Sushime Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Huntsville

Kinda conflicted on 3 vs 4 here because I didn't love my food that much but the atmosphere and service was nice. Still, I'm not in a huge rush to come back and probably wouldn't bother unless a friend wanted to go or they had a super enticing new menu item. My inclination to return is kind of the deciding factor on my ratings, so with that in mind, I'll sit on a 3.

I came here last week with a friend from out of town to catch up. He eats a lot of vegetarian meals so it was important that we could find a place that accommodated that. I was also looking for a place more towards Madison as I had an engagement there shortly after our meetup. Sushime fit the bill and so it was decided! This restaurant occupies what was once a Mei Wei location, off of busy University Drive. There's plenty of parking so no problems there.

Having been to Mei Wei in the past, I was expecting a similar sort of set-up, but I was wrong -- you wait to be seated instead of ordering at a counter. The interior has received a total makeover and it's really modern and fun; lots of neat art and cultural references. There's plenty of seating and I feel like a larger party could be accommodated fairly easily. The restaurant looked clean. Unfortunately, it was pretty hot inside while we were dining; I was definitely sweating by the time we left.

The menu is large and consists of sushi and a lot of pan-Asian dishes, though I'd say American-Chinese is the most prevalent non-sushi option available. There are a couple of hard-to-find in town items like soup dumplings. Honestly, if I do come back, it'll be to try those.

Anyway, since we came on a weekday at 1:30 it was still possible to get a lunch special, so I went with that. The special comes with two entrees (eg choice of sesame chicken, beef and broccoli, etc), rice, and a cup of soup. I opted for beef and broccoli and fried gyoza with white rice and egg drop soup. My pal ordered vegetable tempura and some kind of noodle dish with tofu (not a lunch special, fyi). I'm pretty sure it was lo mein but I don't 100% recall.

Our waitress was the highlight of my experience; she was just so pleasant and kind. Our food came out in what I thought was a perfectly reasonable amount of time but she was very apologetic about our wait. Total sweetheart and a great sense for when we needed anything.

Like I said, my food was pretty average. The gyoza was the best part; it was piping hot, flavorful, juicy, and crispy. It came with four pieces. The beef in the beef and broccoli was tough and chewy. I personally like my broccoli cooked a little more than this, but it was fine and I enjoyed the brown sauce. I really didn't like the egg drop soup. I was hoping it would come with some of those crispy wontons it's often served with, but it didn't. Worse, it had a super intense chicken-y smell in a way that's hard for me to describe but that was a total turn-off. I didn't eat much of it beyond a spoonful or two.

My friend said his food was good but didn't comment on it much more than that. He ate all his tempura but only maybe a third of his noodles. However, he's not known for his huge appetite and he took the rest home in a box so hopefully he meant it.

Overall, I wasn't as wowed as I'd hoped I'd be, but I wasn't super unhappy, either. If I return, I'll likely get the gyoza again but try something else as an entree. Thanks for the lovely service and providing a nice spot to catch up...

I got here right when it opened. I was greeted by the owner and another server. The server quickly came to my table and provided me a water and asked if I knew what I wanted. Since I had already checked the menu prior, I knew what I wanted. Today was the grand opening day as well so I was provided a T-shirt (size given to server upon request). The ambiance is quite nice. The music isn't too loud so it seems good for a group setting.

I ordered the lunch roll combo (3 rolls) that comes with a miso soup and ginger salad. The 3 rolls I ordered are spicy salmon, eel & avocado, and alaska. The prices seem quite fair for a lunch combo. The food came out fairly quick; I was the first customer here though. The miso soup wasn’t too salty and had an appropriate amount of tofu and nori. The ginger salad was interesting. I could tell there was ginger in the dressing itself, but the flavor didn’t stand out too strongly. I could taste a hint of peanut in the dressing. The server mentioned that they were experimenting with 2 kinds of dressings - one thick and the other runny like this one was. I would have appreciated a thicker dressing. The rolls were okay. The best one was the Eel and Avocado with eel sauce on top. The Alaska Roll was okay as well. The spicy salmon had some tempura shavings or something inside and the rice was a little dry, which was a turn off. My server asked for constant feedback and my comments resulted in him suggesting that they could provide another Spicy Salmon roll free of charge. I politely declined as I had already eaten half the roll.

All in all, the food was okay and would probably result in a 4/5 rating. The service I received from my server, Ashton, was quite nice and this is what...

Nov2024: dropped in for dinner. (New Photos down below.). My wife tried a new dish she loved, Teriyaki Salmon. I was mostly enjoying sushi and then Chan, one of the owners, brought out Hamachi Kama, yellowtail collar. I’ve enjoyed a mahi mahi collar appetizer at Automatic Seafood in Birmingham, AL (recommend this place, too), but Chan’s Kama was a cut above. Or is that a fin above? 🤣 Some of the meat around the fins and collar was like eating a chicken wing flat in terms of crispy outside, wonderful inside. I could have made an entree out of it all with the bigger portions tasting rich and flavorful. The collar is considered a delicacy but since they source their sushi fresh, they may have it available…but it’s off menu, just need to ask. I sure will be doing so more!

October ‘24 Update: gotta try their Ghost roll. Can you eat it all? Nice spicy burn! Fun Halloween colors. See pics.

I’ve been coming here since they opened with increasing frequency. Lots of creative choices. The sushi is the best in HSV and easily on par with many other places I’ve had around the world. They focus on high quality, excellent presentation and generous quantity. Excellent value. One of the owners is always there, welcoming hellos by them and the staff often greet you. My wife and I always feel the servers really care that your experience is enjoyable. We often get take out too. The Mango chicken travels very well. They package everything carefully and professionally. Check out my multiple reviews and pics on Yelp for off menu items that are...