by MARK SLUTSKY

Oishii Sushi opened on Bernard W. in the middle of last year and immediately drew attention in the Mile-End area for its futuristic décor, standing out from other spaces in the strip, and reasonably priced Japanese food. At some point in the middle of the summer, I went by to check it out and was pretty much underwhelmed. The sushi was run-of-the-mill and prices weren’t that great. Ultimately, it didn’t seem all that different from any other fancy-looking sushi joint in town.

But as months went by, Oishii became the restaurant most recommended to me by friends and acquaintances. I wondered if I hadn’t missed something the first time, or if I had visited too soon before it had had a chance to find its legs—it’s always good to give a place a few months before judging. So last week, I went back and found a restaurant vastly improved from the one I had visited six months before. Even the décor, pretty much unchanged, was more agreeable to me. It felt brighter and more spacious (a contrast to the winter outside, perhaps). With a cool, minimalist touch, the interior of Oishii looks kind of like a spaceship, with elliptical hanging lamps and walls that curve up to the ceiling, setting a neutral and relaxing atmosphere.

I had three friends in tow, and we started off by checking out the appetizer menu, which is usually where I find the most interesting dishes. Oishii was no exception. The Oishii salad ($5) was your typical Japanese restaurant green salad, with a couple of nice twists. One was the deep-fried strips of daikon radish that adorned the salad. The other was the bowl—or what looked like the bowl, it was actually a long, thin slice of cucumber formed into a circle—that contained the salad. Points for presentation there. The grilled black cod ($9) was definitely a standout. Served on a wide bamboo leaf, the fish was velvety, sweet and delicate. It was only barely surpassed by the whitefish carpaccio ($10), which was the highlight of the night. Arranged in a big round bowl, the thin slices of whitefish were served marinated in lime juice and adorned with roe. Like the black cod, they were delicate in both taste and form.

On to the sushi. We went with an all-maki meal, so that we could try out some of the less conventional combinations. We ordered a couple of Oishii’s specialties, both of which came in five pieces: the yin yang ($10), and the eel and tempura roll ($9).

The yin yang was a fried roll, with nori on the outside lightly battered in tempura and the interior containing both salmon and tuna, shaped into the familiar yin yang shape (with dots provided by asparagus). I liked the yin yang, though as a rule I’m not wild about warm maki. My friends, however, found it a little dry.

Eel and tempura, of course, comprised the insides of the latter specialty, along with a piece of avocado. You can hardly go wrong with eel, and these rolls were delicious, though a little loosely rolled. The same complaint could be made about the spicy salmon roll ($7 for eight pieces), which was also a little loose, but very tasty. We also enjoyed the tuna, smoked salmon and avocado roll ($8 for five pieces)—tuna and avocado on the inside, smoked salmon on the outside.

As good as all this sushi was, it was marred by one significant thing: the rice was over-sweetened, and while I didn’t quite notice it at first, by the end of the meal it had gotten quite cloying. I’m afraid they really lose points for this. With a little adjustment, though, Oishii could be quite a terrific sushi house.

Oishii Sushi
ADDRESS: 277 Bernard W. (just east of Parc)
PHONE: 271-8863
HOURS: Sun–Thu 5:30–10:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 5:30–11:30 p.m.
BEST FEATURES: The whitefish carpaccio and the friendly service
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $10–$25 per person, before tax, tip or booze
RATING: **1/2 out of ****