Sushi Sho — Restaurant in Stockholm

here is an extensive review in English from a local!

okay let’s begin, in my 20 years of being alive this is probably the best meal I’ve had eating out. It is every bit worth it, such a memorable experience, and I thank my darling stellar boyfriend for taking me here!!!!!

Arrival. When arriving 10 minutes before the first evening service one of the staff was smoking right outside the entrance door. Not expected at any place, let alone a Michelin star Sushi bar. Makes you wonder what else goes on inside. Let’s go in and find out.

Facility. Sushi Sho has a nice minimalistic approach with tiled walls and a big counter with stools and a separate window table. All in all 16 seats. The music was at mid level and was a playlist containing 80´s synth/new romantic. The bathroom was large enough and clean.

Seating. The corner on the counter is just to close to the door so the person sitting there gets bumped in to by guest passing by. Every time the door opens the ice-cold winter wind blows right in. The other seats on the short end of the counter are to close to the table behind so it's not possible to serve the table in the window properly. Didn't actually se anyone being served in the hand but the guest on the corner was asked by serving staff to “hop in” The seating plan is just wrong.

Staff. The staff was friendly, polite and explained what was being served. None of them was using gloves. The sushi chef dipped his arm in the display fish on the counter several times.

Food. There is one fixed menu and everyone is served the same item at the same time. It was approximately 15 servings of omakase and tsumami which was the chef's selection of sushi and hors d'oeuvres of the evening. The consistency and flavours were there on some of the dishes. One of the dishes lacked the toasted seaweed found on the others. The mini-scallop was not cut loose from the shell and almost impossible to loosen without a splash. Several of the grilled dishes had a taste of gasoline. The gari served was spicy, vinegary, salty and way to overpowering. The homemade soya that was dripped on most dishes was nice. The water served was right from the tap. No tea was served. The serving took just over one hour.

Guests. All of the 16 guests on the seating but 2 had an alcoholic beverage with the food, either beer or Sake. One was using snuff tobacco with the food, one asked their partner if there was garlic in one of the dishes. No sushi connoisseurs really but a nice buzz.

Price/payment. When serving was completed all guests started lining up to the cash register. The menu was € 50 per pax. There you had to tell the staff the amount including tip before the total was transferred to the card terminal. Very strange and those behind you could hear if you tip, or if you don't. A first for me. No feedback on your experience was asked for at any time of our stay.

Verdict. Rather disappointing if you consider what you pay and compare with the competition out there. How they received a Michelin star is a mystery really. At the current level they are performing I cannot...

I contemplated a long time on whether or not to write this review in fear or karmic vengeance of the kind Chefs of Sushi Sho and the even more kind people of Sweden. The Eater’s Guide and Michelin-backed “Classic Japanese” Sushi Sho does not serve sushi. The rice has so much vinegar, it overpowers the fish. The fish is slightly slimy and under-marinated or under-treated with a soulless aftertaste. The “white tiled walls” are lined with brown gunk. There is a mix-and-match use of Japanese ingredients and techniques like ponzu and Faroe salmon shabu-shabu. The closest analogy I have of the experience is having your Swedish best friend from college offer to prepare sushi for you after learning about it while studying abroad in Tokyo for one summer. The $100 per-person price point for local sea bass, salmon, scallops, and other white fish is robbery. The only Japanese fish they offered was Bluefin, which they charge an extra $60 at the end of the courses for an Otoro medley. There is also too much down time between the small-portion courses, which, in addition to numbing your tastebuds, is why they probably recommend you pair alcohol with the meal. As a sushi-enthusiast who has eaten at Kyūbey in Ginza, I find this Michelin-star-supported attempt at the fine art of sushi offensive. Digging deeper, I would say that this experience points to the European inability to empathize with cultural perspectives outside their own. Sushi is about discipline, the devotion one’s life to a trade, with no small sense of precision and grace. Sushi Sho ignores all of these attributes. I am left hungry with a bad taste in my mouth after leaving Scandinavia. A person who enjoys Sushi Sho lacks a fundamental understanding and appreciation of sushi. I hope the next person reading this will move on to the...