Blue Ribbon Sushi

07/12/09

Great

by nycCountess

Love this place. Have been eating at BR Sushi for over 10 years. You must try the Green Tea creme brulee. The cold boxed saki. yum! The sushi FRESH!

• Pros: Sushi and Saki
• Cons: pricey

07/06/09

Delicious and super fresh

by lj33146

I had heard such great reviews about Blue Ribbon Sushi that I decided I needed to check it out for myself. It most certainly lives up to all of its hype. The fish is super fresh and delicious. I would 100 % recommend Blue Ribbon Sushi!

• Pros: Some of the freshest sushi in all of new york
• Cons: There can be a long wait

09/04/08

Bad customer service

by CoyOctober

I've been to many sushi places and blue ribbon did not live up to the hype. This small cozy sushi hut doesn't take reservations (which, in NYC I hear is a sign that the restaurant is really good). The wait on a Tuesday night for 2 people was about 20 minutes. The waiter tried to be really helpful but it didn't help when he forgot to serve our appetizers. Our main course arrived and when asked about the appetizers the waiter apologized and sent them after we were done with our dinner. (no charge of course, but I'd like to have my dumplings before the sushi, not when I'm getting ready to eat desert). The sushi was good, the rolls were nothing special. The eel was fresh and so was the shrimp, but again- nothing special. I've had sushi that tastes exactly the same way in other restaurants and I don't think I would make a special trip out to Blue Ribbon again. not worth the wait, or the money for that matter.

06/26/08

Hi, We're Frauds.

by chiway

Blue Ribbon Sushi successfully appeals to the commonly inept sushi palette of American diners. It caters to unrefined tastes with menu items such as their insulting 21 dollar Blue Ribbon lobster roll. The thoughtlessly mundane and bland combination of rice, seaweed, lobster, caviar, and shiso is one where the whole is, at best, only equal to the sum of its parts. Most offensive is their failure to offer proper sushi bar service (piece by piece). It must be noted, however, the fish is of the finest quality, but that only makes it that much more heartbreaking when an avid sushi eater can't get served omakase directly from the chef, but instead, only through the quality and enjoyment mitigating middle-man, the waiter. Sushi cooking ability of the chefs (by this I mean how the rice is seasoned and composed and how fish is cut) is above average, but nothing memorable. Blue Ribbon tries to get away with its lack of sushi knowledge by buying only top-quality fish but fails to present a product whose potential is maximized. If you want to spend $100/person for sushi, go sit at the sushi bar of Yasuda (traditional), Gari (innovative), or Jewel Bako (in-between).

• Pros: top-quality fish, decent cooking
• Cons: no piece by piece service, high prices

05/09/08

good no more

by dassmarschett

I completely agree with some other previous reviewers' opinion. Blue Ribbon's food is undoubtedly good; Through the years, the quality hasn't changed much, but the portion definitely has. 2 years ago Omakase was 50 per person and you get an extravagant and exquisite selection of sashimi and nigiri of lobster, caviar, toro, etc; last time I went there, I had to confirm with the waitress, ' is there more coming?' because the portion has decreased to barely enough for an appetizer. There is nothing wrong with raising the price of their food as the ingredient get more and more expensive, but to sacrifice portion for that reason is just off-putting. I have given up on the restaurant ever since. Customers who ordered omakase (tasting menu) don't care so much about how much they spend, but how well they get fed. It's a shame how good restaurants eventually end up becoming rip-offs.

• Pros: food
• Cons: portion

12/27/07

Pass on this for infinitely better sushi anywhere else

by stevenmsargent

Over-priced, rude wait-staff, just not worth it. Forget that everyone is practically sitting on top of everyone else, the place smells of bad fish. A hallmark of bad sushi. If you can afford it, I highly recommend Sushi Yasuda (best in the city). If not, any one of a million places will give you a better experience. As for this place, skip it.

• Pros: None really
• Cons: Food, Price, Quality

12/09/07

YUM , amazing sushi!

by vavi

We got some recommendation and decided to give this place a try, there is no sign outside but I noticed the chef's hard at work on the first level of the building. - every dish was incredible, from the soup , amazing fresh sushi and a lovely romantic spot for dinner. I cant wait to go back.

• Pros: fantastic food, professional service and romantic
• Cons: None

07/02/07

Chintzy portions

by dsavitt

The sushi here is perfectly good, but for $5 a piece, either the slices of fish should be larger, or there should be no pretense that this is a moderately priced restaurant (even for NYC). We easily spent more than $40 per person (not including alcohol) and were still hungry. I'm astonished that this restaurant is categorized as $$$ rather than $$$$.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Portion size

05/31/07

Great Sushi, not always though

by spencemasta

I've been going to BRS for a couple of years, the first time the omakase (chefs choice) was amazing. They presented my father and I with a wide variety of fish and a large proportion. In the past two years the omakase started to get smaller and with a more conventional choices of fish (toro, hamachi, etc) instead of a more extravagent presentation including caviar (there was more the first time) and raw scallops, lobsters, etc. I found that their consistency depended on the time you went and who is the master chef behind the counter. The experiences started to become decent or extraordinary. In spite of those misgivings the fish is good and after becoming a regular they took notice and started giving special treatment (free stuff, better service). This place is definitely not for people looking for something like Nobu with the extravagance and complexity of their dishes and not for the patrons who are used to eating dragon and philidelphia rolls. For a neighborhood place this is definitely the pinnacle, if you want a special dinner shell out the extra $500 for Nobu for an experience, but for a decent place to eat where the fish is above average Blue Ribbon Sushi is where its at. Yeah the wait stinks, was told one time it would be 4 hours, got seated in 20 minutes whether or not it was the special treatment is your decision. Good thing Blue Ribbon Seafood is down the street, there's always a contigency plan. Also regarding the service (i dont rate restaurants on service or space, its all about the food) after speaking with some of the staff, they are for the most part especially late at night, pretty irritable, some customers can be real a**holes, given the trendy yuppie crowd that roll in expecting Nobu.

• Pros: fish, casual, decent date place
• Cons: waiting

05/05/07

i love this place

by daeviydt

the service is superb (extremely polite, ridiculously patient and instructive and courteous and informative, very appropriate), the sake selection is quite decent, with some less expensive offerings. the beer selection is decent. the appetizers are great, fun. the sushi is good. the sashimi is fantastic... i HIGHLY recommend the albacore -- which is slightly cooked on the outside and comes with just the right amount of a lovely little white sauce... there could be more of a waiting area, but the people in the waiting area are absurdly polite and helpful -- as if you could ask them anything and it wouldn't be refused... if the place is packed you can put in your name and give them your cellphone number and they will call you when your table is ready. i don't remember the music.

• Pros: albacore sashimi
• Cons: too many people know about this place!