HOKKAIDO SUSHI — Restaurant in Lafayette

Hokkaido Sushi just opened up in the spot that used to be a “Reelfish”. About 2 miles down the road from another Sushi place over at Erie’s nine mile corner (Sapporo), which shows real balls. And Hokkaido Sushi does not disappoint.

With an “All you can Eat” sushi lunch menu from Monday through Friday (for less than $25 per person), they offer a great way to taste their food without breaking the bank. Here is the catch; you have 90 minutes, limit the amount of items per order to about 20 per round, but they will charge you for every item you don’t finish. Pretty standard for AYCE though.

The place is clean, tastefully decorated and you are greeted by the sushi chefs behind the counter when you walk in. There is a regular menu and the AYCE menu to choose from. Drinks are extra, water is free.

We went with the AYCE and here are a couple of tips.

It does take about 25 minutes for the sushi to get freshly prepared after your order, so take advantage of the other items on the menu to feed you in between rounds. From soups and salads, Ramen, Tempura, Hibachi and skewers to small bites, these items will come out of the kitchen quicker, so don’t forget to try some of those with your order in every round.

The Gyoza are absolutely amazing, so tasty. Tuna Tataki and Yellowtail Jalapeño are great Sashimi type options.

The only two items I would not recommend are the Calamari (way too greasy) and the steak skewers (small, way tougher and with more fat than I have ever had at a Japanese place before. Seasoning reminded me of Chinese 5 spice).

But we were here for the Sushi, and that’s where this place shines.

Seriously, every Nigiri, every roll was absolutely perfect. Served on a nicely decorated plate, they not only looked amazing in their presentation, everything smelled and tasted fantastic. This isn’t your cheap supermarket sushi at the AYCE price, it’s the real thing.

And if the prices on their regular menu tell the story, they are absolutely worth it (and are a steal of a deal with AYCE).

Part of enjoying Sushi is the different flavors and textures, and these sushi chefs really know their stuff. From crunchy elements (crispy salmon skin roll) to spicy elements like jalapeno slices, this was fun and delicious.

Try the Unagi (eel) nigiri, the Cherry Creek roll, the lobster roll, the New York roll.

Frankly, pace yourself and try them all. Best to come as a small group or family and share, family style, like it’s a tasting menu to help discover your favorite items.

During the allotted 90 minutes, you’ll be able to get two, maybe three rounds of orders in so don’t be shy on that first round, order a mix of sushi and other items per round and be amazed of the quality food that Hokkaido offers.

When we left, we were absolutely satisfied and had gotten our money’s worth of food, but more importantly, we had enjoyed it and are grateful to have this new place in the area now.

Food and quality were top notch, service was impeccable, and the place is nice and clean.

Give them a try, take advantage of the All you can Eat lunch...

So, another new AYCE sushi spot, you'll never have to put much effort in getting me to try a new spot.

People here were very friendly, and it was not busy at all when we came and we were able to sit right down which was nice.

The selection on the AYCE eat menu here isn't as robust as some places, and the food comes out slowwwwwww (maybe to use up your 90 minutes before you can eat too much) especially considering how few people were there. To be fair, it was quite new and they may still be understaffed.

The sushi rolls I had were good, but most of the rest of the appetizers were pretty disappointing. Skewers and pretty much everything were very plain, no seasonings or sauces. Karaage was so so, katsu was missing sauce, just lots of little misses. I did really like the green mussels, and the miso eggplant was interesting.

I might give them another shot when they have been open a bit longer and maybe have worked out the speed in the kitchen, but right now this isn't up to par with some other AYCE...

For anyone new to the area, this replaced reelfish which we loved and seemed to be a very popular spot but clearly not popular enough to stay in business. Also, two other sushi spots opened along Arapahoe (on 287 - saporro, and another closer to foothills) so I wonder if they felt they needed to stand out more with this all you can eat offer. I’m fascinated to see how the offer plays out for them in a profitable way. I am all for supporting new restaurants and feel like I got well over $100 on my first visit there for about $40 on my bill. I can also speak to the quality being very high as well as the variety. We went only ten days into their opening and they only had two servers which certainly slowed down the service a bit. We still had an excellent meal and my next visit will come down to pacing myself better because there are just so many tasty things. Particular highlights for me included the fish roe sashimi, octopus sashimi, and skewers. The lobster roll was a little disappointing...