Letter to the Editor - "Sumi's is a Sushi Jewel"

In The Source Weekly there is a letter to the editor that is titled "Sumi's is a Sushi Jewel" which you are welcome to read.

I could not disagree more with the comments on how great the sushi is. If I have never been to Sumi's and I read that comment in The Source, I would run to Sumi's immediately only to be disappointed. I've posted my review of the experience that I had at Sumi's Japanese Restaurant which sort of touches on this subject.

The quality of fish is top notch for sure. But man, that price is insane. $9.50 is not that bad for a good sushi roll but when you see the portion you get at Sumi's, you'll be sad. The roll is about 2.5 inches long when you put it back together. That's roughly half the size of a roll anywhere else. So you're talking about $20 per full size roll....the quality is good....but it's not THAT good.

I've been to Sumi's a few times now and it's ok. I like Sumi, she's great. I like their food but the price and portions are killing me. You'll drop $50 on dinner for two and leave hungry. That's not including drinks which ain't cheap either.

It is good to have a variety of Japanese restaurants to choose from and I wish there were more here. I just wouldn't sweat Sumi's as hard as the comment at the Source does.

Sumi's Japanese Restaurant
1444 NW College Way, Suite 1
Bend Oregon
http://www.sumisrestaurant.com/

Sumi's - Bend Oregon

Sumi's Japanese Restaurant

The wife and I have been dying to get over to Sumi's Japanese Restaurant which is located in the old Zucca / Mercury Diner building. Sumi used to own Kushinbo Kitchen downtown and has now opened up a more formal restaurant with metal utensils. We love Japanese food and were excited to see that there will finally be something good in that building.

We made it for lunch a couple weeks ago and got a chance to talk to Sumi about the big change from downtown to College Way. She talked about the soft opening and the pains of getting everything up and running. So if you visited early on and thought the service was lacking, give em another chance as they have been working hard to work out the kinks.

The menu items at Sumi's are pretty much the same as they were at Kushinbo's but twice as expensive. Plus now there is a make your own sushi rolls menu, sides, and appetizers. We tried the edemame (or boiled soy beans), oshitashi (spinach salad), and the agedofu (fried tofu). The appetizers were fairly small but were delicious (aside from the boiled soy beans which are never good).

We also decided on a sushi roll. You get to choose the ingredients you want from the menu. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Maybe its a good idea but I'd also prefer to have some recommended rolls on the menu that have all the tried and tested combinations. We went with some Unagi (eel) and avocado and some other stuff I can't remember.

It was good but damn if $9.50 ain't insanely expensive for six pieces, four of which were paper thin.

The wife got the Tonkatsu Donburi which was amazingly good. The Yakisoba was excellent but again, I have to mention the price. What I used to pay $7 for is now $12.95. Of course now I get to sit in a nice restaurant with great service, and drink liquor! Sumi's does have a full bar which is a huge improvement. I went for my beverage of choice for Japanese Cuisine, the Hot Sake.

Sumi's is good and as they get more and more help, its just going to get better. All in all, its great food and I will definitely go back...or at least I'll get some dishes to go.

Neat little tidbit about the new logo for Sumi's, the Hiragana reads Kushinbo...at least according to the wife...she thinks she's soooo cool.

Sumi's Japanese Restaurant
1444 NW College Way, Suite 1
Bend Oregon
http://www.sumisrestaurant.com/