March, 2008

Rating : 9 out of 10

Tariff :  Dinner for 5

• gyoza
• sushi orders for 4 (7)
• 1 green tea
• 2 sparkling juices
• tip
• $68

Atmosphere

Sushiholic has an exciting, fresh decor. Instead of more traditional Japanese rice paper screens and such, the dark red walls on one side are lined with dark metal staffs of grain curving gracefully away from the wall. There is a bold design of large bamboo stalks reaching from floor to ceiling near the entrance. The colors and sushi bar area are decidedly modern. One design flaw I noted (because it was chilly the evening we were there) is that the doors allow the wind to blow in on diners seated anywhere near the front.

Service

The two times we ate at Sushiholic -- once for lunch and once for dinner -- we had pleasant, helpful service. There was a slight language barrier and one of our waitresses was clearly brand new, but both were very nice. We didn't sit at the sushi bar, so I can't say how the service was there, although we did not have to wait long for our meal.

Food

The menu is large and varied--it has a section with full color photos of the specialty rolls, very helpful for no experts! We only ate gyoza (Japanese style pot stickers with pork) and sushi, however there is something for everyone with salads, hot noodle and cold noodle dishes, curry, donburi, teriyaki, tempura, katsu, sukiyaki, and sashimi. For lunches the best plan is to try one of the specials or combos as these come with miso soup, salad, and rice. Back to dinner. My daughter, a vegetarian, was happy to see a section of no less than 15 rolls she could choose from. She tried the avocado roll, the kappa (cucumber) roll, and the shitake mushroom roll. Some we tried with the multigrain rice--kind of purplish and with a bit more flavor than white rice. My husband had the salmon skin roll. It had the nice crunchy texture that makes the roll interesting, but the taste was too strong for me. He also had the unagi -- just two large pieces of smoked eel draped artfully over the rice--and this was buttery and good. I had the kani salad roll (crab, cucumber, green onion, & mayo), which we all liked. The hit, in my opinion, was the Chef Special Dragon Roll--large and beautiful--this roll contains shrimp tempura and cucumber wrapped with eel, shrimp, crab, and tobiko. I should mention that all the rolls were arranged attractively on one large plate.

Dessert

None of us had room for dessert, having shared and tasted just about everything we'd ordered between us! So we chatted some more while we sipped our tea and finished our drinks. The freshness of the food, friendly service, and modern design of this most recent Novato sushi restaurant will undoubtedly win over new customers.(Photos below are from several different meals at Sushiholic.)

Chef Special Dragon Roll

Mixed Tempura, California Roll, & Salad

Unagi & California Roll

Salad with Tofu

Sushiholic
Vintage Oaks Shopping Center
112-C Vintage Way
Novato, CA 94945
(415) 898-8500