The Goblin — Restaurant in Clinton Township

One of the coolest secrets in Metro Detroit for sushi is The Goblin, with locations in Clinton Twp and Detroit. I visited the location on Gratiot just south of Metro Parkway for dinner. First - the atmosphere transports you instantly to Anywhere Metro Asia with an immersion experience that captures all the senses: music, clean line furniture, bright sunshine lighting, simplistic yet pop-cultured decor, clean lines and comfortable seating.

I ordered the Goblin Caterpillar and Avocado Crab rolls. Plated in to-go containers makes it convenient and keeps costs down by eliminating the need for plateware and sanitizing...perfect for the COVID conscious. The rolls were AMAZING with incredible fresh ingredient taste and gorgeous appearance. The place is decirated with baby avocado trees for sale, a nod to the ecofriendly by selling and reusing the seeds from some of their products. The entire dining-in process is touchless as you use their table top QR code to place your order and pay. They have seating for 16 diners, and offer carryout. They serve ice cold water when seated, and offer a variety of Asian inspired drinks.

A major complaint about sushi restaurants is that rice is often "hard" and their tempura foods carry a strong fried taste. The Goblin cooks their rice fresh multiple times per day, and they use an air fryer to "fry" their tempura which leaves their sushi tasting clean and light. Their shaved ginger was the freshest I have ever tasted.

I highly recommend this gem if you're...

The Goblin is the freshest, most thoughtfully prepared, and reasonably-priced sushi on the East side or maybe even all of metro Detroit. The freshness and flavor of the fish and the sushi rice is on the level with the best I've had in any city, even including Tokyo. Most of the menu items are very simple and allow you to taste the quality and subtleties of individual components. Depending on where you've eaten, you may find this to be an entirely different sushi experience. If it's the right season, make sure to indulge yourself with some Toro (Tuna Belly) nigiri, it's an actual treat. They do not take themselves too seriously; there is a very easy to read menu and unconventional options like a well-curated selection of instant ramen to have alongside your meal. If all the food weren't reason enough to stop by, Chef Jin and his team are amongst the absolute friendliest, most genuine, and down-to-earth folks I've ever met in the hospitality industry. If they aren't too busy, make sure to take the chance to chat with them. I think I've learned more about sushi sitting at The Goblin bar than anywhere else in my travels. All of this comes wrapped in a chic and minimalist but still cozy and modest dining room located in the most inconspicuous strip mall on Gratiot. I wish The Goblin the best in all of their endeavors and hope to return for many...

BBQ eel + crunch flakes add-on BBQ Eel is among my favorite meats to get when I go to any sushi place, and this one was by far the best I’ve had. The sauce and the eel were warmed and sweet without being too rich for my teeth, which I appreciated. Delicious! Perfect rice, fresh avocado and cucumber throughout every dish that had it!

Yellowtail with scallion + cream cheese add-on Fresh, light, lots of flavor which says a lot for whitefish when I have a sweet dish , salmon and blue fin tuna.

Blue fin tuna + cream cheese add-on The cut of this tuna was rich and the depth of flavor was a pleasant treat. A nice clean cut that was also filling! Such a nice bite.

Salmon belly The rib-eye of sushi! Beautiful marbling throughout the cuts of salmon in this roll were magnificent. A gift from the chef himself, and one I did not take for granted! I savored the unique cut from my welcoming host and took my time with each bite.

All in all, I’d take the drive to come see this place if it means getting taken care of by such gracious business owners and employees AND getting a meal I’m guaranteed to enjoy. I was only out for a doctor’s appointment in the area, but I ended up adding a delicious and affordable stop to my list of favorites. My girlfriend and I could not believe that we had stumbled upon such a great place!

Thank you for the...