Sushi St. Louis
(Or where to get good sushi in St. Louis)

Soon to be updated - October 2007

If you have visited a sushi place in the 'Lou recently, please write a review, and we'll add it to the site. Really!

Sekisui Pacific Rim
7443 Forsythe
Clayton, MO
314-726-0033
Web Site

Tuesday nights, SPR has all you can sushi for $25!

This review is based on one lunch visit. SekiSui Pacific Rim (SPR) is a new addition to the St. Louis sushi scene. It is related to SekiSui on South Grand; it has much wider variety in the main menu but less variety in the sushi.

SPR is located in the Wash U. West campus building in Clayton on Forsyth east of Hanley. There's a parking lot and you go into the main building first. The restaurant itself has an open, high ceilinged, modern look. There are about 20 tables and a nine seat sushi bar. Prices for sushi are moderate to slightly high for the area; the prices for the entrees at dinner range from 14.95 to 26.95. Some pretty good looking entrees too. The lunch sushi specials were average for the area. You can visit their web site at Sekisui Pacific Rim Clayton. The sushi itself was pretty good. The fish was very good; the rice slightly watery yet had a nice light balance of seasoning. Their sushi selecion, while not bad, is not as extensive as at other sushi places including their sister Japanese-only restaurant. They do have an item I'd never had — "Taz" salmon, from Austrailia. It supposedly has a higher fat content; it was very tasty. All in all, a nice but not exceptional addition to the local sushi scene. They've only been open seven weeks, so I'll check back later.

Modai
6100 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63112
(314) 725-8330
http://modailounge.com

The February club meeting was at Modai in the east loop. It is located about a half a block east of the Pageant at the corner.

Modai is described as a "hip sake and sushi bar". It has a great selection of expensive drinks, including several types of sake, and a small sushi selection as well as a few cooked Japanese type choices. It is dark with a "modern industrial" feel. The volume of the music, which was sort of like from Circus de Soleil -- was fine for a bar but too loud for a restaurant. There is perhaps ten tables and a cool looking bar on one side, and on the other a couple of tables and a three(?) seat sushi bar. Prices were on the high side. Parking is all on the street.

The wait for the food for our party of ten was waaay too long; nor was the rest of the restaurant all that busy. They did bring us a free seafood dish, which was good but fairly standard.

I don't usually comment on green tea, but.... In many places the tea is too strong — either old and concentrated from evaporation or simply made that way. Here the tea was much too strong — they said it was freshly made from leaves. It was also very cloudy.

The general consensus of club members on the sushi is that it was OK. No one was impressed, and no one was terribly disappointed. Modai puts a nice emphasis on appearance, but is inconsistent in the follow through. For example, the arrangement of the maki pieces with a very good accompanying sauce had some nice touches, but the roll pieces themselves were, well, lumpy. The consistency of the rice was very good, but there was no discernible seasoning. (Its supposed to be mild, but not nonexistent.) Grades given were B to C+.

One standout was the garlicky, mildly spicy edamame. The hamachi was just about perfect, too.

All in all, if you want a bar with good drinks and modern atmosphere, and want some sushi while you're there, Modai is a good place to go. If you're going for sushi, there are better places.
Richard [Feb05]

Crazy Sushi
422 Mid Rivers Mall Dr
St. Peters, MO
(636) 397-2413
lunch Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm
dinner Mon-Thu 5pm-9:30pm
Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm
Sun. closed

A relatively new place, located in Goldren Triangle Center, right on the intersection of Mexico Rd and Mid Rivers Mall Dr. I've only gotten take-out, but every time I come in the staff seem very friendly. There are maybe ten tables and a sushi bar in the back. They have five different salads, a decent selection of ala carte nigiri, quite a few different rolls, some hand rolls, and various non-sushi items. I enjoyed the rice and the fish every time I've gone.
Inna [Feb 05]

Crazy Sushi replaced a Chinese restaurant, and is run by the same Korean couple. As such, it would be understandable to believe that they are merely trying to cash in on the growing sushi trade and the lack of a decent Japanese restaurant in the St. Charles area. Fortunately, whether or not that is true Crazy Sushi is indeed the first decent sushi I have had in that area. (I have not yet been to Little Tokyo in St. Peters.)

I was very favorably impressed. Everyone was very friendly, the fish was as good as any other restaurant I've been to around St. Louis even if the variety was average, and the rice was spot on. For example, Uni, for me, is one of those items that is either very good or really yucky. This was the best Uni I have had in ages. Natto is not on the menu, but a maki of it was enthusiastically supplied when asked for — and was excellent. Was it simply good timing? I don't know, but the place is worth coming back to.

As a frequent lunch diner, my biggest complaint — and it is a major one — is the lack of a sushi lunch special. Sushi is very expensive already, and their nigiri seems slightly more expensive than average for St. Louis. (When ordering, keep in mind that an order there is one piece, not two as in most other places in the area.) Given that they have a nice lunch selection otherwise, eating sushi for lunch there is even more of an extravagance than usual. Otherwise, give this place a try!
Richard

Lucky Sushi is on Mid Rivers Drive in St. Peters. It is what looks like a take-out Chinese place, although it is a sit down restaurant. The furnishings are sparse — not elegant, just sparse. There are perhaps 20 tables and no sushi bar.

The short take — don't bother. While not horrible, this is the most mediocre sushi I've had in St. Louis, along with Shogun in St. Charles and the new branch of SanSai in Kirkwood. There's no point in spending that much money on a mediocre meal.
Richard [Feb 05]
(This review is based on one lunch visit.)

Ichiban
12388 Olive Blvd, 63141
(314) 579-6002

Having moved to St Louis recently from San Diego, I have been on a constant hunt for great sushi in my new neighborhood. With the Kosher Sushi Club at Ichiban (12388 Olive Blvd), I got a good meal and met some new friends, too.

As someone who ate sushi in California at least twice a week, I thought that I knew my fish - I like the usual yellowtail, tuna, salmon, mackerel, halibut, etc. This was the first place that I have ever been to that had FIVE kinds of tuna on the nigiri menu! They have a good selection of fish, a variety of standard and creative rolls, and a nice overall menu. The food quality was very good; everything was fresh, well-prepared, and served very nicely. Our waitress was a bit overworked, since most of the twelve tables in the restaurant had customers, but the service was still good considering (although our rice was forgotten, and then taken off the bill without any hesitation). We ate well, tipped generously, and laughed a lot for just under $30 per person.

The restaurant itself was clean and cheerful, including the restrooms. We had a great experience (despite Richard's corny jokes - just kidding!) overall at this certainly-better-than-average restaurant. We concurred on a solid B+ rating to reflect our experience.
Marcia [Oct04]

Little Tokyo
Off Forsyth in Clayton

This Little Tokyo should not be confused with either the one in St. Peter or the one in the Galleria. This one is in downtown Clayton, at 16 S. Central. Parking was easy; there is a parking lot right next to the block. Prices are pretty typical except the cheapest sushi lunch special is $9.50. I was hoping that being in Clayton in a big lunch area they would have a better deal.

Little Tokyo is a new restaurant in an old space. It is fairly narrow and deep, with perhaps 16 tables or so and a long sushi bar way in the back. Typical appearance; lots of wood and a fairly simple design. The servers were fine, but my chef barely spoke english and the other one barely looked up.

The restaurant had only been open two weeks. The rice was fine. Miso soup was standard; but I like the standard just fine. The salad was mostly the typical tasteless pale iceberg, and had a piece that was browning. The fish was below average. The eel/avocado maki roll on the special was tiny. The shrimp had a touch of that musty smell occasionally found in a bag of precooked frozen shrimp. The signaure maki roll, the Little Tokyo, while not bad was unremarkable, and the scallop in it was barely visable The hamachi was obviously thawed from frozen; sometimes it freezes well and and sometimes it doesn't. This batch didn't; it's the texture that suffers so much. What was annoying is that I specifically asked if the hamachi was good.

All in all if you're in Clayton go to Miso.
Richard [Sep 04]

Review from Marcia, March 05
Little Tokyo is just steps from Clayton's Restaurant Row, making it very accessible & easy to find in Clayton. The decor is very... well... simple, and the prices are reasonable (we ate to satisfaction, without cocktails, for $25 per person, including ~20% tip). Considering that we were a group of 12, the service was pretty good. Thus far we were in agreement... and that's where the plot turns...

Review ratings ranged from C to B to B+. Some people liked the miso soup, some did not (saying that it didn't taste quite right). The nigiri was nothing special, and the usual traditional rolls (salmon, spicy tuna) rolls were alright. The specialty "Sunset Roll" and "Rainbow Roll" were actually quite good, and the presentation of the food on the various wooden boats, bridges, & "rafts" was nice. They did not have any sake (!), and we were overall underimpressed.

Our recommendation: try their specialty rolls, but look elsewhere for good nigiri, sake, or atmosphere.

Tokyo Sushi
3729 South Lindbergh
Sunset Hills (yes, that's right, Sunset Hills)
South of 44, close to Growler's South
(314) 984-5050

This review of the new Tokyo Sushi restaurant is based on two visits, the second with the Kosher Sushi club. It was my first outing with the club, and I highly recommend this group.

Tokyo Sushi is the first Japanese restaurant in South County. (The first to serve sushi was an eminently forgettable mostly Chinese buffet.) In appearance it is a typical Japanese restaurant — clean, lots of wood, modern touches behind the sushi bar, etc. There are perhaps 12 or so tables and a sushi bar along the back of the dining room. The assortment we ordered with the club was delivered on a big boat; a nice touch if a little big for the table. Service was very attentive.

My first visit was the week it opened, and the food was just OK. No bad; just OK. It was much better on the second visit. While I won't place it in the top tier of Japanese restaurants in St. Louis, the fish and rice were very nice; a solid "B". The miso soup was one of the better I've locally, with the nice touch of shitaki mushroom; I'm hoping other side dishes have similar touches. Prices were moderate; maybe slightly on the higher side. My biggest concern pricewise is the lack of a reasonable lunch special; most area restaurants run specials about $8 - $10, with Tachibana the clear winner with two excellent lunch specials at $5.95. (Get the chirashi!) Tokyo Sushi's lunch specials are all in the $10 - $11 range.

Tokyo Sushi is certainly worth a visit if you're in the area, maybe even just to check it out. As there are no other Japanese restaurants even close by I'm hoping it does well.
- Richard

I recommend Tokyo Sushi. It just opened in Sunset Hills (yes, that's right, Sunset Hills) and it's located at 3729 South Lindbergh. You will not be disappointed. I believe this is the first sushi restaurant in the first South County area ever.
- Trish, via email

Tokyo Sushi was the worst sushi restaurant I have ever been to. I should have known it wasn't going to be a good experience when the waitress had no idea what a temaki (hand roll) was. I ordered a spicy tuna hand roll and the kaiware (sprouts) were dried and wilted. The tuna was sour tasting. We're grateful we didn't get food poisoning.
Ling Y.

Yoshi's
1637 Clarkson Rd.
(in between The Sound Room and Crazy Bowls and Wraps)
Chesterfield, MO 63017
Phone: 636-536-7778
Fax: 636-536-2999
New joint from the original sushi chef at I Love Mr. Sushi. Opened May 2004. Best place in town. Period.

Yoshi's is the new joint from the original chef at I Love Mr. Sushi. Yes, Mr. Sushi is back in town, better than ever. Simply put this was the best sushi I've had in years. The title of best place in town, jointly held for years by Seksui and Sansui West, now sits, uncontested, in the heart of Chesterfield. I hate traveling this far west for anything except family (my parents are barely a mile from away), but rest assured, this is well worth the drive. Reasonable prices. Go. Soon. Rating: A
Ran [June04]

Yoshi's is a great addition to the St. Louis sushi scene. It is in a large strip mall with the (soon to be opened) Trader Joes, on Clarkson near the Chesterfield mall. Yoshi's is a bright, clean and sunny restaurant with a nice sized sushi bar and perhaps 15-20 tables. This review is based on many lunch visits. Prices are average.

Yoshi's joined my top tier of Japanese restaurants in St. Louis on my first visit and has remained ever since. While I have had meals as good elsewhere, I have never had any better in St. Louis. Yoshio Aoki, formerly of Mr. Sushi, does a wonderful job — the fish and rice are top rate. He has a deft hand with subtleties like how long to season the various types and cuts of salmon. I have heard complaints about slow food production at night, but my daytime visits have been uniformly quick and attentive. This is defintely worth a trip.
Richard [Oct04]

This month's club outing was a return trip to many members' favorite place, Yoshi's. It was a large crowd (20), in part due to one member's birthday and in part due to Yoshi's popularity. Details (location, ambiance etc.) are in other reviews.

The general consensus was that we all enjoyed it. There was some variation in how much; one gave it a B+, others A or A-. I enjoyed it; the only item that disappointed was the hamachi. It wasn't bad, but the texture was off -- almost as if it had been frozen. Otherwise the nigiri that I had was top rate for St. Louis. The maki rolls were uniformly very good to excellent.

What was truly a pleasant surprise was the speed of the delivery of the food. The staff was very attentive, and towards the end of the meal Yoshi came out to say "hi". If you've read the other reviews, the overall impresson remains the same — one of St. Louis's best.
Richard [Nov04]

SanSai Japanese Grill
20 Allen Ave
Webster Groves, MO 63119
(314) 968-8484
M-Sat: 11a-9:30p Sun: Noon-8p
Dan has been, and did not have favorable things to say. Try non-sushi items instead. [Jan. 26, 04]

San Sai is absolutely fabulous! Highly recommend the Tiger Roll! Everything is good here! Vincent J. Barrows [March 19, 04]<

SanSai in Webster Groves is a welcomed addition to the area. Reasonably priced and a varied enough menu to please any palate. My husband, a sushi snob who must sit at a sushi bar and watch the chef, actually has given his vote of approval and thus, we are now enjoying take out sushi. They could put more effort in the miso soup, however, as it's very lackluster.
Jeanne Cashman via email [April 8, 04]

Imagine Crazy Bowls and Wraps serving Japanese food and you've pretty much got SanSai. You walk up to a counter, place your order, pay and sit, wait for your number to be called and you pick it up served in styrofoam and plastic glory. There's a small counter (a separate one; not a sushi bar) and 20 or so tables. The atmosphere is very clean, casual and airy. A big silent plasma TV was on with CNN.

I ordered their Sushi special, which includes ten nigiri, miso soup and one of three salads. Not a bad deal at $9.99. The miso soup had plenty of wakame, but was pretty blase otherwise. The salad I has was very good; a sort of green leafy/crunchy/mandarin orange type. The sushi was fine. The rice was only mediocre -- not bad, but hardly any seasoning and a little too firm. The fish was nice and fresh but somehow bland (except the eel).

There are several maki rolls and hand rolls and plenty of cooked food selections. There is no ala carte nigiri selection, which may make it tough to keep kosher. (It just occured to me that you might be able to ask for specifics in your combo.)

All in all an OK place to go if you're not looking for variety in your sushi and you don't mind the cafeteria style. If I'm in the mood for sushi this place doesn't quite cut it for me. It seems like a good place to bring sushi shy friends and family though. I probably won't make any special trips to go back, but if I'm in the area it's a good place for a meal. It's not easy to find; it's sort of behind and to the right of Straub's. Call first. Plenty of parking though; it's right off a free Webster public parking area.
Richard [Aug 04]

Wasabi
1228 Washington Ave. — Club/Loft District
314-421-3500
The club/loft district really needed a proper restaurant other than Sen Thai. The sushi is pretty good, almost exceptional but not quite. Prices is about right, and service is excellent. Glad to see another quality place open. B+/A- [Ran]
Most people at Dec 03 meeting liked the place.

I would definitely give Wasabi an A- to A. Great service and atmosphere. The sushi selection is bording on great (except for the imitation crab) and the prices are right. If you are in the mood for a lot of sushi no one has an all-you-can-eat for $40 like Wasabi. If you leave Wasabi hungry it's your own fault.
Bryan G., via email, Nov04

Bento: Bento Sushi Bar
189 Lamp & Lantern Village
636-230-7800
stltoday.com review
Post Dispatch restaurant reviewer Joe Bonwich reveals that the owners were formerly in the IT field. Knowing that trade, I am familiar with what those who just can't cut that trade are like. Caveat emptor. Ran and I visited not long after they opened (May 03), and were terribly unimpressed. Nothing seemed terribly well prepared. Perhaps a second visit now that its had some time to survive the market is warranted. Beware: they serve a Spam roll. My first visit left me mumbling "bring back the Rib Crib." — Scott [Jan 04]

Jade Room
3131 S Grand Blvd
(back of Mekong Restaurant on South Grand)
(314) 773-3100
Typical S. Grand Hipster vibe. Scottie left and the sushi had gone down to the crapper. Not sketch, not unsafe, just poorly prepared and presented. Grade: C- [Ran]

Druken Fish
Westport Plaza
drunken-fish.com

So far the best Sushi I have had in St. Louis, however, the prices are very high. Went for dinner and it was $40 for myself and I was still hungry after the meal! Mara Raglin [June 04]

I've been to this sushi den thrice now. Relatively stylish, thumpin' tunes in the background, attentive young wait staff, and decent fare...B+ range. However, the prices are tourist/hotel level! And nigiri (pieces) are sold in 2's only. You could buy a soybean farm for the cost of one edamame order! More financial trauma. I think I paid less for sushi when I was in lower Manhattan, it was more authentic, and of somewhat better quality. If you do go, at least search for one of the $5 or $10 coupons they frequently have in mail circulars in St. Louis County first to ease the sting. — Scott [Jan 04]
I find that the drunken fish is a great place to have sushi. The contemporary atmosphere with a very attentive wait staff makes it a great meeting place. There Drunken Fish roll is the best I have tasted since I have visited manhattan a few weeks ago. From mystery person via email.[May 04]

From Doug S. via email, "Be sure to check the credit limit on your MasterCard before you visit Drunken Fish. You will get an eye-popping bill for sushi that is no better than Nippon Tei." [Dec 03]

Drunken Fish of Westport Plaza has a fairly new additional location in the CWE, way up at the college oriented Maryland avenue area. This review is based on one lunch visit.

It is a fairly large restaurant, pretty clean and neat. Parking in the area can be problematic. The overall impression was, for me, the same as the Westport location: Excellent but very pricey. The main sushi chef, Tom, was the chef at Westport, and continues his quality performance. (I don't know what's happened at the Westport location since he left...) Everything I had was very good to excellent; the fish fresh, the rice very good, etc.

One of the great things that Drunken Fish has for lunch is a selection — you pick the level of how much you want, and then you can pick from most (but not all) of the nigiri and maki choices rather than simply get whatever they want to give you. All in all it's definately recommended, with the only caveat being the price.
Richard [Sep 04]

A bunch of my Club Fitness friends get together about once a month for dinner and cocktails and we try to visit alot of different places. The destination for this one specific Friday night was The Drunken Fish. I was a little timid because I have never had sushi before. Our server who was very knowledgeble on the menu and knew right away I was new so he recommended me the So roll, a flash fried roll. The amazing flavors from all the different toppings just bursted in my mouth. The next thing you know I'm trying eel sushi which might sound creepy but it was really like the best bbq fish. Needless to say the flaming sake bombs were a first. This place was a great experience for me; Where else can you take a shot on fire! Good thing I live in St. Charles.
PHL77 via email

Cha Yoon
4 North Euclid Avenue (at Laclede), CWE
367-2209
From Doug S. via email, Dec 03 "It is a bubble tea bar that serves sushi. Because they are small, their sushi list is small — but we (four sushi enthusiasts) all enjoyed the sushi."
Amit speaks very highly of this joint. [April 04]
All word of mouth, positive. [Ran — April 04]

Fuji Sushi
84 Clarkson-Wilson Centre
(636) 530-1392

Review from Scott Vallely (via email)
Just went to Fuji Sushi for the first time last night. The quality is excellent — as good as what I'm used to from living in California; the preparation was good (not great though). Far better than Tachibana (the only other sushi I've had in St. Louis).

I had visited Fuji when it first opened four years ago and remember being unimpressed. I went back to check it out again. This review is based on that one lunch visit.

Fuji is a small basic Japanese restaurant in a strip mall on Clarkson road. It has perhaps a dozen or so tables and a small sushi bar in the back. Prices are average.

Overall impession was very good to excellent. While not quite as good as nearby Yoshi's, it is certainly worth a try. I liked the rice, which had just a very slight touch more vinegar then most places. Most people won't pick it up. The fish with one exception was excellent, the exception being the hamachi — not bad, just OK. Miso soup and salad were standard, with perhaps a little more wakame than usual. An extra hand roll of chopped spicy salmon with masago was an unexpected pleasure.

Which brings me to my next point. The restaurant is staffed by Koreans. (Koreans do spicy as good as anyone.) While my very favorite Japanese restaurants are run by Japanese, just below that top tier (I'm talking about maybe five or six out of the scores of sushi bars I've been to around the country) I see no correlation between the quality of the restaurant and ethnic background of the chefs. One of the best sushi chefs in St. Louis is Croatian (at Drunken Fish in CWE). Of course, some of any background are just bad to mediocre, but don't discount a place because the chefs aren't Japanese.

A good chef is a good chef; all it takes is training and practice to become conversant in a particular cuisine. What I would like to see are chefs learning to meld their backgrounds with the Japanese fare. Fusion sushi, if you will. What a tremendous opportunity for a restaurant to set themselves apart. I'm not holding my breath.
Richard [Oct04]

Good sushi. One of the better places in town, but not as good as Yoshi's.
Ran [Aug04]

Sekisu
Grand and Arsenal (South City)
Newish place in former Once Upon a Vine space at the corner of Arsenal and Grand in South St. Louis. Apparently this is Kenji's new place. Scott and Kathleen both describe it as good to very good.

Ran's Review: the sushi was exceptional. Every bit as good as Sansui West. After one visit would rank this as one of the top 4 places in town. HOWEVER, DO NOT PARK YOUR CAR IN THE PARKING LOT! My car was broken into before we were seated. Afterwards, we all moved our cars to the Streetside Records parking lot, and someone broke into Jim's car. Eight people for dinner, two car break-ins. Good food, just park on Grand!

Ran's Review #2: a return trips confirmed quality of the food — one of the better places in town. Parked on Grand and everything was fine.

Ran's Review #2: a return trips confirmed quality of the (This is based on several lunchtime visits.) In appearance SekiSu is a typical Japanese restaurant. Clean, lots of wood, perhaps 20 or so tables and a nice sized sushi bar. There's also a back room with a bar that I've never been in; it seems unused at lunch times. Service was pleasant and attentive.

The sushi, however, has been wonderful. Right at the first visit SekiSu made my St. Louis "A" list. The rice was nigh perfect, the fish fresh, great variety (for St. Louis anyway), and personable chefs. Kenji walked through once, and a short conversation with him (I apprenticed to a Japanese chef) was very pleasant. I just got the sense that this was someone that knows food. The chefs behind the sushi bar seemed far less experianced, yet they must be well trained. Let's hope this continues.

In any case, I highly recommend it.
Richard

Koyama at the Enigma Lounge
(Under Zhivago's Restauraunt)
15480 Clayton Rd., Ballwin
(636) 256-8123
Probably the worst club experience. From a Russian waitress with a gossamer grasp of English, to the uneven service, to the so-so sushi when it finally arrived, this place is certainly not worth the trek out west. Another wannabe. Apparently, the Russian restaurant upstairs is pretty good. Grade: C.

Little Tokyo
235 Jungermann Road
St. Peters, MO 63376
(636) 926-7388

Dori (via email) says: My husband and I found it to be very pleasing to the pallet, although the atmosphere is a bit relaxed and quiet, they call themselves a family restaurant. We did check out Tachibana after reading your reviews, I would have to agree, it is probably one of the very best JR's in St. Louis. I recommend you guys checking out Little Tokyo!

Cathy (via email) says: My husband and I visited this restaurant last night. He was nervous about going to a sushi restaurant in St. Peters. However, we found the sushi better than Sansui and comparable to Sekisui without the high prices. We got filled up for $23 total! [Nov. 17, 03]

Lora (via email) I read the reviews for Little Tokyo in St. Peters and thought I might give a little insight as to why the two are so different. I have been to Little Tokyo dozens of times so hopefully my comments can clear things up. Dori and Cathy both visited Little Tokyo last year when it was under the old management. During my visits under the old management, I had nothing but pleasant experiences. It was phenomenal sushi, which was quite shocking to me considering the location. The food was fresh and cheap. Recently, however, they came under new management and the food quality and prices have drastically changed. My parent's have gone several times and I have been only a couple times since the change of business and have been very disappointed each time. It is clearly not the same Little Tokyo. For those of you who got to experience it previously, the change is noticeable. For those of you who haven't experienced it yet... I would opt not to. Previous rating: 8 or 9 Current rating: 3

J. Harris (via email) says: We went to Little Tokyo tonight after reading about the folks who got full for $23 on what they considered pretty decent fare. Our experience was nothing like that. Our bill for two adults and one child was $67 before the tip. We only ordered two beverages, neither of which was alcoholic. The sushi was O.K but nothing great. The rolls that were supposed to contain crab and shrimp had what looked more like crab salad. There were no identifiable pieces of crab or shrimp to be seen in either. Like the sushi, I would rate the rolls as nothing more than O.K.

In addition to paying too much for mediocre food, the restaurant was absolutely freezing. There were a number of portable heaters running, but we could not wait to leave because we were so uncomfortable. I would not eat here again even if the heat were functioning properly.

Empire Steak
8600 Olive Blvd
Glatt Kosher. Really! (tofu cheese) Decent Sushi from chef who used to be at The Kitchen.

I Love Mr. Sushi
9443 Olive Blvd
(314) 432-8898
Amy recommends / Club Favorite / Grade: A
Changes of chef at I Love Mr. Sushi. Aoki has left and opene up Yoshi's in Chesterfield. Haven't been back since the change in ownership, though I hear it's still good. [Oct04]

Japanese Garden
108 Regency Park
O' Fallon, Ill
(618) 632-8700

Kobe Steakhouse of Japan
12521 Olive Blvd
(314) 434-2600

Miso
16 N Meramec
(314) 863-7888
Stacy Recommends / Live Music Sundays / Beautiful people hangout. Many say the rolls are simply too big to eat. Still very trendy a year + after openeing. Next to Rue, one of the hippest places to eat sushi.

Ran Review, July 03. Still a beautiful people hangout. Sushi is still very good. Almost exceptional, but not quite up to Sansui West or Sekesui.

Ran Review, December 03. Sushi is still great, even if service is not. Crazy packed most nights of the week. Beware. Sometimes attention to detail suffers, but all-in-all quality sushi in spite of the hype.

Nippon Tei
14025 Manchester Rd.
(636) 386-8999
DAN P REVIEW: Same parking lot as Bally's, Rhodes, and Bandanas. Great food, decent prices. Things aren't quite as adventurous on the sushi side as one might hope, but good stuff. The rest of their menu is quite unique as well.
FROM DOUG S VIA EMAIL: Nippon Tei used to be very reliable, but we were disappointed last night. We waited much too long for the sushi to come to the table (on a night when the restaurant was not busy), and the sushi rice was watery. We did not finish our meal.

Nobu's
8643 Olive Blvd
(314) 997-2303
Declining Quality? Apparently this place used to be domb back in the day. Still good in my book, but several places outshine it now. Grade B/B+ - Ran

Nobu's had always been in my top tier of Japanese restaurants in St. Louis. Some people seem to think it has slumped, so I went back again.

Nobu's is in what is obviously a converted iHop, but inside is a nice relaxing typical Japanese restaurant. Sushi bar as soon as you walk in, and perhaps 15 or so tables. Prices are average for the St. Louis area.

Nobu himself is just a marvel to watch. Quiet with a winning smile, he's exceedingly efficient yet smooth, almost graceful. As someone that apprenticed to a Japanese chef for a year and a half, I just love watching him work. And the man knows food. While I've had meals as good in other restaurants in the St. Louis area, I've not had any better. Rice is just right, fish great, etc. Little touches often overlooked elsewhere that make a difference, like arame in the inari. Mmmm. Perhaps I've been lucky, but I still love this place. I just wish it was closer to me.

Ritz-Carlton Clayton
100 Carondelet Plaza
(314) 863-6300
Decent, but pricey. Expensive drinks. - Ran

Robatta of Japan
111 Westport Plaza
(314) 434-1007

Rue 13
1313 Washington Ave
(314) 588-9797
Ran Recommends. Open until 3:00am! Sushi until 2:00am! Consistently good sushi. Expensive drinks, but usually great music (mostly quality house). Thursday is movie night. Grade: B+/A- - Ran

Oishi Restaurant
721 North New Ballas Road, Creve Coeur
314-567-4478

The Prapaisilps, the family behind The King & I and Global Foods Market, try their hands at Japanese cooking in a vibrant, modern rehab of the space that for many years housed The Greek Gourmet. The menu comprises primarily Japanese basics (sukiyaki, teriyaki, donburi, tempura and sushi), with the sushi properly fresh, and distinguished mostly by some elaborate rolls. At $10 and under for almost every non-sushi entree, the price is certainly right.
- Joe Bonwich
Another sake joint hopinh to cash in on the trend. Sushi was good, but nothing special. Truly awful service. Ran and Kai LOVE the deserts...more so than the Sushi.

Sansui
4955 West Pine Blvd.
(314) 367-2020

A recent visit found Hama-san at the controls vs. a past visit with a different chef driving. Made a difference. With Hama running the show, the full glory of Sansui was realized. Dined with a relative sushi-newbie. Tried to impress her with the wonders of white tuna, but...Surprisingly, the quality of the red tuna was so great, it impressed both myself and my guest more than the white tuna. It was sliced with the grain across the piece, allowing the texture of the fish to 'stand up' a bit on its face. Very tender. Question always is: will Hama-san be at Sansui or Sansui West on any given night? — Scott [Jan, 04]

Sansui (West)
(Formerly Ted and Teiko's)
9983 Manchester Rd.
(314) 966-7786
Stacy (almost everyone) strongly recommends. Arguably best in town.
Jan. 04 meeting finds sushi to still be exceptional, but service awful. Granted, this was the night of an ice storm.

Seki
6335 Delmar Blvd
(314) 726-6477
Bill does NOT recommend
Almost all negative word of mouth. Avoid.
Thatcher says service is poor and mean.
Loren didn't like it - said people were mean.

St Louis Fish Market
901 N First St
(314) 621-4612
Ran does NOT recommend the Sushi. Great desserts, though.

Tachibana Japanese Restaurant
12967 Olive Blvd
(314) 434-3455
DAN REVIEW: I would rank Tachibana as among the best places around. I have not been to Sansui West, but they are on par with ILMS. Their best offering is probably the $6 Chirashi lunch, but the sunset roll is great too.
RAN REVIEW: Very solid. One of the better places in town, though not in the highest tier.

September's club outing was to Tachibana in West County. Tachibana is in a large strip mall on Olive at Fee Fee, and as such has plenty of free parking. It is pretty classic in Japanese atmosphere, a little older and on the dark side with five tatami rooms, about 15 or so tables and an excellent sushi bar. Prices are generally very good and two of their lunch specials are only $5.95 — a typical nigiri/roll combo or chirashi, either with soup and salad. For dinner an eight nigiri piece sushi special, including Uni and salmon roe, was only $11.95. Yowza! For me, at lunch, the rice and fish have both been consistently excellent. One lunch caution — while the sign says lunch stops at 2, it's really 1:45.

The general consensus about our club outing was that the sushi was very good if not quite top tier. The nigiri pieces were pretty nicely sized. The service, however, stunk. Not the fault of the waitresses — the food took over an hour to arrive. The place wasn't crowded, although there was one other large party —probably about the same size as ours; eight. One other complaint was the lack of an explanation menu for the rolls — none of us had ever seen crab in a Philadelphia roll, and three people that don't eat shellfish ordered them only to be disappointed.

When I moved to St. Louis eight years ago Tachibana was pretty mediocre. It has improved tremendously though, and due to it's proximity to my work and it's great lunch specials its where I go the most often. Tachibana also has several items that are hard to find in the St. Louis area. Definitely worth a trip. Of the several other sushi bars in West County Yoshi's is the only one that is decidedly better, but is more expensive.
Richard [Sep 04]
[editoral note: Ran thinks Tachibana and Yoshi's are in the same price range.]

I was first introduced to sushi by via Tachibana in 1992. I have been to several sushi bars in the metro area and I hold them up to Tachibana for comparison. No one can beat their Jurassic Park rolls and at $11, although a bit pricey, is a dinosaur of a roll and will fill you up along with the miso soup and salad at lunch. The tuna is always of the highest quality and the chef's are always willing to ask for your preferences when building a hand roll or made-to-order roll. Sushi Chefs Fuji and Kenji are always personable and precise in their execution. Tachibana does not skimp on ingredients and their rolls and nigiri are the largest that I have been served anywhere. I give them an A+. I have never been disappointed by them whether I am dining alone or with a large party.
Christine, via email [March05]

Shogun Steak and Sushi
2057 Zumbehl Rd.
(636) 940-2090
Yup, in St. Charles county

This review is based on several lunch time visits. Shogun is a small Japanese restaurant in the Bogey Hills shopping center in St. Charles. It is primarily a Teppenyaki style place; large open seating grills with "showtime" chefs. There is a small sushi bar in the front.

The short review: Don't bother. The sushi is obviously an afterthought. While not horrific (and I've had horrific) it's the worst sushi I've had in St. Louis. Once was actually pretty good, but by and large the rice seems like its been around a while. Twice the fish's taste and texture was that of just thawed; since it took a while (and I was the only one there) I can reasonably assume they really had just thawed it. I've gone several times because I occasionally substitute at a clinic in the shopping c enter and I keep hoping they'll improve. I'd rather go to the close by Captain D's.
Richard [Sep 04]

Sushi Take Out in St. Louis

Schnucks Markets
(various locations)
Ran and Laura both recommend the one by the Esquire, especially for lunch.

Dierbergs Markets
(various locations)
NOT recommended by Laura, but recommended by Amy
Ran says it's so-so. Acceptable, but not Schnuck's quality

Whole Foods Market
1601 S Brentwood Blvd
(314) 968-7744
Comprabale to Dierbergs

From Doug S. via email, Dec 03 "I purchased sushi from Whole Food Market on Oct 26. Took it home and noticed that It was dated Oct 27. I will never buy sushi there again."

Wild Oats
Near 170 & Ladue

The small sushi counter at Wild Oats has the best take out sushi in the area. As with all take out, prepacked sushi the rice tends to be cold (hey, it's in a cooler) and not as moist, but acceptable. The fish has been pretty good -- not great, but I've never had a bad meal there. If you ask the preparers (chefs?) they'll make you a special order package, and it will be fresher -- otherwise you'll have to take whatever selections are in the case. The selection in any case is limited, athough there are a few brown rice selections -- which are not bad wih stronger tasting toppings even if it takes getting used to with sushi.
Richard [Sep 04]

Barnes Jewish Hospital
Recently, the main cafeteria at Barnes Jewish hospital added a sushi "grab and go" bar. The selections consist of red tuna rolls, with or without avocado, and individual containers of soy and wasabi paste are available at no additional charge. Each plastic tray contains 10 rolls, more than enough for lunch! Though the selection is limited, the items are fresh (always prepared that morning per the BJC cafe manager) and come from a place called Gaijin Kitchen. If you work on or around the Barnes-Jewish or Wash U med school campus, it is probably the healthiest option, and I definitely recommend trying it.
Vicky [Jan 05]

Kosher Sushi Club
salmon...it's not just for lox anymore