Despite hiccups, Sushi One holds its own

Hibachi-style glazed salmon and filet mignon from Sushi One in South Charleston

One of the hardest challenges I face when reviewing a new restaurant is trying to judge the place on its own merits or shortcomings, while resisting the urge to compare it to other similar spots.

Two signature rolls from Sushi One

But in such a competitive restaurant landscape, that comparison is what readers want when deciding where to spend their hard-earned money and precious time when they go out to eat.

Is this Italian spot better than that one? Who has the best burgers in town? Where can I get the freshest sushi? Enquiring minds want to know!

Rating places against one another is inevitable – it’s what we do – and I was just as guilty as the next person during my first visit to Sushi One, a Japanese steakhouse at the mound in South Charleston.

The food we tried ranged from merely OK to actually quite good, plus the place was clean, the ambiance was pleasant and service was on point.

All things considered, it was not a bad dining experience and we left saying we’d definitely consider going back. Yet I still have to say it.

Fried octopus balls drizzled with eel sauce

It’s no Kita Modern Japanese. It’s no Elephant Thai. Those two restaurants are the current gold standard when it comes to the best sushi and Asian food in town, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a place for others.

We saw a steady stream of customers come through Sushi One’s doors at 236 7^th Ave. Friday night, including several groups that were clearly regulars. And if folks keep coming back time and time again, the restaurant must be doing something right.

The menu is enormous, offering more than 200 food items alone ranging from soups, salads and both hot and cold apps to sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, tempura, katsu, bento, noodle, rice and hibachi dishes. And that doesn’t even count more than 70 drinks and a half-dozen desserts.

Mixed Karashi fresh seafood salad

Wanting to try a few dishes you just don’t see every day, we started out with the Takoyaki, which are fried octopus balls drizzled with eel sauce. Imagine a hushpuppy-like situation stuffed with tender chunks of octopus. Different, yes. Good? Yes!

We also enjoyed the Mixed Karashi – a salad of assorted fresh seafood, avocados, cucumber and lettuce in a spicy vinegar sauce – and the restaurant’s namesake Sushi One, a large and dense fried sushi roll filled with tempura shrimp, crab, avocado and cream cheese topped with eel sauce, spicy mayo and crunchy bits.

To be clear, I don’t understand why anyone would want to eat fried sushi, which negates the whole fresh, flavorful and healthy appeal of it, in my opinion. But to each his own.

The bar at Sushi One in South Charleston

For dinner, my youngest son enjoyed two more sushi rolls (because apparently young men must eat their weight in food every few hours throughout the day) while I had mixed results with my entrée.

Since a large portion of the restaurant is devoted to communal hibachi-style dining, I wanted to try some of the hibachi food, even though we were sitting at our own “regular table,” as they called it.

The teriyaki salmon on my platter was truly outstanding – glistening, flaky, perfectly prepared – but the filet mignon (while also cooked technically well) didn’t taste like it had been seasoned.

Like, at all.

The hibachi veggies served on the side were plentiful and still nicely crisp, but the fried rice was very plain-tasting, lacking the flecks of egg, veggies and seasoning that add both flavor and interest.

I’m guessing my food was prepared in the kitchen, and not on one of the restaurant’s large hibachi grills, so maybe I’d fare better bellying up to one of those seats next time.  

• IF YOU GO: Sushi One at 236 7^th Ave. in South Charleston is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 304-205-5048 or visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national culinary publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or at wvfoodguy@aol.com.