Sekisui Midtown - Asian Eats

WHERE WE WENT:   
Sekisui Midtown
25 S Belvedere Blvd
Memphis, TN

WHAT WE ORDERED:
Miso Soup 
-The Saint (Blue Crab, Crunchies, Eel Sauce w/ Smoked Salmon & Spicy Mayo on top)
-The Serpent (Crab, Cream Cheese, Avocado, Smelt Roe w/ Eel & Eel Sauce on top)
-Red Birds (Crunchy Crab, Mayo, Sweet Chili Sauce w/ Shrimp on top)
-Grizzlies Roll (Shrimp Tempura, Smoked Salmon, Mayo)


WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 6 
Menu - 9
Presentation - 9
Taste - 8
Price - 7
Service - 7
 Overall - 8

Atmosphere - Sekisui Midtown is ... interesting. Walking in, you are immediately greeted by a beautiful water feature built into the wall. The best design aspect is the bar. Set against the wall is all of the alcoholic offerings and in front of that is a display that showcases all of the fresh ingredients that go into their hand rolled sushi. One flaw in this design is that it can only be seen from one angle. It would have been much more enjoyable if it were placed centrally in the dining room so everyone could appreciate watching the sushi be rolled. Apart from the sushi bar, nothing at all indicated that this was an Asian restaurant. Each wall was a different color and an eccentric collection of art adorns

the walls. Some sections seem like they could be from the future, others look retro. The music was an odd hodgepodge, none of which was Oriental. It was also incredibly dim and the seating was very tight. Not only was the theme not congruent with the type of food being served, there was no distinguishable design theme at all.

Menu - The menu is, in one word, large. They have an extensive drink offering including hot and cold sake, along with signature cocktails. Unless you come in knowing exactly what you want, it will take forever to sift through the dense list of Nigiri, Rolls, hot and cold appetizers, soups, salads, and entrees. While we appreciate all the choices, including uncommon options like tofu tempura, it is just a bit overwhelming.

Presentation - Sushi is as much art as it is food. The presentation of our sushi at Sekisui Midtown did not disappoint. The rolls themselves were absolutely gorgeous. The colors were vibrant and everything looked incredible. They were plated on a flat black cherry wood panel. The minimalism of the dish directed the attention directly to the rolls. The sauce dishes were the only embellishment, with the Sekisui logo painted on the bottom.

Taste - Each of our rolls was delicious. Seafood has to be very fresh and well-prepared to avoid any unappetizing tastes or odors, and this was prepared skillfully. The sweet chili sauce in the Red Birds Roll had a flavor that was different from any other sushi we've ever tasted. The eel sauce was delicious. The rice was delicious and sticky, not too dry. Another standout was the signature Sekisui Punch, a mixture of coconut rum, pineapple rum, orange juice, Sprite and grenadine. One of the best cocktails in Memphis.


Price - Everything on the menu appeared reasonably priced and comparable to other restaurants of its kind. We have seen better prices though.

Service - Our server was very pleasant, but also very awkward. She

lingered after we had finished speaking to her and created a little bit of an uncomfortable feel. She did however, take decent care of our needs.

WOULD WE GO BACK? 
Yes, but next time we'll look at the menu online first and know what we want before we go in. Seriously. Look at the menus.


Here's a link to their website:  
 http://www.sekisuiusa.com/go/