Sushizanmai

Even if the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques are the same, why does ethnic food always taste better in its home country? For example, pizza and pasta in Italy, dim sum in Hong Kong and sashimi and sushi in Japan.

Is the mind is the biggest taste bud of all? Whether it's mind over matter I don't know - what I do know is that the food served at Sushizanmai (we went to the Yurakucho branch in central Tokyo) is bloody marvelous, moreish and highly recommended.

Thanks to faultless ordering by our Tokyo-domiciled friends, Nelson and Carol, we enjoyed plate after plate of extraordinarily fresh, beautifully presented (is there any other way in Japan?) and delicious sushi and sashimi especially the melt-in-the-mouth blue fin tuna sushi, unagi, sashimi salad, deep fried squid and salmon rolls.

But there's more than great food. This unpretentious, often manic, open all-hours eatery is the Cheers Bar as a sushi joint with chefs and waiters welcoming guests and calling out specials in their own inimitable way. It never gets quiet, with customers coming and going all night, and the wait staff are friendly and funny.

Address: 2-1-3 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Closest train station: Yurakucho
Website