Osaka Sushi
1951 Oak Bay Ave.
Oak Bay, BC
(250) 590-6650

E: Oak Bay has a little secret, there’s a great place to hit for sashimi and it’s known as Osaka Sushi. While the graphic designer in me cringed at the familiarity of a papyrus-like font in their signage, I’m glad I didn’t let it deter me from walking in to try their food.

After heading to The Blethering Place for haggis earlier that night, I was still hungry. Instead, what caught my eye were the pretty waitresses …

J: On my previous trips to Oak Bay, I always passed by this cosy looking restaurant. But to actually sit down in a private booth and relax to smooth jazz while the world marches on outside, is bliss. Our servers were fast, polite and yes, attractive. I wanted for nothing while in their care.

Green tea was served while I spun my head at their extensive menu. It came in two parts and I warn you, it’s not for a potential indecisive like myself. If you can get over that hurdle, the prices are very reasonable.

E: And for what I paid, the Deluxe platter ($19.95) certainly delivered in flavour, style and presentation. The fish was immaculate. To go into detail on how each type tastes would be overkill, shooting the word count through the roof, but to summarize: I have to say this place certainly delivers in freshness for all the nine different types of fish offered. To name a few, I tasted two kinds of tuna, octopus, salmon, scallop and shrimp. I have to add that the sashimi platter was served over a bed of ice to keep all the slices fresh.

While I didn’t count nine types of fish, avacado replaced one of the selections. It was late night, near closing, when James and I arrived. But even for this fruit, they didn’t skimp. It was beautifully fresh and creamy, which will complement any of their maki rolls, had I ordered one of them.

J: They were out of smoked salmon as an ingrediant to my Victoria roll maki ($8.95). Instead it was substituted with regular salmon. But a fish is a fish unless you’re Don Knotts.

I think there were two chefs that night. Ed must’ve had the master and I was stuck with the trainee.. My Victoria roll was bland and uninteresting. I couldn’t really taste the rice vinegar. And as for my sunomono salad, the presentation was good but again I was bored with it. From my previous experience, Sushi Plus and Japanese Village provided better.

E: I wouldn’t give Sushi Plus any praise on a regular day, but after tasting what James had, the rice was missing some flavour. Mind you, after nearly gobbling up a huge ball of wasabi in the shrimp head, my taste buds needed more than just tea to clean the pallette!

J: Yes, you almost grabbed my glass of Asahi Beer in the confusion.

E: But that was good beer, especially when they brought out two chilled glasses to pour the drink in. That was a touch of class for a nicely crisp drink to end the evening with. And along with the makeral and uni nigiri, I was savouring the unique aftertastes of everything I ate all the way home.

4 Blokes out of 5