Sushi Katsuhide

I went to Katsuei the other night. Pretty nice. The best sushi in Brooklyn they say. “If the fish was any fresher you will have to catch it with a hook.” I read. Very nice place. Sterile, I could probably operate on these tables…. service was ok. Was it the best sushi I ever had? At least the best I had in Brooklyn? Unfortunately I’ll have to say no, it wasn’t. It felt like the owner thought it is though. 🤷‍♂️

The consensus among reviews is that this is the best deal Omakase you will find in Brooklyn, and that service isn’t great. Both points deserve more explanations. First, there are a few Omakase options: the regular nigiri Omakase for $55, and the sashimi + nigiri for $75. They also have an open style Omakase mixing seasonal fish with some of the regular pieces. This last option is available at market price, which was $108 in our case for 12 pieces. We took the open style Omakase and didn’t regret it. The fish was super fresh with a smooth texture, something we haven’t been used to on the East coast (sorry!). The seasoning in each sushi was also original (seaweed, yuzu, scallions), which was more in line with what we expected from an Omakase. Special mention to the sea urchin, which is always hit-or-miss. In this case, it was excellent. One disappointing note though: in almost every sushi, the seasoning was slightly overpowering the dish, making it hard to taste all the subtlety of the fish. This imbalance was a problem, but despite this issue, the overall menu was quite good, and 12 sushis was enough for a dinner. As for the service, it was actually fine. Our waiter was nice, and described every sushi with lots of details. In the end, was it the best sushi of our life? No, but who cares, it was really good sushi, and definitely as good, if not better than some pretentious options that charge twice as much in Manhattan (*ahem Yasuda*).

After spending the day together in Park Slope, my mom and I were hungry but didn't have a specific place in mind for dinner. I did a quick search and settled on Sushi Katsuei, which had a decent rating and was close by. Upon entering the establishment, I asked the hostess for a table for 2. She asked if we had reservations, and I told her we did not. She picked up a menu and insisted that we look at it. I responded by saying that we didn't need to look at the menu before being seated. She continued insisting and added, "I am not sure if we serve what you are looking for. We serve sushi here. We don't have things like fried rice." It took me a minute to realize what she was actually saying. Essentially, since my mom and I are Black, she couldn't fathom that we would knowingly choose a Japanese restaurant that served Omakase, sushi, and sashimi. She ignorantly thought we would step into a Japanese restaurant wanting Asian food like fried rice. Long story short, do not eat here if you are Black or consider yourself an ally.