Sushi Mizutani, Sushi – Ginza

Top 20 Best Restaurants in Tokyo

Sushi Mizutani is named after the owner and chef Mizutani who used to train under Jiro. The restaurant is on the 9th floor in Ginza so unless you are looking for the restaurant it would not be easy to find. The restaurant is all counter seating with about 10 seats. We booked Friday night and that night dining with us were 2 Japanese brothers visiting from outside Tokyo, an elderly Japanese man who was a regular, a couple from China and a couple of English Gentlemen on holiday. The Clientele was much more international than I was expecting and the owner much more open and friendly.

We ordered a beer and then the first dish arrived. All the standard sushi was served with some notable exceptions. The starter of Uni was one of my favourites. I also loved their chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and the steamed abalone. The Tamago (egg) roll is known as one of their specialities and it was good, sweeter than I was expecting and hence I can see why it serves as the dessert. The Uni (sea urchin) sushi was also amazing. In fact, I think it is worth to go to great sushi restaurants just for the Uni, sourced from Hokkaido and served at perfect temperature.

The quality of the fish is all exceptional as you would expect from a 3 star Michelin restaurant. Mizutani’s style of sushi is very simple with the rice portion slightly smaller than usual and all sushi with a light and sophisticated taste. All the sushi are flavoured already with soy sauce and wasabi by the chef which is unusual in a sushi restaurant. This means you do not have to think about anything and can concentrate on the fish which is something Mizutani is proud of.

What makes this Sushi restaurant particularly different from Jiro is the service. Between Mizutani and Jiro there is not much difference in the quality of fish or the sushi served. Both are masters of their craft. The only difference is the seriousness in which you are served. The fish at Jiro is possibly more perfect in that you eat all fish at the absolute correct temperature. At Mizutani it is less paced which means you can take your time, eat slower, drink, relax, even if that means the fish may be sat on your plate for longer than the ideal time. We took our time, had 3 small bottles of sake and my husband chatted away with Mizutani and the other Japanese speakers. We could relax and the atmosphere was fun yet still formal.

We both loved Sushi Mizutani. The food was excellent and Mizutani was very social on the night we went also kindly offering to take a photo with us when we left, by the entrance sign. Infact my husband prefers it to Jiro for the service and ambience. Being able to enjoy the food and dine in 2hours rather then 30minutes is generally more enjoyable!

However, the dining experience can also depend on other diners in a small counter restaurant and unfortunately the night we dined there was a rich couple from China who very rude. It is great that people want to try different foods and not everyone is familiar with Sushi but asking the chef for less rice on the sushi (the chef refused, as a master sushi chef is proud of getting the correct balance of rice and fish), separating the fish from the rice, talking on the phone and entering and leaving the restaurant a couple of times is rude for any restaurant, let alone a 3 star Michelin restaurant.

I forgot and made the error of wearing perfume on the night, generally it is advisable not to wear perfume in sushi restaurants as the smell can be overpowering. Sushi has a delicate smell and wearing excessive amounts of perfume will mask that smell and make your experience less enjoyable.

For serious sushi lovers I would still recommend Jiro.

As one would expect with a 3 star Michelin restaurant, dinner is very expensive, total cost approx JPY 30,000-35,000 per person with starters, two beer and 3 small bottles of sake.  No menu, Japanese only spoken by chef.