I might risk getting ripped apart by the die hard Sushi Dai fans, but I really do not think it's worth the hype and certainly not worth planning your day around. No hate to the Sushi Dai team, they were so friendly and fun, but I wish I had seen someone talk honestly about this when I was planning my itinerary.
For background, we live in NYC and have had several sushi omakase experiences at different price points, anywhere from 60-350 USD. I am also someone who will always clear my plate, never sends a plate back to the kitchen, and a huge people pleaser who will tell the waiter I loved a meal I actually hated so as not to be rude lol.
We originally planned to get up at 4AM to get on line for Sushi Dai, but due to a combination of brutal jet lag and rainy season coming early, we didn't get to Toyosu until 7am. There were still a few openings left, so we snagged a mid-morning spot and with time to kill we got breakfast at the corner diner-style restaurant (forgot the name but really good food and kind staff) then decided to hit up Tsujiki Fish Market since by that time we had already missed the tuna auction at Toyosu. This is my one regret, going to SEE Tsukiji without eating anything in order to save our appetite for an omakase meal we thought was going to "redefine sushi" like everyone claimed.
Fast forward to our meal: we opened with miso soup with white fish in it, which was yum but for some reason they didn't strain out the bones so we were literally picking dozens of tiny fish bones out of our mouths while trying to eat it. I assumed it was a traditional serving style and was still fully optimistic if a little confused. Even if the point was just to sip the broth, why serve it with so many little bones?
Our next bite was fatty tuna, a crowd pleaser. It was delicious and fresh, but mine did have a tough sinewy area that I couldn't really chew through. From there it kept getting worse. Every piece of fish they served was huge, the size of my hand, but also extremely tough. My understanding is that sushi chefs are experts in cutting and preparing a fish in a way to optimize texture, so this was insanely confusing. At one point they served a big boiled abalone that was so tough and rubbery, and the liver was so pungent that it just tasted dirty (to be fair I'm not a fan of offal but that doesn't explain the texture). I was using the tea they served to force myself to swallow the chunks. They followed that with horse mackerel and then swordfish, each piece huge and tougher than the last. I'm talking full MINUTES of chewing and it seemed endless. I was just so aware of how fleshy the texture was in my mouth and the more I chewed the more fishy the flavor got. At this point I was actively grimacing and trying not to gag, to the point where the chef noticed and asked if I'm okay. I just smiled and gave a big thumbs up but like… you know it's bad when I can't even hide my expression.
The pieces were also sloppily constructed. Most fell apart when you picked them up even after immediately being served and when they served rolls the plate had stray rice grains everywhere. Costco sushi is rolled more neatly.
The only high point of the meal was the black mouth, super tender and delicious and a very cool opportunity to eat a deep sea fish. If you ever see it on a menu, definitely give it a try!
TL;DR – Sushi Dai ended up being the worst omakase I've ever had from a taste and texture perspective. I cannot fathom why they're as popular as they are and I wish I didn't fall for the hype. If all you care about is portion size and freshness, it's worth a try but I don't recommend forcing it into your schedule or (god forbid) skipping over things to prioritize it.
by SevereTell