Sushi Yasuda Review

When your sushi dinner calls for a special occasion place, Sushi Yasuda fits the bill. It's a lovely place east of Grand Central, sparingly decorated with plain wood and high ceilings, feeling a bit spa-like. The coveted spots are the seats around the sushi bar where you can watch several chefs preparing your meal. But on this visit, my dining companions and I sat at a table, the better to converse.

When you order, you won't realize just how good you're going to think the food is, even if you are aware of its reputation as one of the best sushi spots in the city. You'll surely end up with a second or even a third round of fish. There's so much to choose from, making for some tough choices as you'll likely want more of what you just ate while also wanting to try the many other options.

We ordered a couple of appetizers on the specials list. We got a fried blowfish with ponzu sauce — a delicately coated chunk of toothsome white fish.

The crab innards seemed to be mixed with a little bit of mayo and topped with some ginger. If you've ever had fresh crab, you'll know exactly what this tastes like. This was one of those dishes that we ordered more than once.

One dining companion ordered the chirashi, a bowl of rice topped with a beautiful assortment of fish.

Ordering can be overwhelming, but the menu does include a few sets. I went with a Sushi Matsu, 12 pieces of sushi from a select list and half of a roll. Every piece just dissolves softly in your mouth. It's a blissful eating experience. We ended up ordering a second round of Sushi Matsu to share for the table.

My one criticism is that a few of the pieces had dabs of wasabi under the fish, which made the bite a bit too strong for me. I'd prefer to just add my own. So often, it seems that as long as the fish is fresh, any sushi place will do and that there's little distinction among the many restaurants around the city. But when you taste really good sushi, it's easy to see just what you're missing out on and it'll be a little harder to settle for the mediocre spots you head to when it's not a special occasion.