Oishii

[westside1izzy]

Went to Oishii for the first time tonight and sat at the bar. Wasn't impressed with the service or the food. Servers had little knowledge of some of the menu items and it took way too long to get the attention of the bartender, who at one point coughed right into her hands. Although not the fault of the restaurant, a regular sat at the bar and was severely intoxicated. After trying to talk to me for 10 minutes, I hurriedly finished and payed my bill. I spent too much money for what I got and will not be going back. Lastly, the drunk women commented on a new restaurant and the bartender responded that she had been and listed the reasons she didn't like it...always use caution when talking bad about someone/somewhere as this town is VERY small...What are other people's experiences? I normally go to Uni and it is spot on every time.

[Mike5966]

Had Oishii Boston last night. Agree with other posters who say it's generally very good but prohibitively expensive if you need a sushi fix often.

Meal started with an edamame custard amuse which was two spoonfuls of a creamy edamame puree with a nice refreshing flavor.

Next was 6 nigiri sushi (2 each of kampachi, baby yellowtail, and bonito). All were good but I prefer them not to come with the little garnishes on top (e.g., chives, thin slices of lemon or lime with the skin on) as I think they detract from the flavor of the fish. The bonito pieces were a little warm, but still tasty. The rice was made well. Each piece was $4-5 and the main downside is that they are kinda small. I don't know what kind of soy sauce they use but it tasted a lot better than regular old Kikkoman.

Mom had the nabeyaki udon which at $20 is overpriced in my book, especially since it is smaller than most bowls of nabeyaki at other places. Very tasty, however, with a deep broth, right amount of saltiness, and most importantly, perfectly cooked, pleasantly chewy noodles.

I had the chirashi bowl for $25 because even though I wanted the 10 piece nigiri omakase, I didn't feel like shelling out $65. So instead I got just a few pieces of a la carte nigiri, and then the chirashi. Creative presentation with two large pieces each of hamachi, maguro, and sake over the bed of rice in a wooden bowl, topped with a piece of raw ebi (about 25% bigger than standard ama ebi) and it's deep fried head on the side. Then there was a trail of ikura which tasted great (a lot less salty than any ikura I've ever had), but they seemed a little deflated... some seemed to have already exploded. Not sure why... maybe they put the eggs in water for a short period of time to get it less salty, and then by osmosis the eggs swelled to the point that some burst open. My main problem with this dish was that the waitress said there would be some toro in it, which is a big part of why I decided to order it, but there wasn't any. My mom and I were having a nice time anyway and I didn't feel like making an issue of it so I didn't.

We passed on dessert but they bring you some chocolate covered strawberries which were a nice touch. Overall, I think if I had the choice, I would go to Oga's in Natick but Natick is so dang far and Oishii Boston is only a block away from me. I would like to try Toraya in Arlington soon.

[barleywino]

I thought the quality of the fish I had at Oishii South Boston recently was below average, surprising for a place with such swanky decor, service, food presentation and super premium prices. The gen saba was dry rather than unctuously oily, the sayori lacked the fresh snap that it should have had, the salmon belly and hamachi belly were not particularly fatty. The uni was decent but all the sushi pieces were well below average in size and well above average in price. The hamachi in smoked glass was indeed smoky but the hamachi itself were scraps and not particularly pristine, as one might hope given the $20 price. hard to justify going back there unless somebody else is paying, and if I did go back, I would probably not order sushi. PS the wakatake onikoroshi ginjo sake was off as well.

[aadesmd]

Just went to the Boston location last night. Service superb, and server knew difference between Japanese uni and that imported from California, as well as giving great advice on the sake selection. Superb ingredients, but the cost is simply too high to go frequently. Only negative, other than the price, is the bargirl that sat next to us, wearing so much perfume that we terminated the meal before we were full.

I like my bartenders honest and evocative.