Sushi Ishikawa — Restaurant in Tokyo

Don't laugh at me, but I actually thought the concierge at the Keio Plaza Hotel could get us counter seats at Jiro. The Japanese are so polite that upon hearing my ignorant request, she didn't guffaw and slap her knee. She probably saved that for her colleagues during a green tea break. Back to us, she suggested a reservation here instead. It was just a ten-minute walk away, so we went for a 5PM slot.

5PM is when they open, so we were the first customers of the evening. As it turned out, we were the only customers until finally a couple showed up as we were paying the check. For whatever reason, we were seated at the far left of the counter like they were expecting a big party to show up. We were assigned their only female sushi chef, which we applauded, though she was also quietly proficient making little eye contact with us and focusing 100% on the fish.

Fine by us because that's what we came for. We went to town and ordered the ¥25,000 Omakase, which included tuna sashimi and 15 pieces of sushi, and of course, the ¥1,210 180-ml beaker of Warmed Sake. She started us off with three different kinds of tuna sashimi, each one meltably good. The sushi parade then commenced. In short order, she crafted each piece with precision. Maguro, Sardine, and Amberjack (Kanpachi) were the first three.

I'll save you the suspense and list out all the sushi she made like clockwork. Medium Fatty Tuna, Ikura (Salmon Roe), Ebi (Shrimp), Katso (Skipjack Tuna), Toro (Fatty Tuna), Crab, Red Snapper, Uni (Sea Urchin), Grilled Snapper, Grilled Fatty Tuna, Eel (Unagi), and finally Tamago. Not a stinker in the bunch with the unagi particularly fresh and the grilled sushi nice surprises. Other unexpected elements were a hearty Clam Miso Soup and the fresh Mango Dessert. It was a nice, satisfying experience.

FOOD - 4 stars...high quality freshness, just misses in being transcendent flavor bombs AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...clean, traditional, minimally modern SERVICE - 5 stars...she was very efficient, no false moves here TOTAL - 4 stars...no complaints, just missing that 'it' factor that would've made it...

I had a wonderful time. They kept feeding me until close (maybe there's a cultural element here that I did not know about?!?? Hope I wasn't being rude in my ignorance.)

3 menu options starting from 12000. Hidden in the basement in the corner. Looked closed when I tried opening the door and walking in. Very nice people. The soft roe was the most...

Wow, I’ve been to many really good sushi places in Tokyo; for freshness and quality of fish, the level of individual curated sushi experience, and the overall atmosphere, Sushi Ishikawa was fantastic. While mostly all Japanese was spoken here, everyone from hostess to sushi chefs treated gaijin as a valued customer and made sure their experience was...