Orlando, FL — Tokyo Sushi

Tokyo Sushi 8111 Vineland Ave Orlando, FL

407.465.1188 map

This week, I have been working in Orlando, Florida in the area around Disney World. Today at lunch I felt like sushi, so I used the GPS in the car and looked for the nearest Japanese restaurant. The nearest restaurant was Tokyo Sushi. Tokyo Sushi is a small sushi bar located in the corner of an outdoor mall. The GPS took me to the mall but I did not initially see the restaurant. I drove around the back and was getting ready to look for another place to eat when I saw Tokyo Sushi.

Tokyo Sushi is a small sushi restaurant and several tables. There is a tiny sushi bar with with about 4 spots. The restaurant is nicely decorated in light wood. Right away I noticed that there were small whiteboards with a variety of specials — nice touch.

I ordered a sashimi combo and a Philadelphia roll. With the combo I could have Miso soup or salad and I chose the salad. The salad was very small and served in a steep-sided bowl. The salad came with a sweet ginger dressing. Normally, I do not like much dressing on my salad but in this case the lettuce was crisp and fresh and I really enjoyed it.

One strange thing was that rather than serve ginger and wasabi on the plate, they were on the table in small condiment containers. My sashimi combo consisted of eight pieces of fish. Two salmon, two tuna, two red snapper and two white tuna. Unusually, the fish was served in rather thick chunks but it was incredibly fresh. The pieces were firm and tasty. I haven't had sushi or sashimi in a couple of weeks and I had forgotten just how much I missed it. My Philadelphia roll was also very good. It had salmon, scallions cream cheese and my favorite — avocado. The roll was well proportioned and tasted great. Strangely, the presentation at Tokyo was rather unremarkable.

The service was good. There was one funny incident. I had to get back to work so I asked my Asian waitress for the check. Apparently she did not understand me because she looked puzzled. A few moments later, she came back with a dish of ketchup. I signaled with my credit card and the waitress brought back the check and we both had a good laugh.

Excellent quality and selection, so-so presentation, I will be back..

Tokyo Sushi 4 rice bowls

Delray Beach, FL — Kyoto Sushi Sake Lounge

Kyoto Sushi Sake Lounge 25 NE 2nd Avenue, Suite 208 Delray Beach, FL

(561) 330-2275 website map

When I searched the web for reviews of Florida Gold Coast sushi restaurants, Kyoto was near the top of all the lists. It is located just off Atlantic Avenue in the resort town of Delray Beach. There is a little plaza out front and Kyoto has several tables outside. The night I went there was some sort of city festival and live music.

This is a place to see and bee seen. The crowd is young and affluent. The music is pumped out loud and there is always a steady beat. Above the sushi bar there are two TVs so I could watch the Red Sox in over the Yankees in the ALCS Game 7. the middle TV plays a live feed of the senior sushi chef making rolls.

It was fascinating to see the artistic creations he managed to build. I was intrigued by the exotic combinations he used.

Unfortunately for all the hype and trendiness, Kyoto did not live up to its reputation. I sat at a table and the sevice was only fair. My waiter got my order wrong and he did not know the current availability of items. I ordered live scallops and giant clam. It took the waiter two trips to inform me that they were out of both. The nigiri was good quality. Compared to the exotic rolls which were truly works of art, the rather pedestrian salmon and cream cheese roll I ordered was mediocre. It was made by the second tier chef and it showed.

I don't mean to be overly critical — this is the sort of sushi bar I visit most often. If Kyoto were in Illinois or Oklahoma, I would stop on every trip. But located where you can smell the saltwater and two blocks from the excellent Yama — Kyoto is only average.

Kyoto Sushi Sake Lounge: 3 rice bowls

Delray Beach, FL — Yama Japanese Restaurant

Yama Japanaese Restaurant 44 E Atlantic Avenue Delray Beach, FL

(561) 266-9929 map

Yama Japanese Restaurant is located in a tony section of Delray Beach, Florida. It is surrounded by shops and restaurants. I was fortunate to find the Yama. I was at my hotel late. After swimming laps in the hotel pool and watching the end of Law & Order I left the hotel at 9:30 pm. I programmed the GPS to find the nearest Japanese restaurant — the GPS found Yama. Yama is open until 10:30 pm.

Yama is a full-service restaurant with a complete menu. I wanted something simple so I ordered Miso soup, salad and sashimi a-la-carte. I had tuna, bluefin tuna, salmon and surf clam. The sashimi presentation was absolutely gorgeous. The attention paid to my modest order was well beyond what I normally see in sushi restaurants. The clam was arranged flower like and was almost too good looking to eat.

The fish was fresh and firm. I ordered a tuna and avocado roll to go along with the sashimi. The roll unfortunately was not quite as perfect as the sashimi. The soup was good but the salad had way too much dressing. The lettuce was practically swimming in the orange dressing.

I really enjoyed Yama — it will be one of my regular stops.

Yama Japanese Restaurant: 4 rice bowls

Boca Raton, FL — Sushi of Boca

Sushi of Boca 2621 North Federal Highway Boca Raton, FL

(561) 417-5713 map

Sushi of Boca is a strip mall sushi bar and Thai restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida. I stopped by for lunch and had the sashimi speacial and a Japanese Bagel Roll. Now I know that the a Bagel Roll or Philadelphia Roll is not authentic Japanese Sushi. It is salmon and cream cheese often with avocado in a sushi roll.

The sashimi was very frish and not at all fishy smelling. The tuna was firm and a consistent red color. The sashimi and sushi were nicely presented in a porcelean boat.

The portions were quite large. The sushi roll was especially large with a big chunk of fish rolled up inside. Perhaps it is just me but I really like to have a sushi roll that is consistent from the first piece to the last. Of course the end pieces are often finished differently then the rest for aesthetic reasons.

Sushi of Boca is the kind of place I eat at if I am in the neighborhood.

Sushi of Boca: 3 rice bowls