My wife and I were looking for something light this Sunday evening and decided sushi was the way to go. We tried a couple of places on the Syracuse University Hill, but they were both closed, and then remembered that our son recommended Asahi Sushi (Asahi Japanese Restaurant) on Westcott.
I saw several recent reviews that panned Asahi. But, our experience was very pleasant and the food was tastefully presented and was quite good--and, I've eaten sushi at many fine restaurants in NYC. So, I don't know what the problem was for the other patrons who found the food or service less than palatable. Perhaps they sampled sushi from the carousel and did not like that. We ordered through the chef.
The restaurant is rather spacious, although it could accommodate more people if arranged differently. We found it comfortable for us on a hot, summer evening.
An obviously new, but very cute waitress, provided menus with an extensive array of selections at very reasonable prices. There is sushi, of course, but also hot plates from the kitchen. I noticed they had seafood udon noodle soup, something I will have to return for.
The only ice tea was the Snapple brand and they did not have hot tea, something I found rather unusual for an Asian restaurant. Pepsi products were available, but we opted for an Asahi bottled beer (very good) and a Pinot Grigio (also very good).
We started the meal with miso soup, which came to the table a little tepid, but, inasmuch as this was an 85 degree day, that was OK. Often miso soup is over-salted. Asahi avoided that mistake, serving us a delightful miso broth with seaweed and tofu.
The Dragon Roll (eel with cucumber and avocado with eel sauce) was as good as any I've eaten anywhere. My wife ordered the Rock 'N Roll (crunchy tuna with avocado) and we both enjoyed that, too.
There are many other dishes available at Asahi that I would like to sample and have no hesitation about returning for a repeat performance.