Asahi

04/04/08

Small place, but great

by cjc24 at Citysearch

Good sushi - nothing too inventive or creative, just good standard stuff. No liquor, which can be a downside, and it is TINY. I've only been by for dinner, but never found it crowded, and they're always very prompt for phone order for pick up!

• Pros: Great food, Great price
• Cons: Nothing fancy, no liquor

06/03/07

small, excellent sushi restaurant

by hoopjump682 at Citysearch

Asahi an excellent sushi place in Brighton Center. The guy who owns it skillfully crafts all his maki, nigiri, etc right in front of you while you wait. The fish is always fresh and delicious. The menu has a great variety of consistently tasty items, without a lot of novelty rolls cluttering it up. Try the chirashi dinner: a rice bowl with a lot of different kinds of fish on top. The seating is limited but never uncomfortable. The ambience is more unassuming than most sushi places, despite how clean and orderly everything is. It's definitely worth a trip to Brighton to give it a try.

05/13/07

Secret Sushi Utopia in Brighton Center

by thirtybirds at Citysearch

My husband and I moved to Brighton Center a few years ago after having lived in different places all over Boston, and having tried sushi at all the big-name places, including Ginza, New Ginza, JP Seafood, and Jae's. We found Asahi here in Brighton Center--wedged almost invisibly between Ka Bloom and a kind of shoddy neighborhood bar--and we were ecstatic to discover that the sushi there is fabulous. It is a small but elegant establishment with only a sushi bar (no kitchen), and there is only one chef, a complete perfectionist who serves only the freshest fish, and who is so passionate about sushi that he will talk about nothing else, unless it be to discuss how to make the best sushi rice, or how best to cut or serve certain elaborate rolls. Mostly though, he is exclusively focused on the sushi itself. His near-religious discipline and devotion shine through in everything he makes, and receiving your order often feels like receiving a piece of incredible artwork or sculpture. The menu only has sushi, sashimi, maki, and combinations (and some other simple appetizer kinds of things, like miso soup, seaweed salad, and edamame), but the sushi itself is so worth coming for that you won't even think about kitchen fare. Favorite rolls are: rainbow roll, white tiger roll, tempura roll. Favorite meal: chirashi, sushi regular. Come during the lunch hours so you have more room and time to linger.

• Pros: excellent sushi, creative maki, always fresh fish and generous cuts of fish
• Cons: small establishment can get crowded at peak dinner hours (so come during lunch)

05/05/06

Dashed dreams for Sushi at Brighton Center

by thaiboo at Citysearch

The place was nice and basic - sit at the bar or at the one window table, no frills. However, I'm not happy to report that the sushi and maki rolls were mediocre at best. The fish was not super fresh, and rolls not tightly packed so they kept falling apart. The yellow tail was ok, the red snapper barely edible. My water was filled from a Britta jug, definitely a family run place. As the menu doesn't offer anything else but sushi, I would not go back there again.

• Pros: Location, family run, it seems, Simplicity
• Cons: Sushi not fresh!, Not very fresh!, An amateur outfit

11/30/04

Great sushi but can get busy

by sb_fido at Citysearch

The sushi here is fresh and always excellent. But the wait can be out of control as it's usually just one guy behind the counter so I would recomend ordering ahead or going duing the non-rush hours, before 5pm and early lunch. I had to wait an hour for a spicy tuna roll once and I was not happy. The spicy shrip tempura roll is my favorite.

• Pros: Great sushi, Very cheap

08/22/04

ridiculously long wait

by wendyham at Citysearch

You definitely should avoid this place. There are many other sushi places all over Boston with better things to offer. The food itself is not bad, but we had to wait more than 1 hours before the chef even started reviewing our orders. We got our water at least 10 minutes after we were seated, and the waiter collected our orders about 10-15 minutes after we finished making our selections. Then we had to wait more than 1 hour before our food arrived. No apologies either. Go somewhere else. Food not bad, but management totally needs restructuring, very understaffed.