Sushi Tokami

Editor's note: in March 2017 Hiroyuki Sato left to set up his own restaurant, and handed the culinary reins over to his protege Shota Oda. 

Sushi Tokami is located in the basement of a building in the Ginza. It gained a Michelin start in 2014, which it retained the following year. The relatively youthful chef Hiroyuki Sato, whose father is also a sushi chef, uses quite a lot of red vinegar (akazu) for his sushi rice. Some sushi chefs prefer very light use of vinegar in their rice and others a much stronger flavour; this is a matter of preference rather than of right and wrong. The dining room has eight seats around a wooden counter, plus a single table. The restaurant is part owned by a tuna broker and the tuna used here is stored in a beautiful antique Korean box.

We opted for a short set menu with ten pieces of sushi, as we had a large meal coming up that evening. First was a fish with no obvious English translation, a flatfish that is apparently related to a flounder. This was followed by squid sushi, which was quite tender but not in the same league as the sublime version at Sushi Saito. Next came baby snapper, then a pair of tuna sushi: first marinated akami tuna, then chutoro. Both were excellent, with silky texture, followed by very tender tiger prawn, and then Japanese barracuda. This was followed by Pacific sardine with lovely flavour. A salmon roe roll was then followed by very good sea eel (anago). The final flourish was the chef's speciality, a tuna roll with a good kick of freshly grated wasabi. The Mao was concluded by tomago (egg omelette) that in this case had been grilled, giving a crisp outside.

The bill came to ¥25,812 for two, or £70 a head, for a ten piece menu and some beer (longer menu option are available). Mr Sato speaks good English and has a friendly nature, chatting and joking with customers in both Japanese and English. Overall this was very good sushi at a fair price, and I would happily return.