When you think of Ninjas, you can't help but recall the Ninja Warrior characters, dressed in black with eye-hole masks. I'm not sure what that has to do with the Fan's newest sushi restaurant unless it's supposed to indicate their fierce dedication to delivering authentic Japanese sushi and sashimi.
Sushi Ninja, on North Robinson, opened a few months ago and is already garnering critical praise from the foodies of this city.
Don't expect a pseudo-Japanese décor here, but you will get some of the freshest fish in town, flown in daily from Hawaii. The friendly and knowledgeable chef says the restaurant's supplier is also the purveyor of the Emperor of Japan and I have to say that the ruby red A+ tuna was fit for a king.
We started with the Crab Dip and a cold Asahi (there are several good Japanese beers if you're not a sake drinker). A large ice-cream-scoop size pile of delicate, shredded crab was surrounded by the thinnest wontons I've ever eaten. They literally melted in your mouth and had an intriguing, slightly lemony flavor. I could have made a meal on this alone and was loathe to share it with my dinner companion.
We followed that with the Sashimi Salad, which was our first introduction to the top-grade deepwater tuna. The bed of greens was dressed with a subtle, slightly citrus-influenced vinaigrette and topped with the ends of the various fish cuts from the evening service that were too small or asymmetrical to use on the entrée plates.
From the rolls, we chose the Shogun Shrimp, one of Sushi Ninja's signature dishes. The rolls were wrapped in tuna, cradling a tempura shrimp, which added a nice crunch. Portions are perfect for sharing, with six pieces to each order, and the accompanying dressing made it unnecessary to dip into the condiment tray.
"Sushi Ninja, on North Robinson, opened a few months ago and is already garnering critical praise from the foodies of this city."IF YOU GO:Sushi Ninja 204 N Robinson (804) 864-1962 Hours: Lunch: Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Saturday 5:30 to 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended for weekends. Restaurant is nonsmoking. |
From the sashimi list, we chose the Setting Sun platter, which is a selection of tunas from ahi to A+ that are artfully arranged to resemble a sunset.
Again, the quality of the fish from the slightly oily white to the rich red A+ was so high that we used our soy and wasabi sparingly. The chef, who was chatting up customers at the bar and explaining the dishes, checked in regularly with us to see how we liked each dish. He even brought us a taste of the salmon he was working on, which had a lovely and delicate flavor that tends to get lost in cooked salmon.
While you can spend up to $200 on a Chef's Choice sashimi platter, prices were very reasonable from around $6 and up for starters, around $12 to $15 for most rolls and $18 to $20 for sashimi platters.
The Tuesday Fancy Date Night is perfect for the Fan's college crowd, with salad, soup, entrée and dessert for $36 and Sushi Ninja is also open for lunch with a mid-day special called the Lunch Monk for a mere $6.50.
Sushi pros will relish the high quality of the fish, while novices will find the helpful chefs running commentary a great introduction to the pleasures of sashimi.