Sushi Taichi

Sushi Taichi (鮨 太一)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Ginza

📓 Visits: 2

The Sushi Geek has reviewed Sushi Taichi in the past and I recommend you read those reviews.

There are 3 options at lunch:

• omakase for around 7 tsumami, 12 nigiri and tamago-yaki at JPY 15,000
• 18-19 nigiri and tamago-yaki for JPY 11,000
• 10 nigiri, 1 makimono and tamago-yaki for JPY 5,500

On both my visits I chose the 5,500 yen course.  Prices are inclusive.

The restaurant gets a slither of natural light and it's a relatively casual sushi restaurant for Ginza.  Diners are separated by Covid-secure perspex at the 8-seat L-shaped counter.  The atmosphere wasn't great on my first visit.  Perhaps owner/chef Taichi Ishikawa had had a bad day but, although he was not impolite to guests, there was no conversation, no smiles and he kept admonishing the two other staff.  Quite different the second time: Ishikawa-san was cracking jokes and chatting away with guests.  The Sushi Geek states that although Ishikawa-san can speak some English he prefers non-speakers to be accompanied.  On both my visits everything was in Japanese.  As long as you've been to one or two quality sushi restaurants in the past, so you know what to expect, I think you could get away with no Japanese at all.

Almost everything I've eaten here has been very good.  Rice here is very sour, which suits me just fine.  If you look at The Sushi Geek's photos you should be able to see here the neta are enormous.  Temperature control is good.  The akami zuke and chutoro are particularly good - exceptional at this price.  The 5K course doesn't stretch to otoro nigiri so I haven't been able to judge that but you get a whole tekka-maki at the end: half made from akami and half from otoro.  The hamaguri is the best I've had anywhere: better than at Sushi Saito and better than at Sugita.  Chef cooks his hamaguri in mirin and sugar and seasons with the lightest brush of soy, unlike most chefs who use an ultra-sweet tare.  On both visits I've requested a second piece.  Uni is another stand-out at this price.  Ishikawa-san serves a generous portion of Hokkaido aka uni.  There was no brown tinge you get from the cheap uni served in cheaper sushi restaurants and no problem with the uni being served too cold.  An additional gunkanmaki is just 1,100 yen, a third less than in most quality sushi restaurants.  Tamago-yaki is rich and custard-like, the kind I prefer.  Less good were the aji, which had a medicinal taste on both visits, the amadai kobujime which didn't have much flavour, the torigai which is much better cooked and the anago which tasted a bit fishy both times rather than earthy.  On my second visit I asked for a couple of pieces from the more expensive course: sawara aburi was just OK, as was ika.

Overall, this is one of the best sushi lunches I've had in Tokyo at this price.  Up there with Tomidokoro and much better than Ranmaru (review here).  Based on the quality of the additional neta I had on my second visit it's hard to recommend a more expensive course but I'll certainly be back again for the 5K lunch.

On my last visit to Sushiya Shota I mentioned Taichi to Shota-san and he said he'd been going there for 6 years and agreed the nigiri are good.  The Sushi Geek says "Sushi Taichi might just be my favorite restaurant in Tokyo."  Those are just two more reasons why you should visit.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13060788/ 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0

📱 Booking: 🟧 Advance bookings are generally required and are taken daily by phone for dates up to one month in advance.  I booked 2-3 weeks in advance. 

📍 Location: 2F Asagi Bldg, 6-4-13 Ginza.

2 mins South-West from the C2 or C3 (Tokyu Plaza Ginza) Exit, Ginza station.  Not the easiest to find: down an alley in the middle of the Ginza 6-chome block 4 and above the Kazami ramen shop.  You cannot enter from the Sukiya Dori side.  2F multi-tenant building.

Map data ©2021 Google

📅 Visit June 2021

Chutoro
Kohada
Hamaguri
Aji
Amadai kobujime
Kuruma ebi
Akami zuke
Torigai
Aka uni
Anago
Shinko
Tekka-maki
+Sawara aburi 660
+Ika 550
+Uni 1100
+Hamaguri 550
Tamago

💴 Damage: 8,360
⏱️ Time taken: 1h (40m without additions)

📅 Visit May 2021

Chutoro
Kohada
Torigai
Kodai kobujime
Kuruma ebi
Hamaguri
Aji
Akami zuke
Uni great
Anago
Tekka maki
+Ika 550
+Hamaguri 550
Tamago

💴 Damage: 6,600
⏱️ Time taken: 45m