YumGuide Reviews Berkeley Sushi House
February 9, 2007
Berkeley Sushi House does not focus on ambience. Rather, they spend money on decent-quality fish for Berkeley students.
When you step in, it just looks like the type of place to have a quick bite.
There’s always the option of sitting outdoors on a nice day.
You go in and unlike the other restaurants in this food court, you’re greeted by the hostess like a real sit-down establishment. It’s almost jarring.
Since this restaurant is just three months old and pretty tasty, loyal clientele get special treatment.
I went with one such loyal customer and realized that I should always go with him from now on.
Our party of six received appetizers on the house and even though none of them were very good, I can hardly complain when free food is offered.
Though the walls are fairly empty minus some pictured menus, I do give Berkeley Sushi House points for going the extra mile with the décor of the food itself.
Japanese-style platters are used and each roll looks like a work of art.
The house sauce makes for nice diagonal patterns and the topped avocado often zigzags well.
However, our very friendly waitress did neglect to jot down one of our rolls.
Fortunately, we were so full from the abundance of food that we were better off.
The glamour and glitz disappears when you’re just a stranger to them.
But you are surrounded by friendly faces.
So friendly, in fact, that they kindly omit from telling you that you have been sitting around a half hour after closing time.
Bonus points are in order.
— “service sensitve”
Decent sushi nearby UC Berkeley.
Gyoza ($4.50) – There’s a great deal of gyoza. These potstickers are way too greasy, but makes it more filling. You can barely taste the pork in these minimally filled items.
C.F. Roll ($5.95) – yellowtail tuna with avocado and eel: I have no idea why this is called the C.F. Roll. But like all the rolls here, there are eight pieces. The freshness of the tuna is fair, but not spectacular.
Baked Scallop Roll ($8.95) – Scallops are large and sweet, with great texture.
Lion King Roll ($8.95) – California roll wrapped with baked salmon: Similar to the baked scallop roll, it is very filling. The quality of the salmon is good enough.
Lambada Roll ($8.95) – spicy tuna, salmon wrapped with avocado: It’s expensive, but worth it for the two types of fish. They add a lot of Sriracha sauce and something else unique to make it their own brand of spiciness.
Webster Roll ($8.95)– shrimp tempura, crab meat topped with white tuna and avocado: The shrimp tempura is large and quite tasty. The crab meat is The crab and tuna are a perfect blend with the crunch of the tempura. It says crab meat, but doesn’t specify itself as “real.” Still my favorite roll here.
Island Roll ($8.95) – shrimp tempura, real crab meat wrapped with salmon and lemon: An innovative roll, the usage of lemon really adds a freshness factor to it. Real crab meat is claimed, but the distinction is not clear while eating it.
Shrimp Tempura Roll ($4.95) – deep-fried shrimp with avocado and cucumber: A simple roll that is done well here with plump pieces of shrimp.
Rock ‘n Roll ($4.50) – unagi, avocado and cucumber: A good roll to eat when you’re not too hungry. It doesn’t stand out, but it’s very good for its price.
— “cheap eater”
When I first heard that Sushi House was opening in Berkeley, my heart skipped a beat. Could it be that after all those years making the trek out to Alameda for Sushi House sushi, I could finally shorten my travel time by more than half, and still get the same delicious rolls?
First, the bad news. Berkeley Sushi House, though similarly named and with an almost identical menu, bears no relation to the famed Sushi House in Alameda. The good news? The sushi is nearly as good.
Berkeley has a litany of different rolls that won’t be found on a traditional sushi menu. Their Lambada Roll (a clever marriage of spicy tuna and salmon, wrapped in avocado) was a delicious blend of flavors that was supplemented by the ample Sriracha sauce that they added to it.
The Webster Roll was another excellent roll, combining a crispy and fresh shrimp tempura with a bit of crab meat, a soft white tuna and avocado.
The white tuna had a delicate texture that perfectly offset the crunchiness of the tempura.
The baked scallop roll was a huge and filling roll, though I’m not sure if that was because of the scallop or the heavy mayonnaise sauce that they drench this scallop in. This roll, while delicious, is not for those looking for a light meal.
Berkeley Sushi House of course has all the traditional Japanese appetizers, ranging from Age-Dashi tofu and miso soup.
Both the tofu and soup were solid, if not spectacular. And the tofu definitely needed a bit of soy sauce to really bring out its flavor.
So maybe Berkeley Sushi House is trying to piggyback off of the name of the more famous Sushi House in Alameda. But fortunately for us, they are doing their namesake proud.
— “taste tester”
Situated a convenient block away from the University of California at Berkeley campus, Berkeley Sushi House is located in what is known as the Durant Food Court (or Durant Food Square).
It’s the latest newcomer to the DFC and is owned by the same owners as its neighbor, Bear Ramen.
Durant Food Court is affectionately called the “Asian Ghetto” by many students due to the popularity of Asian restaurants located within this outdoor food court.
Cheap food is hungrily eaten up here by students without disposable incomes, either indoors or in the center where many tables and benches sit.
Actually, 75 percent of these restaurants have Asian cuisine.
These are the restaurants from left to right: Gypsy’s Trattoria (Italian), Quickly (tapioca pearl milk tea), Meesha’s Gyros (Mediterranean), Mandarin House (Chinese), Thai Basil (Thai), Steve’s Korean BBQ (Korean), Viet Nam Village Restaurant (Vietnamese), Bear Ramen (Korean), Berkeley Sushi House (Japanese), Yokohama Station (Japanese), King Pin Donuts (American) and Sweetheart Café (tapioca pearl milk tea).
— “Did You Know?”
Comments
Got something to say?