In my last sushi review, I mentioned how much I love Reikyu Sushi & Bar in Mockingbird Station. I didn’t always have such a love affair with sushi. I think this was mostly because I didn’t really understand what sushi was. But now that I love it, I have decided to venture out and try the Japanese delicacy at more sushi hot spots around the Dallas Metroplex.
With this in mind, I set out last weekend, with some friends in tow, to Sushi on McKinney to sample the fare.
Entering the restaurant from McKinney was quite confusing. Two small doors lead to a covered entrance, which was so small it barely fit two people. Then another two doors, although only one door opened, led into the restaurant.
Once inside, there was no one to seat us. We noticed there was another larger entrance at the other side of the restaurant where people could also enter.
As we sat down, we were given some cabbage to nosh on while we decided what to order. We chose to have soft-shelled crab, thinking it was similar to crab Rangoon seen at other Asian-cuisine restaurants. Boy were we wrong.
We saw our waiter and we were excited that we were about to have food on the table. As the dish was placed in front of us, puzzled looks took control of everyone’s faces. First we looked at each other, then at the crab. We touched and prodded the crab, before taking a bite of the meat inside, which we had to scavenge to find.
One of my friends prodded the crab, but refused to eat the delicacy, which had been softly fried.
For our main courses, we ordered a mixture of rolls.
The Special No. 10 contained yellowtail, jalapeno, cream cheese and was deep-fried. It was soft textured and put a little bit of variety in our meal. The Devil Roll contains cucumber, fresh salmon, yellow mustard, and is labeled as “Ultra Spicy Hot.” They were not lying. I took one bite and was overtaken by the Wasabi-like yellow mustard. Even though I have eaten some of the hottest Indian cuisine in the world, this dish was simply too much.
The Robb Roll, which contained fresh salmon, avocado, cream cheese and was topped by tempura flakes, was tastier than the others.
We also had some of the more common rolls: spicy tuna, avocado and cucumber. All of these met our expectations, which were not too high, considering our experience so far.
We ordered the tempura from a separate menu. Tempura was priced individually and was served with one piece for meat options and two pieces for vegetables. The prices were fair and the taste was divine. The tempura was one of the best parts of the evening.
We did not order any sake to drink, but the restaurant had a full-service bar with a wide range of sake and many Japanese beers on hand.
Despite the food, the décor in the restaurant was eye-pleasing and simple. There were large-size paintings on the walls, authentically Japanese style. Colors were complimentary and earth tones filled the room. Everything appeared simply elegant.
Overall I would say the service, food and atmosphere were mediocre. I probably won’t head back to the restaurant, although, I have met others who swear by the cuisine of this uptown treasure trove.
The restaurant is located at 4438 McKinney Avenue. Hours vary so check the restaurant’s Web site at sushionmckinney.com, or call directly at 214-443-0605.