Wednesday, 13 May 2009

• Sushi Samba 7

  87 7th Ave. S
  New York, New York
  212-691-7885
  http://www.sushisamba.com

  For an outing with coworkers we decided to do something different than steaks, Mexican, bars, and bowling alley, so we all agreed on sushi!  A really trendy decorated place with a pretty interesting music selection (at one point they were playing "Jungle Bell Rock"), Sushi Samba 7 is located in the busy lower West side in New York City.

  

  Edamame:

  

  The soyabeans came out steaming hot.  This is one of the few times a restaurant uses rock salt and it definitely makes a positive difference. $5

  Kumamoto oysters & Jumbo Shrimp:

  

  Kumamoto Oysters were $3 each while the Jumbo Shrimp (salad) are $13.  The oysters are from the West coast so they're small but sweet and smooth.  Some of us believe it was the best oysters we've ever tried.  The jumbo shrimp was good with a few slices of shrimp but too pricy for what you get.

  Rock Shrimp Tempura bibb lettuce, tobanian alioli, black truffle vinaigrette:

  

  It's not what I expected but it was really good with the spicy mayo.  The tempura is fairly bready and not the typical crispy tempura you get from traditional Japanese restaurants.  It was hot but the tempura resembled donut texture.  There isn't a lot of shrimp inside.  For $16, it's pricy but worth a try.

  Japanese Marinated Skirt Steak  shiso leaf chimichurri, creamy rice croquettes, organic beets:

  

  These steaks were really good and a lot better tasting than I'd expected.  They're freshly grilled with a sweet miso sauce.  The rice croquettes were good too with a fresh crispy outside and chewy rice inside.  A really good dish that's a tad pricy at $27.

  Miso-Marinated Chilean Sea Bass roasted seasonal vegetables:

  

  Moist and tender without the overly oily meat, this sea bass was delicious.  As you can see it's a more orangey color than the usual white sea bass and it was less fatty as well.  The miso was just right without being too sweet and overwhelming the sea bass.  $27

  Eel Unagi, Ebi Shrimp, Rainbow Roll, Green Envy, and Samba 7 roll: 

  

  The lobster in the samba 7 roll was so amazingly sweet!  It was the best part of the entire dinner.  The green envy and rainbow roll were not at all impressive compared to the Samba 7 roll.  The unagi was fresh and very tasty.  Unfortunately they don't offer sweet shrimp and Ebi shrimp is not as good.

  Warm chocolate banana cake:

  

  The chocolate banana cake had a crispy outside but a rice-like texture in the middle.

  An extra dessert courteously from our server:

  

  I was hoping to try their mochi but they ran out this time.  But I liked this dessert too.  The moist cake with the caramel top was thickish on the bottom and had a light top.  The mangos were fresh and sweet too.  It's a good dessert but not exceptional.

  Samba Sushi 7 is very popular and still busy when we left around 10pm.  Not all of their dishes were amazing but the Sushi 7 roll, skirt steak, coconut rice (I didn't take a photo of this but it's moist, chewy, and rich with coconut flavor), and sea bass are definitely ones to order if you visit.  Service was really good with a cheerful server who gave us a really good sake suggestion and generally steered us in the right direction for food ordering.  I recommend seating on the upper floor for their nice balcony seating and ask for Lauren to be your server.

  Eric Tummy Points: 3.5 out of 5

  

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