I had heard about Sushi House on my favorite radio station, 98.9 Ultra Stereo one morning. The gang on this gringo radio show have a way of making things sound good and when they described the food at this specific establishment as “great rolls of sushi that they cut up into little pieces”, I felt obligated to at least give one of the little pieces a try.

 

Sushi House has two locations: one in Plaza New York off Calle 50 and the other in Albrook. I decided to opt for the Calle 50 option as it’s closer to my work.

The décor is pretty simple, and to be honest I wouldn’t ask for much more. The tables and chairs are basic, the paint on the walls is unadorned except for a few red accents, and the sushi guys behind the counters smile at you when you walk in.

The menu is decidedly inexpensive. Rolls range from about $3 to $6 which, if I’m not mistaken, is the cheapest stuff you’ll find in the City. Surprising part is they produce plates that are as good if not better than the glitzy Sushi Itto which is overpriced and cocky. Sushi House does delivery service as well, via one of those small motorbikes that you almost hit driving in today. It’s appropriate to give the delivery man a tip; perhaps a dollar or two.

They offer the basics of sushi with the expected bizarro rolls that we’ve become accustomed to seeing on Japanese menus in the Western Hemisphere. Stuff like Love Roll and Mexican Roll and Popeye Roll are, for some reason, not what I envisioned the sushi masters of Asia hanging pictures of on their wall. But they do taste good.

Go for anything crunchy (pronounced in Spanish as “crunchy”) as the warm rice provides a nice contrast with the fried flakes (I think they bread their stuff in Japanese breadcrumbs). The drinks are inexpensive, the edamame (which is usually also outrageously priced) is only like two bucks. The wait staff is pleasant—a total surprise in Panama.

They actually keep your glass filled with water. They smile when you say something tastes good. And they apologize when something goes wrong: in the last episode, they forgot one roll we had ordered and offered a complimentary MTV Cribs Roll to compensate while we waited. Fantastic!

Sushi House isn’t much in terms of fine dining, but it does fill the void I had been experiencing in Panama for good sushi at a reasonable price. There’s nothing like ordering a boat of sushi on a hungover Sunday morning. And now, we have our muse.

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Filed under: Reviews on February 29th, 2008