德壽司
台北市大安區市民大道四段136-3號
02.8772.7995
I was told that Taipei is full of interesting Japanese sushi bars that offers high-end menu-less dining experience. This place is recommended by a highschool friend of ours, and given the right opportunity, we decided to try it out one evening after work.
First thought of this place is that it must be popular. We tried making a reservation for dinner for a weeknight, and the only available slot they had open was 6pm - quite early for most people here. Nonetheless, it was good because it is located in the East District, fairly close to where I work. Perfect timing for me, that is.
The exterior of the restaurant is very Japanese - wooden sliding doors with minimal decoration. The interior is quite small, like all sushi bars. The counter top is filled with plates and dishes, a bit cluttery to my taste. The chief, his wife, and an apprentice is busy at work preparing ingredients for the night ahead of them. Greeted by a barely-there friendliness, we sat down. The choices were either $900, $1,200 or $1,500.
No typical chit chat with the sushi chief, we placed our order and our dinner started to appear.
12 dishes, 1 miso soup, and a dessert dish was what we had. The dishes were all nicely displayed. I liked how they used minimal rice (really important for ladies who worry about too much carb intake). However, the ingredients served were not delicate - beef slices, scallops, oyster...etc, these are not ingredients that should appear as the main, in a dinner price range such as this.
So maybe the food's so-so, but the service can make up for it? No, absolutely not. Part of what makes small sushi bars so popular is (needless to say the food quality but also), the dining experience. Small family-style chit chat with the chief, the comfortable ambience, and the coziness of the restaurant is what makes the price range worth its money. For the entire hour we were there, we did not feel any of the criteria listed above. As soon as I put down a dish, the wife quickly snatched it away as if she needed the plate to serve for the next dish. The chief did not clearly explain to us what he was serving, regardless of his unfriendly expression. I can feel the tension between the chief and the apprentice; I can feel the stress of the wife; I can feel the cluttery of the small space. All in all, the entire experience was just not welcoming at all.
We quickly ate and left. It was definitely money not well spent, and needless to say, I will not be going back.
Btw, while we were there, I overheard a conversation, and it went like this -
It was almost 19:30, and a customer came in. Right away, the wife asked if the customer made reservation. The customer responded that he does have a reservation, but that it was for 20:00. Without looking up, the wife snapped at the customer by saying that she does not have a seat for him, and that her reservation for 19:30 hasn't even arrived. Awkward.... The customer wasn't pleased with the service, and he snapped back by saying that he wasn't even planning to sit down. He turned around and left.
WTF.
