Sarku Japan

Do you like sushi? If you don't, well, go away now. There is something wrong with you, and I hope for your sake it's a seafood allergy.

If you do like sushi, and you live in Annapolis, then you'll want to visit the newest addition to the Westfield Annapolis mall food court. Yes, the Food Court.

Sarku Japan is a sushi bar located just next to the Chik-Fil-A. It opened just a few weeks ago, and seems to be doing great business. The bar has a nice, clear appearance, with a bar space where you can sit and watch two sushi chefs prepare your meal fresh. No refrigerated or prepackaged sushi here.

The menu isn't as large as a sushi restaurant, but there's a good amount of variety regardless. Salmon, tuna, shrimp, crab, and eel are all available, along with the ubiquitous California roll. For vegetarians, seaweed salad, edamame, vegetable rolls, and avocado/cucumber rolls are all available.

If you want my recommendation, you'll get a rainbow roll, which is a California roll laid on its side and topped with several kinds of fish; a shrimp tempura roll, which is tempura-fried shrimp, cucumber and avocado wrapped in rice; and a spicy tuna roll, which is tuna and a spicy sauce in rice. You'll get a fine meal out of that for about $20.

The service is very good. You order at the register, then get a number and wait for your order to come up. On my first visit (on opening week), I would get pieces of my order at a time, rather than the whole thing in one go. That's fine if you're eating at the bar, but I didn't care for it; fortunately the staff seem to have learned to avoid that, as it hasn't happened again.

The prices are comparable with any other sushi restaurant, and generally cheaper than most. They easily beat the price of prepackaged grocery store sushi, and taste a lot better. I also haven't found anything to complain about with regards to sanitation or food quality (important when you're dealing with raw fish).

Overall I'd recommend Sarku Japan to anyone who's looking for a quick, tasty sushi meal. You won't get the fanciest of sushi, but you'll get good stuff for a good price.

--David

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