While in Tokyo, we enjoyed two Omakase (chef’s choice) sushi meals, though we got some ready-made grocery store sushi on a few occasions. Both places were incredible. They were very different with respect to the style of sushi and the general atmosphere.
Ichibancho Teruya
Our first meal at Ichibancho Teruya was the more expensive one, and very much a fine dining experience in the sushi sho style, which offers numerous small courses of sashimi. Many types of fish. And many different parts of fish. We had 25 tiny courses over a three-hour period. Each course just one or two bites, each presented beautifully. In order:
- Wakame – seaweed
- Hamaguri – a raw clam
- Hotate – giant scallop from Hokkaido
- Hirame – fluke (not pictured)
- Umi budo and wakame – tiny sea grapes and seaweed
- Hokigai – soft clam from Hokkaido
- Ginko nut
- Iwate – needlefish
- Kodai – baby snapper
- Shirako – cod sperm
- Kawahagi – a slice of triggerfish with a puree of triggerfish liver
- Awabi – abalone
- Maguro – red tuna with mustard
- Chiu toro – medium fatty tuna belly
- Crab hand roll
- Karasumi – cured mullet roe that tasted like a nice aged cheese.
- Tachiuo – beltfish
- Wakame vinaigrette
- Ebi – shrimp
- Uni – sea urchin roe
- Anago – sea eel
- Ankimo – monkfish liver
- Maguro roll
- Dashi
- Kohada – shad (not pictured)
- Salmon – roe (not pictured)
- Kinmedai – goldeneye snapper
This page has a gallery with a picture of each course.
Chef Teruya took great care in preparing each bite. I noticed him closely watching the reactions of each diner as they tasted each piece. Chef Teruya is also notable in that he seems quite big behind his bar, almost like a giant.
Jamie and I both remarked afterwards how big his hands were. He has the hands of an NBA player and they are applied to making sushi with the finesse of a surgeon. He periodically tasted bites of fish throughout the meal. Though I should have asked, I am guessing that this was done to see if the fish in question was at the optimal temperature for serving. The pacing was consistent but relaxed; we were there for the last seating and he did not seem to be in a hurry to finish.
It was a different experience than any sushi meal we have had in the US. Though not at all pretentious or as stuffy as fine dining can be at home, it was perhaps a bit imposing. The sushi was incredible but the meal was also serious, or so it seemed as a foreigner and, as such, was not quite as relaxed as either of us might like. Furthermore, regarding the quality and the price, our host Anthony who has lived in Tokyo for eight years said upon leaving “I will say that, without question, that was the finest sushi I have ever eaten. However, I cannot say that it was four or five times better than the next best.” I tend to agree with him. Not as an indictment of the value or quality presented by Chef Teruya but more because of the way I feel about dining in general at this price range. Was it an experience I am glad I had? Absolutely. And I do not regret spending the money in the least. Yet, I cannot say that I would spend that much on a similar meal again, anytime soon.
Wanousho Washikita
Our other sushi meal came about as a recommendation from Tomo, the chef and owner of Wako in San Francisco. We ate at Wako for special occasions in San Francisco over that last two years. When we told Tomo about our plans to go to Japan and asked him for a sushi recommendation, he said he had a friend he used to cook with in San Francisco who had moved back to Japan and opened up his own place. There are many sushi places in Tokyo that are Michelin starred and or written about extensively; but, as I mentioned, Tokyo is a city with 9.4 trillion restaurants and Wanousho Washikita is not one of these well-known places – at least not in English search results. But it is very similar in style to Wako back in San Francisco. A welcoming place, with amazing food, run by a husband and wife.
Again, the courses in order were:
- Spinach and bay ayu (sweet fish)
- Fugu – fried pufferfish (so meaty and rich)
- Hamachi – yellowtail with shoyu, ground radish and green onion
- Sashimi of tai, tako and chiu toro – snapper, octopus and medium fatty tuna
- Awabi, tamago, ankimo and kajiki maguro – baby abalone, egg omelet, monkfish liver and seared swordfish
- Dashi with mushrooms, leeks and a bit of yuzu zest – the best one we had in japan…
- Ika – squid
- Kinmedai – golden eye snapper
- Saba – mackerel
- Hotate – giant scallop (not pictured)
- Amaebi – sweet shrimp
- Sa-me – raw shark heart
- Uni – sea urchin roe from Hokkaido
- Anago – sea eel
- Red miso soup
- Sesame ice cream
click here for a full photo gallery of the meal
Chef Taka does sushi kappo which involves some grilled and fried courses in addition to sushi and sashimi. The idea is that the hot courses are served right over the counter immediately after preparation. It is a fun way to eat and also great to watch such a talented chef prepare both sushi and hot courses. We had a mere 16 courses at Wanosho Washikita though some of them did have two or three different fish components.
Comparing this experience to that of Ichibancho Teruya is certainly an exercise in apples and oranges. But, just because a direct comparison is difficult or even unfair, it does not mean you can’t like oranges better. I preferred the sushi kappo style and atmosphere a bit more at Wanousho Washikita. If I were only evaluating the sushi (meaning just the fish and rice) I would probably say that Chef Teruya’s is more delicate and carefully balanced than that of Chef Taka but, going back to what Anthony said, probably not four times more delicate or balanced. And, stylistically, I prefer the display of a more varied skill-set and a wider assortment of ingredients, as is offered by Wako and Wanousho Washikita. But, with 9.4 trillion restaurants in Tokyo, and a great percentage of them serving fish, in addition to the countless other seafood and sushi restaurants throughout the world, one has to ask…Where does it all come from? Much of it comes through Tsukiji fish market, which we visited earlier on the same day as our meal at Wanousho Washikita. Tsukiji was impressive but it also made me want to cancel the sushi reservation we had that evening for reasons I explain in a separate post.
