By Emma Barhydt
Tsuki combines high quality ingredients at the peak of freshness with explosive flavors, creating a restaurant that’s not only a meal but an experience. Earlier this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to try some of their most popular dishes. I walked into Tsuki pretty much knowing what to expect, or so I thought. If there’s one thing Greenwich maybe has too many of, it’s sushi places. We just cannot get enough sushi in this town for some reason, and everyone has their opinions. Well, Greenwich, here’s your new favorite sushi restaurant.
I began my culinary excursion with the Maidai Appetizer; Japanese sea bream served in lemon oil and topped with fresh truffle. The Sea Bream has a mild flavor, it isn’t “fishy” at all. The lemon oil it’s served on has a great citrus flavor. Often with citrus oils you get a bitter, almost acrid aftertaste but this was just pure, delicious lemon flavor. The fish was so fresh and had a good texture. And, of course, it’s topped with shaved black truffle– enough said. My only wish for the MaiDai App is that I’d like to be able to somehow get more lemon oil on each bite.
The next appetizer I had were the Duck Rolls; served on a bed of cucumbers with a hoisin sauce. This is way better than an egg roll. The way Tuski has expertly combined sweet and savory in this dish is wonderful. It’s rich and cozy without feeling greasy or heavy while incorporating a unique blend of western european and east asian flavors. While I found the rolls on their own just slightly unbalanced, the hoisin sauce compliments the duck perfectly, giving a much fuller flavor profile to the dish and creating a perfect equilibrium. I would stay away from eating the rolls with soy sauce though, I found the combination to be too salty.
The next dish I enjoyed was the Crispy Rice (feature image); crisped rectangles of rice served atop an avocado mash and topped with one of three fish options, tuna, salmon, or yellowtail. What can I say about the Crispy Rice? I can’t shut up about the Crispy Rice, actually. This may be the single best thing I’ve ever eaten. There is a superb balance of flavors in this dish, not to mention the sheer wizardry that is the incredible balance of textures. I’ve never even seen anything like this before at another restaurant in Greenwich. I enjoyed the Salmon variety this time, which has a nice mouth tingle level of spice, I definitely wasn’t sweating. It’s also so nice because you’re still getting the sushi vibes in a format that’s new and exciting. Absolutely incredible, if you go you have to get this.
My next stop in my food adventure was an Oyster Shot; Oyster, Aki, Uni, all served in an oyster shell on a bed of salt. Now, personally, I’m not terribly fond ofeating oysters. I could probably eat 5 of these in a row. Because you’re not just getting An Oyster, but a prepared unit of oyster, aki, and uni you get a combination of different flavors and textures that I don’t know I would have thought of in my wildest dreams. Someone really looked at oyster shots and said how can I make them a hundred times better, and then they did that. They made it 100 times better. There is a beautiful citrus flavor that brings all of the flavors together, the salt levels good, and the texture is actually great. It’s the perfect fancy seafood package if you’re looking to treat yourself.
My final entree was the Sushi Combo Platter; six pieces of sushi and ten pieces of sashimi chosen by chef’s selection. So fresh. So. Fresh. It was like the fish jumped out of the water and straight onto my plate. This was a great way to round out my meal, by seeing the barebones of just what makes Tsuki so great. When you’re preparing a dish that is one single ingredient, uncooked… there’s nowhere to hide. When you have a dish that simple, you need to have the best chefs with the best techniques working with the best ingredients or it won’t work– Tsuki has the best, and it’s all on display in their Sushi Combo Platter.
In this reviewer’s opinion, Tsuki is the best sushi restaurant in the game in Greenwich right now. RUN to Tsuki to get yourself the best sushi in Greenwich immediately.
I’ll be going, myself, for lunch tomorrow. Doesn’t matter when you read this piece, I’ll be there tomorrow for lunch. See you there.
