Sushi in Allston

I wanted to like the place. Then I wanted to hate the place. In the end, I left satisfied. Fish Market is a new mid-range sushi joint located in Allston, providing pretty damn good quality sushi for a decent price. I was surprised the place wasn’t more packed when I went, but I guess it was a Wednesday night.

My buddy Omar recommended Fish Market to the internet and spoke wonders of their Crispy Spicy Tuna roll. As I walked into the nicely decorated restaurant and took my seat at the sushi bar, the waitress handed me a menu and I was a little shocked at the prices. Granted, I’ve mostly been eating at Bluefin and the sushi counter in Porter Exchange, so I’ve gotten to be a bit spoiled when it comes to price. I decided to choose the Sushi Deluxe entrée, which is 8 pieces of sushi and a spicy tuna roll. I asked the waitress if I could upgrade the spicy tuna roll to the crispy spicy tuna, and she was a bit hesitant. Eventually she asked the sushi chef, and he said he didn’t know, so she went to the back and came out saying “Sorry.” I was a bit confused. I had offered to pay extra to have the upgrade, and as far as I could tell (since I could see everything) none of the food was pre-made. How hard would it be to charge me $4 extra to get the special roll? And what about next time if I’m not in the mood for the spicy tuna roll? No where on the menu did it say no substitutions, but rather than get up and leave I stayed hoping that the food would make up for the minor inconvenience that had me stewing.

And it did in a big way. The gyoza (fried) were outstanding. And the regular spicy tuna roll was pretty good, but the Sushi itself was what really sold me. I cannot think of a better piece of salmon sushi. I honestly was blown away by the quality of every piece I ate. I took a risk in ordering the entrée as I usually just stick to the same 5-6 things, but my world was expanded into new things. The 8 pieces that came were tuna, salmon, sea bass, surf clam, yellowtail, fluke, squid and unagi. The squid was one of my favorites, coming wrapped in Japanese mint which was pretty awesome. The unagi was just the way I like it, drizzled in the sweetened soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds (something that neither Bluefin nor the sushi counter do and it always makes me sad). The fish was fresh. Again, I’ve eaten sushi all over the place and I can’t think of a better meal at a local place, low end or high, that could top the meal that I had at Fish Market. Even the new sushi chef, who came over halfway through, apologized for not making the upgrade (yet still offering no reason as to why not). To finish the meal off, the crispy fried sesame ice cream hit the spot.

So, not a perfect visit to a new restaurant, but it seems like they are still working out some kinks. No matter what issues I had with the substitutions not being made, the food really stood up for the place as a whole, and I don’t think you can find a better sushi place for the price anywhere in this city.

Fish Market
170 Brighton Ave
Allston, MA 02134