Sushi Suzuki

⚠️ Moved in August 2024.

Sushi Suzuki (鮨 鈴木)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Ginza

📓 Visits: 1

As usual, The Sushi Geek's review is a good place to see what's changed and what hasn't since when that was written over 6 years ago.  Despite having a high Tabelog rating reservations are still not that difficult.  Also the composition of the top nigiri-only lunch course has not really changed: 14 nigiri, makimono, anago and tamago.  What's different is that, like most of us, Suzuki-san has aged quite a bit since then.  The main difference though is price.  Back then The Sushi Geek quoted sets at JPY 5,000, 8,000 and 10,000.  A nigiri-only lunch at Suzuki will cost you JPY 22,000 now.  It's a sobering example of how the price of sushi has increased in Tokyo in the last 5 years.

Things were painfully slow to start.  I arrived at 5 to 12 but they don't open the door till 12 exactly.  The last diner arrived at 12:08.  Suzuki-san's wife assists guests but he doesn't have an assistant chef.  He spent the first 10 minutes seating guests and preparing drinks.  Then the next 10 minutes slicing fish.  The first nigiri was served at 12:20 and in all that time no appetizers are served.  It's hard to gauge the atmosphere of a restaurant on one visit.  Suzuki-san engaged in animated conversation the whole time with his regular Japanese guests.  He also chatted with me a little.  Two other diners were non-Japanese.  He doesn't have conversational English but was able to name most of the fish in English for them and served them as enthusiastically as he did everyone else.  Despite not being in the Michelin Guide he said he gets a lot of non-Japanese customers and mentioned that on the previous day all his customers were non-Japanese.

Highlights from the meal included the shellfish: a huge akagai, the biggest hamaguri I've ever had and possibly the biggest kuruma ebi ever that was full of flavour, despite being cooked in advance.  The very best item in the set was the sabazushi.  This was possibly the best I've ever had, better than at places that specialise in it and 10/10.  Apart from the shellfish the nigiri were average in size.  Rice is quite sour and slightly firm.  There was almost nothing to fault in what was served, my only criticism being that I would have liked a slightly better quality uni but it was bafun uni and a generous amount.  It's also very orthodox so (apart from the sabazushi) don't go expecting something you won't get elsewhere.

I moaned about the service earlier and it didn't improve much during the meal.  Chef's wife spent most of her time in the back so tea was not topped up unless you asked.  My neighbours ended up sharing their tea, which you shouldn't have to do when you're paying 20k+ for a meal.

Overall this was near flawless sushi so, despite the high price for lunch, reasonably good value considering the quality and location.  The holy trinity of maguro nigiri is included and a huge maguro temaki to finish.  Sushi Suzuki is highly recommended if you want an orthodox, high-quality sushi meal that's relaxed and easy to reserve.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13184367/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.35 (4.4 with better service)

📱 Booking: 🟩 Easy.  A month in advance by phone.

📍 Location: 

5F Noh-gaku-do building, 6-5-15 Ginza.  2 mins from the C3 Exit (Tokyu Plaza Ginza) of Ginza Station (Marunouchi Line) or 4 mins from the A1 Exit of Ginza Station (Ginza Line).  5F multi-tenant building.  Entrances on both sides of the block.
Map data ©2023 Google 

📶 Free WiFi? ❌ No

📅 Visit March 2023

Sumi ika
Hirame kobujime
Kinmedai
Maguro zuke
Setoro
Otoro
Kohada
Kasugo
Sayori, ebi oboro
Saba zushi x2
Akagai
Kuruma ebi
Miso soup
Bafun uni gunkanmaki
Hamaguri
Anago
Maguro temaki
Tamago

💴 Damage: 22,550 incl. one bottle of water
⏱️ Time taken: 1h45m