Blue Fin

07/13/09

REVIEW FROM CITYSEARCH's 3BUCKBITES DICTATOR

by LingboLi at Citysearch

Blue Fin's unagi nigiri: Glistening, wrapped in a belt of seaweed, lying seductively on a snowy white bed of sushi rice. Then pop one in your mouth and ahhhh, heaven! Cherubs! Harajuku girls! So reliable. Blue Fin's unagi come generously portioned and warm, so make sure to eat them quickly for maximum pleasure. (Not like that's a real challenge.)

06/27/09

Dirty / Poor Service

by VadeSkoc at Citysearch

Dirty – not a good quality in a sushi place

I used to love going to Bluefin, but it's been going steadily downhill, and after this last time, I don't think I'll ever go again. I ordered a beer, and it came with a glass that was filthy. I poured the beer in without inspecting the glass and looked down and there were all kinds of particles floating in the glass and the sides of the glass had caked on stuff. Okay, not appetizing, but anyone can make a mistake in the washing process, so I ask the waitress for a new glass after we confirm the added "ingredients." She then proceeds to come back with another glass, which turns out to also be filthy, and makes no offer to do anything about the half of the bottle of beer that she took away the first time (maybe you could bring a fresh one?). When I point out the caked-on stuff on the second glass, she mumbles something about how where the glasses come from its dark so she couldn't see. At this point I ask her to take it away, and set about the task of eating my raw fish, thinking all the while away about the poorly lit kitchen where the knives that cut said raw fish may or may not have been cleaned. Lovely.

At the end of the meal, the waitress tells us how she totally got them to take the beer (of which I drank none) off the check. Thanks! Glad to know you're deeply concerned with doing right by your customers.

To top it all off, she stops us as we were leaving to tell us that we underpaid, but upon careful counting, we in fact did pay the correct amount (nice try, though).

Not sure I trust this place on basic hygiene any more, and the service was abysmal (surely you can produce ONE actually clean glass, after a customer complains specifically about dirty glasses).

Quality of the food is increasingly mediocre, and the prices aren't low enough warrant to potential food-borne illness. Next time, I'll pass.

• Pros: used to be really great
• Cons: not confident of cleanliness, bad service

06/03/08

Falling quality, not meeting hype/expectations

by wongfei88 at Citysearch

I have been going to Blue Fin for several years and have had many lunches and a few dinners there. Dinner is not as good a deal and has typically involved long waits and slow service. Lunch has been unpredictable for getting timely service but the wait was usually worth it. Unfortunately, the quality of sushi and service has declined since their expansion. During my last visit, the unagi (broiled eel, my favorite) was inedible. The quality of the tamago (egg omelet) and mackerel are what I typically use to judge a sushi restaurant and neither was very good. Unfortunately, my complaints fell on deaf ears and I will likely not return.

• Pros: deal for lunch, sometimes can be pretty good
• Cons: quality of sushi rice and fish variable

05/07/08

best sushi in Cambridge

by DelicateHeidi at Citysearch

I've been going there for years and still think it's the best sushi joint in the area. The fish is always super fresh and I almost always end up eating too much. I wouldn't say it's exactly cheap, but decent for good sushi. Love the expansion, I haven't had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table since.

• Pros: Fresh fish
• Cons: sometimes the servers aren't as attentive as I'd like

02/23/08

nice to live a block from here : )

by ashley001 at Citysearch

this is one of those great places to have in the neighborhood and judging by their expansion it looks like other people think so too. Something for everyone from the basic chicken teriyaki to the sushimi and other more authentic japanese dishes. I have mostly stuck with the more americanized palette. I love the sushi, the salmon teriyaki, the beef don (big bowl of spicy beef with rice) is incredible! I even love the miso soup and the side salads. Even my 1-year old loves the food and they are very accomodating to children.

• Pros: great food. good prices
• Cons: not really a con... but I don't understand what a lot of things on the menu are

05/22/07

Good sushi!

by greybeagle at Citysearch

Good value sushi combos; friendly staff. I go there a few times each month and enjoy the experience.

• Pros: put together your own sushi combo; try the 100 pieces sushi combo!

12/16/06

Inexpensive sushi and unique, authentic Japanese favorites characterize this shopping mall standout.

by Alison Bulman at Citysearch

The Scene
Inside the Porter Exchange mall sits an inconspicuous corridor of Japanese restaurants and Asian supermarkets. Locals vouch that Blue Fin outshines them all, and the line frequently stretching out the door backs up that claim. College kids and under-30 types slurp udon and chopstick vibrant arrays of sushi at the small sushi bar, and at tables inside almost bare walls. Attentive servers see that no need goes unfulfilled.

The Food
A chewy spicy beef tongue salad arrives in a sweet and garlicky, soy-derived yakiniku sauce over seaweed, iceberg lettuce and cabbage. Soft-shell crab begs for less cooking. Sushi slices are on the skimpy side, and the not-so delicate aroma of the Uni raises questions about its freshness. But rich, titillating monkfish liver medallions in lemony soy-based ponzu sauce absolve all sins. Save a little room for dessert: order one scoop each of red bean and green tea ice creams for a fruity finish.

11/20/06

Cheap, basic sushi--great deals

by hlsgirl at Citysearch

Blue Fin has a pretty standard Japanese restaurant menu--nigiri, sushi, teriyaki, noodles... However, it is definitely the best deal in Boston/Cambridge for sushi. If you order the combinations, you can get nigiri for less than $1 per piece. The sushi is of okay quality--pretty fresh but not spectacular. The restaurant is always crowded on the weekends, so be prepared to wait.

• Pros: Inexpensive
• Cons: Long waits

11/05/06

cheapest good sushi in town

by rsoenneker at Citysearch

okay - so there's great sushi, like at Ginza, Fugakyu, Oishii, etc. Blue Fin isn't really in that class. But if you're looking for good sushi, for a reasonable price, Boston can be a tough town. Blue Fin has very solid, good sushi, for among the lowest prices in Boston if you get their sets.

someone in another review said the food had changed during the expansion, and that the prices changed. the prices changed something like $2 on the $25 set, which isn't a huge deal. and the food seemed pretty much identical to me, having gone here for years.

the service isn't stellar, and it doesn't have the ambiance of the high-end sushi joints. but for good sushi for cheap, I haven't found much to even campare with Blue Fin.

• Pros: good food, great prices, lots of variety available
• Cons: ambience isn't their strongpoint, service can be slow

08/04/06

You go here because you don't have other options...

by gotbidnezz at Citysearch

We live in Porter, and have gone here a few times. The service is mediocre, they don't fill up drinks, don't seem interested in helping us, take a long time to get to your table. The selection of sushi is small, and tends toward the exotic. I'm not as adventurous as my spouse, and they don't have alot of the standards that I'm into. I've gotten the tuna before and it was really fishy tasting, and for $8 not worth it. The portions are fine, and the non-sushi menu is pretty good. We're always surprised at the size of our bill, and would probably go elsewhere if there was another place nearby.

• Pros: Close to T, near the Japanese market
• Cons: Overpriced, slow service, limited menu