Sano Sushi

Sano Sushi (佐野鮨)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Shiba-koen

📓 Visits: 1

Sano Sushi opened in November 2023 and is attracting a lot of attention.  Omakase of about 5 tsumami and 12 nigiri at lunch and dinner is JPY 25,300.  A 12-piece nigiri-only lunch is available for JPY 11,000, which I went for.

The best piece in the set was the bottan ebi.  Butterfly cut, it was close to the bottan ebi served at Sushi Namba (review here).  The anago was really good but as usual the nitsume was too strong for me.  The uni was also good.  The kohada was a bit fishy.  Tuna is supplied by Fujita.  Two pieces of toro were included, seshimo (chutoro) and jabara (otoro).  The seshimo had great flavour but a ton of sinew.  The jabara had milder flavour but a lot of sinew again.  Tamago-yaki and soup are not served.  Rice had mild acidity and was maybe a tad dry.  After the course you can order extra sushi.  The bottan ebi was so good I ordered another, and it ended up being reasonably priced.

The chef (ex-Tsukiji Aozora San-daime Marunouchi) handles all the sushi himself while his wife attends to guests.  The door opened at 12:01.  It took 15 minutes for everyone to get a drink.  At 12:25 the first nigiri was served, with no appetizers (unless you count gari) served while you wait.  I appreciate that without a kitchen assistant things will take time so just start the prep earlier, or open at 12:30 or at least serve an appetizer.

The atmosphere is relaxed.  The chef doesn't speak any English but engaged in conversation, some of which he initiated.  It seems like lunch always includes two items containing maguro, though one may be tekka-maki or torutaku so I was lucky to get two cuts of toro on my visit.  For 2024 in Tokyo it's excellent value and a lot of the popularity of this restaurant is due to the maguro content but on my visit the pieces I had were not well-prepared and overall there were enough negatives for me not to want to return.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1314/A131401/13290845/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0

📱 Booking: 🟩 By phone or DM.  DM is preferred as chef's wife answers the phone and is only there during service.  You need book a few weeks ahead for a specific date.

📍 Location: 

2-18-9 Shiba.  2 mins south-east from Shibakoen Station, Exit A1.
Map data ©2024 Google

📅 Visit March 2024

🕛 Lunch

Amadai
Sumi ika
Tairagai, nori
Chutoro (seshimo)
Otoro (jabara)
Kohada
Akagai
Kuruma ebi
Bottan ebi
Bafun uni gunkan-maki
Anago
Kanpyo-maki
+Bottan ebi

💴 Damage: 12,760 inc. tea and water
⏱️ Time taken: 1h40m (1h35m without the add-on)