[Tokyo] 1* Sushi Arai 鮨 あらい

Rating: ❤❤1/2 (2.5/5)

We had a pretty disappointing lunch at Sushi Arai where the chef Arai-san (one of the youngest sushi chefs in town) had trained at Kyubey and Sushi Sho. I had wanted to continue our exploration of Sushi Sho offshoots after Sushi Sho Masa and Takumi Shingo and with a fairly high rating at 4.42 on Tabelog, I was looking forward to the meal. I did see reviews online where people claimed he served inferior products to foreigners but I couldn't verify this since all the foreigners were seemingly all cordoned off in the private room where we were served by the sous chef instead. What I could say was that the ikura (salmon roe) was the worst that I've had at any sushi-ya in Tokyo - in fact you can get much better quality ikura at izakayas and even supermarkets. I also didn't get why we were served tairagai (pen clam) as it wasn't the season for it and it didn't taste that fresh as a nigiri and was super chewy when grilled for our otsumami. I think when it comes to sushi where the chef's skills can greatly affect the quality of your sushi (the size of our shari were inconsistent for example), it's probably only worth it if you can book the main counter with the main chef especially for the high price he charges. 

Goma Tofu

Eggplant with shrimp and shiso flower

Kue with ponzu sauce 

Grilled Tairagai wrapped in seaweed - this was so chewy I can barely eat it.  

Katsuo

Nodoguro 

Chawanmushi with ume sauce

Hirame 

Smoked Sawara

Sumi-Ika

Kohada

Akami

Chutoro

Otoro 

Tairagai

Kuruma Ebi 

Ikura - some of the blandest ikura I've ever had. 

Aka Uni from Kyushu - to be fair, this piece was actually pretty good. 

Hamaguri Soup 

Anago 

Tamago - a bit too dense and wet for me. 

Sushi Arai 鮨 あらい
B1F 8-10-2 Ginza Chuo Tokyo 
東京都 中央区 銀座 8-10-2 ルアンビル B1F
Tel: +81-3-6264-5855
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13188186/



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