143A, Jawatte Road, Thimbirigasyaya.
Open until 10:30 PM
Sushi Kai is one of the more reliable options for sushi. Their Okonomiyaki is fantastic.
Okay everyone, here is the re-review of Sushi Kai y'all have been requesting for since our last review. I won't spoil too much, but I will say that within this review you can expect to read about: a lot of bonito flakes, weird stares, haughty observations and a brilliant Crispy Red. What does all this mean?
Read on, to find out!
I have a confession. I'm highly addicted to sushi. It's getting out of control. Soon, I might have wasabi and soy sauce running through my veins and my internal organs might turn into cuts of akami and salmon. It's bad.
My lust for sushi has resulted in me turning to establishments of all sorts for relief. I used to travel to and from China quite frequently and I hogged the local sushi parlour (Good Governance Sushi) in the city I was in so much, that they decided to give me a loyalty card.
But enough about my sad obsession with seafood. Let's dig in.
First up is a humble portion of Cucumber Hoso Maki. For Rs. 350 you get a portion of six, well-prepared rolls. The cut here is clean, and the sushi-rice and cucumber stuffing are tightly packed into neat rolls encased in nori.
The rice is fresh, without too much vinegar and produces a clean, refreshing flavour with the cucumber. A well balanced, and light starter.
For a bit of slurp and slippery action, we opted for the Vegetarian Ramen. You get quite a large, heavy bowl for Rs. 550, which we thought was a helluva deal.
It's laden heavily with julienned carrot, scallions, looooots of tiny tofu cubes, deliciously chunky shiitake mushrooms, and is garnished with scallions. The noodles are fresh and well prepared. I'm not sure if they're imported or of local quality, but they're good.
As for the broth, it had a heavy miso overnote, but also tasted of good vegetable stock. A hearty bowl that'll fill you right up.
Oh god, the Okonomiyaki (Rs. 720 for the veg option). This was an absolute treat.
Okonomiyaki is a type of Japanese pancake that's stacked with a load of astringent ingredients and sauces. The result is a magnificent umami blast of piquancy in your mouth. Ugh, I'm drooling as I am typing this.
Anyways, the execution was remarkably well done as it held its structure well instead of falling apart like a sloppy mess.
The vegetables (cabbage, carrots, scallions etc) give it a wonderful crunch while the egg layer on top balances it out with a wonderfully gooey texture. Lashings of soy glaze and kewpie further add to this flavour bomb.
This dish is typically served with a garnish of bonito flakes, but since my dinner partner is vegetarian, we opted for one without. However, our first server was incredibly nice and offered to let us have the flakes in a separate bowl so I could indulge. What we got was a small bowl practically spilling over with large bonito flakes. This stuff packs quite the punch and amps up the umami flavour profile, so make sure you try it out.
Look at this beauty. It's making me cry. This here is the Crispy Red- Sushi Kai's pièce de résistance, probably. It's a dish comprised of 6 California rolls containing salmon and some other mix I was too busy eating to remember.
It comes topped with tempura batter, and a fiery sriracha-mayo that only kicks in once your tongue is done registering everything else.
Again, the presentation was great. Each roll was neat in its craftsmanship and the overall design was executed neat and clean. Oh, it costs Rs. 900 and worth it.
They've got a wide selection of drinks, but we opted for two of the fruitier infusions.
The Lime and Sprite drink (Rs. 400) is rather clear in terms of appearance but is a highly refreshing albeit simple concoction. It's a good choice if you'd like a palate cleanser in between every bite.
The Kai Glass (Rs. 400) is Sushi Kai's signature drink, and is a heady concoction of lemongrass and ginger. Now, these are two flavours I absolutely love. However, the drink was a bit underwhelming on account of its achingly sweet aftertaste. It was a shock to my poor taste buds and lacked any tart zap that one might expect from a combination such as this. Avoid if you're not a sweet tooth.
Now this is where things get a bit rocky. Service-wise, the staff are alright. Our night started off by us being tended to by a really friendly and professional member of their staff. But he disappeared and someone else took over.
This dude made me an uncomfortable on account of his slow responses, excessive staring and obvious attitude problem. No thanks.
Their other staff members can get a bit annoying as well. I wanted to have a picture taken and I could very well see another waiter stop and stare whilst hiding on the staircase to the top. It's not like he wanted a quick look, he very clearly stood there for a duration of about two minutes until I felt awkward enough to get back to my seat. It didn't occur to him that I could see his reflection on the window.... Ugh.
On our last review, Bhagya stated that the place had the same ambience as the Kami Maki outlet that inhabited the premises before this. It hasn't changed one bit. It's small but cosy and charming nevertheless. Plus, we especially enjoyed the street view.
Sushi Kai has sufficiently upped their food game, and is now on my list of favourites. Perhaps don't wear shorts when you go here, and definitely try the Okonomiyaki.
Address
143A, Jawatte Road, Thimbirigasyaya.
Directions
Sushi Kai is at the Jawatte Road junction in Thimibirigayaya, right opposite the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Contacts
Report InaccuracyOpen until 10:30 PM
Cuisine
Price Range
Dish Types
Ratings Breakdown
The sushi bar at the Cinnamon Lakeside lobby is actually…
A restaurant of sorts at the Cargills in CCC.
5/5
We love Sushi Kai!!! We eat here every two weeks because it is within walking distance from our house. The crispy red is so delicious. We love love love their food, and it is reasonably priced as well.
5/5
Just had lunch at Sushi Kai and I don't know what your review is on about - maybe you need to re-visit the place. The Crispy Red was delicious - so sooo good and we ordered the Prawn Donburi and Chicken Katsu Don. Huge portions; I must have had around 15 juicy prawns in mine while my husband's Chicken Katsu was piled high with crispy crumbed chicken fillets. We couldn't finish our meals as the portions were so huge. Staff were very friendly and the service was fast. I will definitely recommend this place and visit again
5/5
I eat from this place at least 2-3 times a week and I love the food. The only thing you can complain about is the Parking and maybe the service when they get very busy. The prices are reasonable and definitely cheaper than most other places around. If you're looking for a fancy dining experience and feel like this place is not good enough you could always pay more and go to a place like Ginza, Yumi or Nihonbashi. I feel like the team at Yamu need to do more homework before they review a place. Overall I would definitely go back to this place and recommend it to others…
Well I've eaten here several times and found it better than kami maki. Not amazing by any means but still pretty good.
Yamu your opinions are biased and not at all accurate! Better up the game mate because people can judge for themselves and your reviews are becoming pretty redundant
I've been to Sushi Kai a couple of times and really enjoyed the food, ambience and service! Not sure why you guys seem to have had such a bad experience and I hope this review doesn't put off people from experiencing the great food at Sushi Kai.
We are terribly sorry for the dissapointing experience you've had at Sushi Kai. Unfortunately you have dropped by when our sushi chef Susantha had come down with the flu. Nevertheless we will go ahead and improve on our flavors and presentation.
Thank you for the review. Hope to see you soon for better feed back.
Sushi Kai Management
(We do have 4 vehicle parking ,two buildings away towards Baseline)
I've eaten here a couple of times and the food is pretty good! The Katsu Curry and Ramen is spot on. It's been always nearly full whenever I've gone & I don't see a problem with having your conversation being overheard…
Cosy place and comfort food at it's best :)
Seems like you guys have gone on a bad day for theirs cos everytime we go the food is good and the sushi too.
It's more affordable than other high end sushi joints. Portions are generous and the fusion aspect adds more flavor.
You can't really expect them to change much on the building considering the fact of it's size.
Don't depend on YAMU too much guys. Experience it for your self.
Try the tempura prawn! It's our favorite.
The food here is dismal. It's a pity that they try and pass it off as the old place- When I was there the cook passed it off as a branch of the old place Kami Maki, which on further research I found was totally false. They dont take constructive criticism well either. On the whole- don't waste your time or money.
I've been a reader of Yamu almost from the inception, that is when you guys were a free mag on counters. Really happy at how far you've come but I have one point I wish to bring up.
Your reviews of late seem to be biased towards a few of your favourite outlets and you seem to promote those to your readers.
This is wrong. In my view the idea of a site like yours should be to give your expert (?) views on an outlet under review and then let the customers have an open forum to discuss the pros and cons based on their experiences.
When one of your staff or reviewers visits and outlet the person in question obviously goes with a set of food preferences which are unique to each individual and what he/she can do is to give a balanced opinion on that outlet based on personal experience.
One should never do comparisons of competing outlets by name as it demeans the establishment and lays to waste the laws of fair play.
Have to agree with YAMU here. The place is a disaster and a copycat attempt gone wrong. Everything from the rusty tasting local soya sauce they use to the far from fresh seafood they serve sushi kai is a no no for me. They have tried to copy the kami maki (which was previously at the location) menu but have managed to royally bungle up every dish. Lets be honest, can anyone really have a look at the place, its exterior look, interior decor and its menu and then even TRY to justify that its not a cheap copycat/wannabe? Really?
They use kikoman soy sauce for your information if you actually knew the real taste of it you would know. . Kami maki is doing worse now , compare their Facebook reviews. .
Was definitely local cheap soy sauce last time i tried. And fyi this is not a discussion about how well or badly kami maki is doing - to be honest, I don't really care what they do. You are obviously well informed and partial to the copycat restaurant. My point here - as is the point of the Yamu review is that its so similar to the old place to the extent where they haven't even rearranged the furniture and anyone passing by would no doubt mistake it. Yamu also thinks the food is crap. I do as well. Personal opinion. If you think its good food, then please go ahead and enjoy.
I don't see whats wrong in opening a restaurant in a place that a restaurant previously existed, Just because they have fusion food doesn't necessarily make them a copy cat. It gives us customers more places to try out, however my experience with Sushi Kai has been good. The food is good and flavorful, The fusion twist has been brought up in a nice manner and overall presentation is great. I do not visit here on a regular basis however during my visits the food has been nothing short of amazing. However i must point out the new is very confusing, took me a while to figure out what i have on a regular basis, regardless this was attended well by the waiters. Thanks for a great fusion experience .
I really enjoyed going to Sushi Kai. Now they have also a new place 15 meters to the right, with bigger tables. since i am fairly big this is really welcome. The menu is bigger and nicer . Only looking at it made me more hungry. I'll go back any time.
Hey,
Sorry Yamu
I can't agree with your comments at all
We loved their food (we had kai chicken salad, ramen noodles and the dumplings)
Agree with parking issue and the space, but normally it is not very crowded like junk food joints,so personally we really enjoyed their food
Service was excellent,staff was friendly
Try their ginger and lemon grass drink as well
It's better if you all can be more fair when commenting on these places
After all, it always varies depending on your personal preferences, right?
So, may be things that you have highlighted will not really matter for others when it's comes food
This is a must go as per to my view
We recently went to Sushi Kai for the first time, for a quick bite. When we entered we got a warm greeting and we were asked to pick a seat downstairs as upstairs was full.
We mentioned that we have only 45 minutes to dine and asked whether they can deliver fast and they did! :)
The Crispy Red Maki Rolls are to die for! They was just perfect… The noodle and the rice were average.
The must have drink is the Kai Glass! It's ginger and lemon grass; my husband got rid of the slight cold soon after he had it!
Very reasonable prices and the quality of the food and service is also good.
They can be a bit more professional by not having all the staff at the reception area.
Definitely going there again!
I think "Yamu" is deliberately trying to lower the quality of Sushi Kai. Matter in fact I feels like they have some personal issues with Sushi Kai, I lived in Japan for long time and I grew taste for sushi. After I started living in SL I went many sushi places in Colombo and I don't like any of those. Finally I went to Sushi Kai, after the first meal I realized this is the best place for sushi in SL, so now I'm kinda addicted to Sushi kai
>be yamu
>needs to convey 'strong' to the reader
>inserts 'astringent' instead
>tfw i google astringent and learn that it's a chemical with shrinks body tissue
their vernacular is meant for those with high IQ clearly .
Hiya genius, if you'd actually read the second definition, it means 'sharp or severe in manner or style.'
I'd say more but I'm too busy LOLing at that bit about IQ :p
I was rather witty about it because something which is astringent makes your mouth dry and is deemed to be an undesirable sensation. It is also more of a mouth feel than an actual taste. Read it before so I thought I'd point it out without a bit of humor. Not all synonyms are created equal :D
https://www.thespruceeats.com/definition-of-astringency-765670 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4064959/
5/5
Erika Warren
We love Sushi Kai!!! We eat here every two weeks because it is within walking distance from our house. The crispy red is so delicious. We love love love their food, and it is reasonably priced as well.
5/5
Dinu Horadugoda
Great food
5/5
Evey
Please review again. I constantly go here. Staff seems to be a bit distracted. But the food is awesome.