Da Sushi — Restaurant in Rockledge

Da Sushi 634 Barnes Blvd., Rockledge, FL 32955

4.5 Stars

Yep, I hear ya. Rockledge, FL, is known for many things, but fine dining is not one of them. When Da Sushi came up on my random name generator, I steeled myself for two things: facing down my fear of OTB and strengthening my intestinal fortitude as I was not sure what to expect. My fears were not assuaged as we pulled into the plaza looking for the sign. We couldn't see it, we did however, see the giant dope shop and the wig/weave store inhabiting the strip. All we needed was a Dollar General on the out parcel next to a car wash and we know we are in the boonies of FL.

Upon finally spotting the sign for the eatery, I looked at my companion, thinking this was not going to be pleasant. Once we passed the threshold of Da Sushi, we were transported from a dingy strip mall only missing open-air drug sales to a fine dining oasis that is jaw-dropping in its depth and breadth. Seriously, this place was absolutely gorgeous. Kudos to the owner(s) on their decorating aptitude.

Jordan is our waiter. Jordan was as reticent as a homunculus in answering my questions on the menu and, quite frankly, was an unpleasant cad. That said, I did put in an order for the Otoro Nigiri (Fatty tuna), Tuna hand-roll and the coup de grace was their $30 roll known as “The Exclusive.” Relaxing while Jordan ran our order in, I took some pics of the place drank in the exquisite decorating, and soaked up the fine dining vibe emitting from the environs. Jordan's return snapped me out of my mindless ruminations and back to the job at hand.

I grabbed my chopsticks and proceeded to dig in. First up on the Big Boy's palate was the Otoro. This is one of the top-tier items to be found in any place offering raw fish. It should be fresh, creamy (almost buttery) and practically melt on your tongue. This did all of that and more. This was a superb slice of fish, and it was all I could do to move on; I did eat both pieces, however.

I then turned my punctilious palate to my sushi shack barometer, the ever-popular Tuna Hand Roll. For the first time in a long time, this was properly executed and not at all fishy. The last few sushi places were not this fresh. The tuna was a nice shade of red, the rice was perfectly steamed and it was rolled with obvious care and love. Sushi is like Ricky Bobby. If it ain't fresh, it's trash. Sadly, I found myself at the end of my tasty tabi in the Land of the Rising Sun as I faced the last item for today, their Exclusive roll. For $30 bucks, I half expected a “happy ending” but then realized it's this piss-poor economy we are living in and shrugged it off. The roll itself was a happy ending to my taste buds, and it was, like the previous foodstuffs, amazing. Consisting of spicy salmon, spicy tuna, fake snow crab, crawfish salad, cream cheese avocado, and jalapeno all wrapped snugly in soy paper, then fried tempura style, topped with eel sauce, spicy mayo, honey wasabi sauce, masago (smelt eggs), scallions and some crunchy bits. This had it all and then some. What a delectable delight to end my meal. The flavors combined into a wonderful roll.

The Big Boy says, “This is a one-stop shopping strip. Buy a wig, get some cheeba and dine on some out-of-this-world...

I can say that Da Sushi is DA Sushi around Merritt Island, Rockledge, and Melebourne. I've tried finding a good spot for sushi that isn't too expensive, and it's great quality. I like the atmosphere in there with the Japanese themed restaurant and awesome Zoro and Luffy statutes from One Piece. I've been to Pacific Rim, Tahi Tahi, Wabi Sabi, and Sushi Factory, and nothing is compared to this amazing sushi restaurant. There are some downsides that I didn't really care for, in my opinion, and that's the chicken and the fried rice. The rice was too puffy but tasted well. The chicken had its own taste with the teriyaki sauce but still needed some more seasoned quality to it. The salad tasted like any other type of ginger salad. The special roll that I got was the "Crouching Tiger Roll," and I felt like I was in the jungle trying to ambush my prey. The spicy Tuna and Salmon Roll was pretty good also, very fresh with the nicely done rice combined with it. The California Roll was average. The crab was a little hard to chew, and I didn't really have a fill for it. Overall, the experience was good for the service, and excellence and the food were decent. But it is called "Da "Sushi"" for...

So to start the atmosphere is great. Food was good also. Service was the worst because there wasn't any. Candace the bartender she looks like she doesn't have teeth had an issue with being in the Service industry, not sure why she even works there I'm sure she is costing the owner a lot of money. She refused to acknowledge My wife and I because her phone was important the sushi chef actually had to come over and get our drink order which was water and also our food order. Candace sat on her phone texting and then asked another young lady to see what drinks we want like she didn't want to talk to us. Being an interracial couple this is common from people who look like Candace and it really gets old when you spend $50-$75 to have a negative energy around you. We changed our order to take out because we did not want to be around her. We talked to the owner on the way out but the place seemed so awesome when we first arrived that it was such a let down we would hate to see a nice place like this have such bad Service. Do yourself a favor and order to go if you must I wouldn't sit and eat there for free if Candace was my...