Roseville, CA — Mikuni Sushi

Mikuni Sushi 1565 Eureka Rd Roseville, CA

916.797.2112 website map

Last night I ate at a horrible Asian buffet it had sushi but the hot food was so bad, I couldn't bring myself to even try it. So when the locals recommended Mikuni Sushi — I decided to give it a try. Mikuni is a regional chain with five restaurants in the Sacramento area and one at Lake Tahoe.

Mikuni is close to my hotel so it was a short drive. Mikuni i slocated in a corner of a small strip mall. When I drove up I saw that Mikuni is a large restaurant with huge glass windows. The sense I got from the exterior was a trendy place with a young hip crowd. Inside, the restaurant had a very modern look but it was not loud. There were TVs all over the place in pairs, one showing sports and the other showing a variety of local ads including Mikuni sushi ads.

The hostess sat me at a table under a large light so I was able to read my book. As I was looking over the menu, she brought me a large bowl of Miso soup. When the waitress came back I ordered some gyoza and continued to explore the large menu. The menu included a variety of non-sushi items and over a page full of sushi rolls.

One unusual thing about the menu was the way the rolls were listed. Each roll had a name (like Masa 2), a list of primary ingredients in brackets and then a description. I found the list of ingredients a bit difficult to decipher because it used  a number of abbreviations. For example D.F. and avo for deep-fired and avocado.

I ordered a sashimi combo and a Masa 2 roll. After I finished the Miso, I tried the gyoza, it was lightly crispy and very tasty. Unfortunately, just as I started on the appetizer, the sashimi and the roll arrived. I would have preferred that the sushi and sashimi arrive after I had time to finish the appetizer.

The roll was very interesting. First, it was extremely large. Second, at first glance, it appeared that the roll was cut into three large pieces. When I looked closely, I saw that the large pices were each cut into four more normal sized pieces. This didn't affect the flavor but the presentation was unusual. The menu desribed the Masa 2 roll as smoked salmon, tuna, cream cheese, avocado, roe and lemon. When I took my first bite, it was perfect but there was a taste or aftertaste that I did not recognize. I had another piece but still I was confised. AsI looked at the roll closely I saw that on top of the salmon and under the roe was a wafer-thin slice of lemon. The lemon included the peel. The combination of the minute splash of lemon juice and the texture of the peel was absolutely unique.

The sashimi was a nice selection of very small pieces. It was all very fresh but not remarkable. The presentation was only average.

Mikuni surprised me, everything was good but the roll was exceptional.

Mikuni Sushi4 rice bowls