Bond Street recs...

[AnnVil]

Having dinner at Bond Street tonight -- any recommedations?

[Brooke]

Try their specials. Tres bien. But everything's good there. Best sushi I've ever eaten.

[cab]

I have to disagree about the quality of the sushi at Bond Street. For the high prices the pieces were tiny and not all that great. I think Bond Street is all about being in the loungy atmosphere with a bunch of great looking people and it doesn't really matter what you order. My friend had a fried shrimp roll that was tasty and great with a drink, that is about all you can expect from Bond street, in my opinion.

[KenOnDean]

cab:

I read chowhound almost everyday, sometimes I don't agree with a post and I chalk it up to people's tastes being different - BUT - what you have written about Bond St. is not only ridiculous and unfounded but it's just not true.

First off, their Sushi chef Hiroshi Nakahara is one of the top Sushi Chefs in the United States - his fish is flown in from around the world at a very high expense. Not only are the products extremely fresh, but many of the flavor combinations are suprisingly inventive. There tasting menu is one of the finest you'll find anywhere, joining traditional and neuveau Japanese cuisine.

It is expensive, I'll give you that - but this is a special restaurant (most people don't gripe about the prices at Daniel, or Laberinadin). Believe me, if the food didn't warrant the prices they would have gone out of buisness a while ago.

And yes, it has a hip, trendy decour - I don't think this has anything to do with the food, and I would assume that in the owners minds it plays a distant second to the cuisine. It is an amazing place to unwind an try some great sushi (maybe exploring more than a shrimp roll would serve for a better dining experience next time).

[AnnVil]

Price isn't much of an issue for tonight's dinner -- it's being expensed -- I'm more concerned with ordering what's regarded as being particularly good and avoiding what's thought of as being nothing special... Tks.

[cab]

My friend had the shrimp roll. I tried pieces of tuna, eel, and a yellowtail scallion roll. I didn't think the sushi was bad, I just didn't think it was anything special. My experience might have been marred by the extremely loud drunk guy who kept knocking into me at the sushi bar. I don't mind trendy, but if I'm going to pay a lot of money for sushi (which I don't mind doing) I guess I prefer a more serene atmoshpere--just a personal preference.

[Lee K]

As you said, I think you need to "chalk it up to people's tastes being different"

I tend to agree with "cab" that Bond St. has so-so sushi. A couple things I've had are imaginative, but the restaurant, on balance, seems to me to be more focused on the decor and atmosphere than the food. I'm not saying anything was bad (or even just so-so), but nothing came close to justifying the cost (except perhaps the waitress, who was stunning and wearing next to nothing :-)

That said, I'd be happy to go if someone else wanted to take me and was paying. I just wouldn't reccomend it.

I feel that the lounge downstairs, on the other hand, is an excellent place to meet for a martini and some sushi rolls.

[cab]

mea culpa, I never made it beyond the downstairs lounge, so I shouldn't have been commenting on the restaurant!

[daniel]

I dont think you can chalk it up to personal taste.. I think that it can be 100 percent proven the high grade and quality fish used at Bond St.. And in terms of your waitress wearing next to nothing, i will again have to disagree because the waitstaff wears uniforms..
Daniel

[halo]

i think Bond St.'s sushi has gone way downhill in the past 2 years. i used to love going there for sushi at 1am but the past 3 times i've been it was horrible. a notch below yama. atmospheres below yasuda, kuruma, or even gari/sushi seki. when i go for sushi i really dont care for atmosphere, decor or even company. great fish is all i care about and Bond St doesn't provide...

[AnnVil]

Well, have to agree that Bond St was definitely not as fantastic as I was hoping... certainly a rung lower than Seki, that's for sure. Started out with the tuna/foie gras appetizer which was very nice although WAY more than enough to split between two. We split a number of rolls (spicy tuna.. i know, i know..., sesame shrimp, sundried tomato, etc...) the best part of which being the "spicy" dipping sauce. Again, any of those rolls was tasty for a piece or two, but way too heavy otherwise. The curry on the shrimp roll was definitely interesting, I'll admit. The we had much sashimi/sushi the best of which being the live eel. Even this, though, wasn't any more special than eel I've had elsewhere (esp at Yasuda). The space itself, though, was pretty fun and the martinis were exceptional, especially the dry litchi.