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A few months ago I had a bad run in with the sushi place in the area where I live, Sai. It was a place I actually liked and the best part was that it's located near my house... On a more positive note I was happy to learn that a new sushi place just opened in Mtayleb and of course I rushed to try it out - hoping that something good is now available near by.
Miyagi is described as: "When it comes to choosing your best destination for the perfect sushi tasting, you have to make sure you’re picking a healthy, fresh, professional, and welcoming restaurant - that’s in short, all what Miyagi Sushi & Grill is about. Discover the new sushi sensation in town..." Let's see for myself.
The place's details:
- Nestled on the first floor of Moukarzel Center Mtayleb
- A black and red sushi bar welcomes you with six high chairs as you enter the square restaurant
- White tiles cover the floor
- Black and grey square wooden tables surrounded by red and black leather chairs fill the space
- Colorful designs on the walls refresh the space
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A couple of tables outside welcome the smokers
- Paper placemats cover the tables
- An army of staff working behind the bar
- A large TV behind the bar and another on the left wall display some local channels
- A large terrace lit in green serves shisha
While soothing music plays in the background, dinner starts with Chinese nuts and carrots... Let's eat.
The food:
- Crispy Salmon Salad: Salmon, shredded carrots & cucumbers, spring onions, crispy and special sauce 18,000L.L: The problem about this salad is its unappetizing color. A dark black color that erases all the ingredients' fresh colors. Even the seaweed at the bottom looks dark and dull. More so, the over use of crispy that covers the overall mix doesn't make you want to eat such a thing. When tasting the salad, all those impressions will disappear as its ingredients and sauce are tasty. The presentation has to be looked into
- Crazy Salad 11,000L.L: Crab, vegetables, tobiko, sesame seeds. A generous salad where the crab looks fresh, rich and appetizing. I liked the fact that noodles are put under and not cheap cabbage
- Rodora Dragon, crazy, salmon, tuna, shrimp, white fish, tobiko and crazy wrap 23,000L.L: A sweet mix of 10 pieces blended together with sweetness and flavors. I loved the commercial aspect of it, since eating something that sophisticated for 2,300L.L/piece is good
- Mango Dragon, shrimp tempura, mango wrap, tobiko 22,000L.L: An enjoyable plate that is adequately sweet with a warm touch of texture. Rich and easy flavor that anyone can understand. A combination of fast food and fine dining at the same time
- Salmon Skin Temaki: The salmon skin mix is way too sweet, too soft and too oily. The feeling of the warm fish and cold rice in every bite is not too pleasant. I don't recommend the salmon skin at Miyagi
- Spicy Salmon Temaki: That's a tasty Temaki. A generous and spicy filling as it should be, wrapped in a crunchy nori.
- Crispy Salmon Skin with sweet sauce and spring onions: That's not one of my favorite and the problem is that this super sweet sauce is used on all salmon skin orders. The salmon skin was too chewy, adding to that the chewiness of the rice, all combined with a sweet sauce... Not a plate I liked
- Sesame wraps: I don't think that this section is a good idea. The rolls look and taste like bagels or burger buns followed by the unpleasant battle to fight off those sesame off your teeth.
My opinion about the food:
- The rice is too soggy and slightly over cooked
- The sweet sauce is way too sweet and should be reconsidered
- Do not expect to eat great Japanese food but it's good enough for its price
- They must reconsider their salmon skin recipe
- I liked the salads and its freshness
- Sauces are everywhere especially around the Dragon pieces. Take it easy on the sauces
The pluses:
- The staff and management is welcoming and professional
- The prices are reasonable
- The freshness of the ingredients is clear
- The overall taste is acceptable
The minuses:
- The menus are a disaster: They look cheap, they are too reflective and unreadable
- There aren't enough images on the menu. How would you expect us to choose? The menu has only a few bad quality images placed here and there with no reference to the plate's name
- Although the place is colorful, it is somehow cold. Using white lights in a restaurant makes you feel like you're sitting in a restroom. The ambiance is too cold
- There are only square tables even though there is space for some round ones for large families to see each others while eating
- The menu is too crowded and too complicated. What do you need to propose that many items?
- The green plastic separators! I hate them.
- Arguile! In a sushi place? Is that acceptable?
Miyagi is one of those medium range Japanese places that can have a bright future with some improvements here and there. Japanese culture is obviously lacking.