than Sushi Saito but you'll eat more as well.  If you want the absolute best tuna then Saito is better but then Sawada, Kiyota Hanare, Arai and Hatsunezushi are probably better than Saito comparing tuna alone.  So for me, despite that kuruma ebi, Sugita is better.  If it wasn't for the shrimp I'd have given Sugita a perfect score.  Is it the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo or Japan?  I can appreciate why it's number one but everyone has their own preferences and, while most people will not agree, for me, Hatsunezushi is still a level above everywhere else. 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.9 

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130204/13018162/ 

📱 Booking: 🟥 One of the most competitive reservations in Japan.  Sugita is listed on Omakase but never opens up for general reservations, just last minute cancellations and additional capacity at the second counter.  By the time you get the notification it's more than likely someone will have already snapped up the seat(s).  The best way to get a seat at Sugita is by phone, providing you can speak Japanese.  Reservations for the same month are taken from 9am on the first of every month.  It's very difficult to get through but an autodialer is a big help.  If you do manage to get through (1) chances are that all seats will already be taken for that month by regulars and (2) a minimum of two diners are normally required for a reservation.  However, you can ask to go on their waitlist and if a seat becomes available (even for one) they will call you.  That is how I got both my reservations at Sugita.  If you finally make it you're still not 'in' - you won't be able to make another reservation after your meal and you'll need to call again in a subsequent month.

📍 Location:

1-33-6 Nihonbashi-kakigaracho.  2 mins from Suitengumae station Exit 4.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.

Map data ©2021 Google

📅 Visit June 2021

Mozuku, junsai sunomono
Aori ika; makogarei
Anago shirayaki
Konowata chawanmushi
Hotaru ika miso-zuke; ankimo
Tachiuo shiroyaki
+Uni tsukudani
+Hotate isobeyaki
Kohada (nigiri)
Shiro-amadai kobujime
Masunosuke
Kasugo kobujime
Chutoro
Toro
Aji
Shime saba
Aoyagi
Kuruma ebi
Kinmedai aburi
Ezo bafun uni
+Nihama
Owan
Anago
Tamago

💴 Damage: 38,800 incl two bottles of water and tea
⏱️ Time taken: 3h

📅 Visit August 2020

(no notes)

💴 Damage: 37,000
⏱️ Time taken: 3h