‘Raw fish’, ‘may be I won’t like it’, ‘ummm not today’ – These are some thoughts that cross your mind upon hearing/reading the word “Sushi”. Isn’t it? I used to think the same. But what if I tell you that these all are just fallacies! Read this post till the end and you will get to know what am I saying…
WHY SUSHI COUNTER?
Trying out sushi was in our list since so long and last weekend we decided to go for it. We chose Sushi Counter (Business Bay branch because it was closeby) to do the honors, reason being not only they have traditional style sushi options in their menu but they offer wide variety of sushi fused street food alternatives too. This add-on tempted us to give it a chance.
THE EXPERIENCE:
As soon as we entered the restaurant we were greeted warmly by Donna who appears to be the head server despite of the fact that she seemed super busy dealing with customers and takeaways, probably they need another hand (in that particular branch). It was a nice place with vibrant indoors and cheerful ambiance, too bad they have only a total of 6 tables to serve to in that small branch. However, they have a number of counter chairs overlooking chefs on the other side who are always busy playing with rice, fishes and sauces plus plenty of space outdoors which they can always utilize.
MENU & HOSPITALITY:
The moment we got settled on our table, we dived into their exhaustive menu in the quest to find out the best possible sushi item to treat our taste buds. From Soups to Salads, Traditional rolls to Street food sushi burritos and sushi burgers, Sushi platters to Sashimi they have it all. In addition to these, they have vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu too. You can have a look at their menu here.
Finally after some serious discussions with HI and with Donna’s help (we told her about our preferences and the dishes she recommended were up to the mark), the order was placed. I’ll be talking about those below, in the order they arrived on our table.
THE FOOD:
In a few minutes our drinks were served to us along with Hot and Tasty Spicy Miso Soup and salty Edamame beans. We really liked the beans as soon as we swallowed some.
Then came the Asian Chicken salad and Chicken nachos, both of them looked exactly the same as they appear in the menu. We found the chicken in salad a bit chewy but nachos were awesome without any doubt. It was difficult to include all the condiments in one bite but the moment you are successful to incorporate chicken piece, salad, salsa, guacamole, sesame seeds, different sauces and coriander to your nacho; You win the game!
After that our main courses made their entry which were Tnt California Rolls and Avocado Shrimp Tartare. They looked so tempting (read beautiful) with all those colorful ingredients, needless to say we were impressed with the presentation and found ourselves quite excited to try them out.
Tnt California Rolls had that distinctive dominating flavour of salty tuna, it melted in our mouth and to our surprise we ended up liking it. We were not expecting it to be as good as it turned out since we were eating it for the very first time but honestly it changed the way we used to perceive sushi. Avocado Shrimp Tartare was juicy and tender; a perfect blend of all the ingredients. I was able to taste avocado, cucumber and shrimp in every bite. It was the highlight of our dinner – Winner among all, hands down!
Besides fish and chicken, Sushi Counter have beef, crab and lobster meats in their menu but we decided to stick with traditional items hence the choice of food was confined to sea food especially in main courses.
For desserts, we tasted Coconut Snow balls and Warm Chocolate cake which were a little average in taste as compared to the other food items we consumed over there.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS:
All in all, we had an amazing time at Sushi counter and enjoyed every bit of our meal. The place is peaceful and lively with well trained waiting staff who can guide you in case you need a recommendation or expert opinion. We tasted some very good quality food in reasonable prices, the portion sizes were good enough to stuff one’s tummy. Out of the dishes we tried, Edamame beans and Avocado Shrimp Tartare are highly recommended! And as for drinks, you may not want to experiment much and stick to normal coconut water or soft drinks to be on the safe side.
Sushi Counter is a safe bet either you want to try out sushi for the very first time or you already are a sushi lover. We are generally not a fan of seafood, sushi comes one level up in the game and one has to develop a certain kinda taste in order to pass ‘loved it’ type of comments about sushi specifically. It was our first attempt with oriental cuisine and we actually liked it!
Overall we had a satisfying experience with the food and place both. Glad that we chose exactly the right place to start with sushi, definitely going there again whenever we feel like consuming sushi again in the future.
Sharing below a compilation of my Instagram stories that I shared the day we visited Sushi counter.
Overall Rating: 
(3.7 out 5 chef hats)
Food (Taste, presentation, texture):
Service:
Ambiance(Comfort, Cleanliness, Decor): 
Value for Money:
Details about Sushi Counter:
https://www.sushicounter.com
Japanese, Oriental Street Food
Business Bay, you can park the car in parking area of Building 3 (It has a total of 11 branches all over UAE)
Everyday 11:00 am to 11:30 pm ( Please note that all branches have different timings)
04 243 2170
contact@sushicounter.com
AED 40 – AED 75 per person
Breaks & Bites 