Sushi Keita

Sushi Keita (鮨桂太)

⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Tsukiji

📓 Visits: 1

Omakase of about 9 tsumami and 16 nigiri is priced at JPY 22,000 whereas a 16-piece nigiri lunch is JPY 12,000.  I went for lunch on my visit.  

Chef uses very light seasoning and does not age his fish.  This worked well with the amadai, which despite not having the usual kobujime treatment, had great flavour and might have been the best piece in the set.  On the other hand, despite being kobujime, the sayori, didn't have much flavour at all.  Shirako gunkanmaki was refreshing rather than unctuous.  Hokkigai was seasoned with sudachi and salt.  Kuruma ebi was warm and moist but also did not have much flavour.  Shirao were served raw, were very bitter and not to my taste.  Keita Aoyama previously worked at Sushi Taichi (review here).  The hamaguri at Taichi is the best I've had anywhere.  Unlike at Taichi, Aoyama-san tops his with nitsume, but the smallest amount.  Unfortunately it was not as good as Taichi's being a bit chewy and flavourless.

The neta and sushi were huge.  I'd read they were medium size but I haven't eaten anywhere else serving larger neta.  No otoro nigiri was included and the uni was a cheaper Hokkaido murasaki uni but I have no complaint about the quality of the neta at this price.  Rice was firm and sour.  Temperature control was perfect.  Service was excellent.  If you ever want to see perfect choreography between apprentice and taisho then this is the place to see it - very little is said between the two because very little needs to be.  All the other guests were regulars.  Keita-san adapted his personality depending on the party: gentle humour for a younger group, more formality for a group of four of two generations, no interaction with a lone diner who sat through the whole course without saying a single word or looking at his phone and no interaction with me.

Overall the flavour of sushi here does not match my preference.  There was nothing exceptional and the other major minus for me was that the rice was too dry.  The course took longer than I really want to spend at lunch and while the chef was not rude I Ieft with the impression he didn't really want me there.

I would recommend a visit to Sushi Keita if you want to try somewhere in the 'light seasoning' taxonomy of sushi restaurants and 16 nigiri of this size at this price is outstanding value (as is 22k for dinner) and enough for a full lunch, but I won't be back.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131301/13213360/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.9 (value: 4.7)

📱 Booking: 🟧  Bookings are taken by phone from the first of each month for the following month from around 10am.  Dinner can also be booked via Pocket Concierge.  A number of slots for March 2023 were released on the 6th of the same month.  There's no English page but it's not hard to figure out, you can book with an English account and the automated emails will be in English.  You can book again after your meal for dinner but not for lunch.

📍 Location: 

6-6-4 Tsukiji.  2 mins from Tsukiji station Exit 1.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.
Map data ©2023 Google

📶 Free WiFi? ❌ No

📅 Visit February 2023

Akami zuke
Chutoro
Kohada, ebi oboro
Hamaguri
1/4 tekka maki
Sawara koji zuke
Hotate shiso
Mongou ika
Sayori kobujime, ebi oboro
Kuruma ebi
Amadai
Shirao mini donburi
Shirako gunkanmaki
Hokkigai
Owan
Uni gunkanmaki
Anago
+Iwashi
+Kegani uni
Tamago

💴 Damage: 14,200
⏱️ Time taken: 1h55m (~1h40m without additions)