Japan

Sushi-Ya – A Perfect Treasure!

Sushi-Ya, Tokyo – Introduction

We have retained this story about Sushi Ya even though we believe that chef Takao Ishiyama has his own restaurant. It is called Sushi Ishiyama. From what we have read about his new restaurant you can expect to be served very similar dishes to those described here.

Sushi-Ya is one of our favourite sushi restaurants in the city of Tokyo. Finding it is not too hard, but the entrance can be a bit difficult to detect.

The chef at Sushi-Ya, Takao Ishiyama, is an expert in choosing the very freshest seafood and his knife skills and hand techniques are exemplary.

We have been to many restaurants in Tokyo over the years and have enjoyed most of them very much. But there was something about this restaurant with the incredibly skilled young chef that was particularly special.

We were also impressed by the fact that the specialty at Sushi-Ya is seafood and the freshness and flavour of the morsels we were lucky enough to be served really stood out! We were also impressed by the variation in both flavour and texture that was maintained throughout the meal. One incredibly fresh morsel just out of the sea followed by another which had been dried to amplify the flavour and provide added texture.

With at least 26 individual morsels, each absolutely delicious, it’s hard to choose what to write about.

Of course everything was meticulous at Sushi-Ya, but it was exciting as well, completely unexpected at times, extremes of textures and a rollercoaster of subtle to intense seasoning. Such respect.

They won’t all appear here!

Shrimp topped with chopped fish liver

First up was the flesh of tiny, tiny shrimp which held together as a single piece, topped with raw fish liver. Delicious!

Crab leg

Generous pieces of crab leg meat on top of a richly-flavoured mixture of crab bits, all beautifully arranged in a piece of shell. The separate components make for a more interesting dish when combined as one.

Dried Baby Squid

Baby squid which had been dried and lacquered so as to be chewy and slightly sweet. Sprinkled with sesame seeds. A good interlude because the texture and flavour was so different. A clever dish!

Monkfish Liver

A beautiful puck of monkfish liver was served cold. A sharp change of focus, which happened quite a bit in this meal.

Shirako – grilled

Another real treat. Shirako was in season so we were able to enjoy the creamy goodness of this special treat!

Spear Squid

Spear squid, another seasonal speciality. In this preparation much of the internal organs removed and, just prior to serving the fins and tentacles are removed and tucked inside the pouch. Then it it portioned and shared between two – very fairly with alternating pieces.

Salt-water eel (anago)

Grilled anago (salt-water eel) the last course before the sushi. Drenched with impeccably cut chives, grated daikon with a touch of chilli. The hallmark of a great chef is great seasoning. The seasoning was perfect!

Perfect toro (tuna belly)

Next came a piece of sweet and light flounder, a very refreshing segue, then Spanish mackerel for some oiliness, then yellowtail topped with the same spicy daikon as used with the anago, then we had three types of tuna. The piece in the photo above  is medium fatty toro. Precision cutting gives an extraordinary clarity when you chew.

Hokkaido uni

We were then given a real treat. A piece of the finest Hokkaido uni (sea urchin) was rich, flavoursome and completely delicious.

Perfectly cut tomago

The final moment of 26 different tastes. A very fine piece of tamago. A glorious lunch. With each meal like this we are more in awe and more aware of how limited our knowledge is. It feels like a privilege not just a meal.

Sushi-Ya is a very special place!

You can read a review that also gives directions on how to get there by clicking on the link below:

Sushi-Ya

You can read about another of our recommended restaurants in Tokyo below:

Butagumi – Tonkatsu

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