Ace Sushi（え〜すし）Steamed Sushi — Restaurant in Nara

What a hidden gem! This place is tucked away in the back corner of one of the crevices of the Higashimuki Shopping Street. Super close to the subway station. It opened just under 2 weeks ago.

The shop itself is counter seating and sits only 6 people. Thankfully when we came here on a Monday around 1pm, we were the only ones there. Chef Takuro was incredibly hospitable and engaged in conversation with us throughout the meal.

Upon sitting down, we were served tea brewed from local Nara green tea leaves. As for the food, they serve temaki (hand rolls) and temari (ball-shaped sushi) here. For the temaki set, you can select 3 hand rolls out of the 6 options they have and for the temari set, you can select 6 sushi from 6 options. These were probably the best hand rolls I've ever had. I also love that there's a recommended sauce you can put for each option of sushi.

Another huge plus is that Chef Takuro really caters to any dietary restrictions or food preferences people may have. Just let him know :) I don't like cucumbers for example and he kindly removed them from my rolls.

Whether you're in Nara to visit the deer park like me or for any other occasion, I would definitely recommend giving this place a try. Definitely a 5/5 star...

Owner is chatty and very nice, great service.

Sushi is mid, there's different fillings but the taste gets drowned out by the dippings/sauce since the recommendation by the chef is to mix a few of the sauces together.

In most cases it ends up being a mayonaise combination with other things, but the taste profile leans towards that.

The sushi spot is located in a touristy area, so a lot of tourists visit this place. Sushi in western countries see a rampant popularity increase in the dipping 'mayonaise' with a hint of chili --- 'chilimayo'. Therefore I can understand the appeal for tourists dousing their food in this sauce, as it's a nice treat for them.

Atmosphere wise, the sushi shop is located in the back end of another restaurant. Making it 3 different restaurants in one establishment (ground floor). So it's not as intimate.

Price wise the sushi is a tad expensive compared to what you get. (1.800 yen + 10% tax). Other sushi places can offer more through a lunch set menu.

But if you want superb service, this is the place. The owner is very nice, checks for...

Even though we are English speaking tourists we felt welcomed and at home with Takuro’s hospitality in Ace Sushi. You can tell the care he puts into his cooking and making sure you are taken care of, for example thoughtful details such as offering a phone charger at the end of the night. He is very sociable and friendly and is happy to chat if you want to. If you're undecided like we were he will give recommendations and mixes delicious sauces to complement the sushi too.

Nothing to worry about with “non-traditional” sushi, it’s the same ingredients just no raw ones and was delicious. We really appreciated the complimentary Nara local green tea too!

Tip: finding it was confusing, to get in you need to go through another restaurant’s entrance and the bar counter way in the back right hand side is Ace sushi, the restaurant in the front will direct you if you just...