Sushi Taichi in Ginza, Tokyo - a return visit
If I take into consideration a number of factors such as food, atmosphere, price, and ease of booking, Sushi Taichi might just be my favorite restaurant in Tokyo.
I'm a huge fan of Taichi Ishikawa-san's sushi and try to visit his shop at least once or twice a year. His shari is amazing; it's seasoned perfectly with akasu and salt. His neta is of very good quality, seasonal, and prepared with great skill. The shop is laid back and fun, with an intimate vibe due to the small L shaped counter. It's hard to find; down a small alley, up a flight of stairs, and through a nondescript door. The chef offers great tasting sushi at reasonable prices, and so he has build a large following of regular customers. For the most part, it is not a shop that is sought-after by the cheesy Michelin-chasing instagram foodsters, and this suits me just fine.
Below you'll find some photos taken during my last lunch at Sushi Taichi, along with some additional comments. You can read my previous writeup on Taichi here.
An important note: Chef Taichi-san requests that, if possible, non-Japanese speaking customers be accompanied by a Japanese speaker in order to avoid communication issues.
The restaurant is located in a small alley, up a narrow staircase, and through this small door.
Best way to get lunch going at Taichi? With a tasty Suntory Premium Malts!... Before switching to nihonshu, of course.
The kohada was simply superb on this visit. Good balance of sourness and umami, and so good with Taichi-san's great shari.
Delicious maguro from Oma - just look at that piece! Full of umami and with a faint hint of iron from the tuna's blood. A spectacular piece.
Fresh, perfectly marinated ikura paired with some of the best nori I've had. You can tell how crunchy the nori is just by looking at the photo.
In my opinion, one of the things Taichi-san does best is "kai" (shellfish) preparation, and this piece of hamaguri is a good example of that.
Another incredibly delicious piece that paired perfectly with the sushi-meshi: aji.
Down the small staircase and back into the alley after another superb lunch.
Sushi Taichi
6-4-13 Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo