Sasaya

Best sushi in Berlin!
100% recommend this place.
Very friendly staff and everything is super delicious:)

I live near by and have visited Sasaya a few times. This last time was a bit of a disappointment due to overwhelming amount of wasabi in the sushi. Perhaps it was a mistake? Thought of addressing it to the staff but as it's our culture, we don't like to confront problems.
The ambiance is nice as usual but the service quality could have been better. I miss the authentic Japanese experience and food in Japan..

Legit Japanese restaurant owned by Japanese people. The rice quality and taste is better than other spots in Berlin which I found very authentic. The fish however was not the freshest and the portions are small.
What we enjoyed was the crab shell. The miso soup was alright and lacked in fish pieces. Nigiri wise nothing that would stay out to us. I'd skip the Uni for sure and the butan ebi. It's not worth the price given the size, amount and quality. The chu toro was alright. The salmon seemed to be fresh.

+: cozy environment, friendly staff, the food is very tasty and authentic. One can really tell that they use nice ingredients for sushi.

-: The waiting time is excessive... we waited for 1h15m to get the Sushi on the table. It worths the wait but you should be prepared both psychologically and physically.

Mixed feelings and mixed reactions.

Bipolar is how I describe the food, or Jekyll and Hyde. The sushi dishes were atrocious but the other non sushi dishes were phenomenal, creative and amazing. Skip the sushi dishes and just get non sushi dishes. You will not be disappointed. In fact, if we only had the non sushi dishes, I'd tell you this is one of the most creative delicious Japanese restaurants I've ever been to anywhere.

Amazing:
- lightly fried squid tentacles with a squid liver sauce. The squid was perfectly chewy and the liver sauce was a bit bitter (in a good way) and amazing.
- scallop and tofu dumpling. It was like a giant matzo ball in a nice broth and light flavor. Never seen this before anywhere and it was delicious.
- lightly deep fried asparagus, chilled and in a light tempura tasting sauce served like stacked logs. So light, refreshing and crunchy. Germans are obsessed with asparagus, especially white asparagus, and this was the most phenomenal preparation we had in the week or so in Germany.
- grilled herring served on top in a lovely fish dashi broth with soba noodles. Never had this dish anywhere as well and it was so light, slightly fishy (but not overpowering) and delicious. My partner who doesn't like very fishy flavors or tastes or smells even enjoyed it to the point we shared this dish.

The only dish that didn't work for me in the non-sushi category was the grilled monkfish liver (ankimo). I didn't like how it changed the creamy paté like texture into something a little firmer. The sauce on top didn't work together with the ankimo and it seemed like a strange pairing.

The service is excruciating slow even when they're staffed to the brim. A restaurant half that size back home would have 2 servers or so. This place had well over 5 and they couldn't manage the load. It was mind boggling and took quite awhile to get our drink order in which was separate from our food order. It took a long time to get our bill as well.

My advice is if you're from North America, Japan, Taiwan or Malaysia, skip the sushi dishes all together. I'm sorry to say but it was the worst sushi I've ever had. Ever. Never seen a California roll that wasn't mixed but here it was. The rolls are about 70-80% rice and 20-30% ingredients. We left over 3/4 of our sushi dishes untouched. The nigiris were awful and worse than all you can eat sushi restaurants I've been to. The chirashi was equally disappointing. The bowl is huge but that's because there's so much rice. If I came just for the sushi, I'd give it 1 star.

This final complaint is for all of Europe essentially so bear with me. Beverage prices are insane. €2.50 for a small tiny glass of coke? I could buy the entire 1l or maybe 2l bottle at the grocery for less than that! I know they don't have the same carbonation machines so the pop isn't cheap like that, but the upcharge is insane all over Europe.


TL;DR skip all the sushi and sashimi dishes. Only go for the non conventional things. If you don't see the type of stuff at home, order it. If it's familiar, skip it. Also, make a reservation if you don't come right as opening. They turned away at least 6 groups in the hour we were there and it wasn't even 7pm!

Great Japanese restaurant in Berlin. It's not LA or NY quality, but it's quite nice for Berlin. They even have uni from time to time! I suggest making a reservation if you want to come else they can be full.

The best meal we had in Berlin... so good we went twice!

We were lucky enough to find a seat here during lunchtime on our second to last day in Berlin, and were impressed by the quality of the sushi they had. The servings were also pretty generous for the price. The Chirashii bowl I ordered, for example came, with a great variety of sashimis that were all extremely fresh.

The chefs and waitresses were all Japanese, which not only added a sense of authenticity to the place, but also ensured that the food itself was authentic. You can actually watch the sushi chef perform his magic if you sit by the bar.

We were so satisfied with our meal that we immediately told the waitress that we wanted to reserve a spot for the next day, because simply wanted to try more of what they had to offer, and we were just as impressed the next day.

The staff were also extremely friendly, patiently explaining the menu to us, since we didn't understand neither German nor Japanese. They even thanked us when we returned for a second time the next day.

If you're ever in Berlin and like Japanese food, Sasaya is a must-eat! In all honesty, this is one of the best sushi restaurant I've been to outside of Asia.

A big note: I have called about 20x to make a reservation, but it seems that they're too busy to pick up, or their phone is hidden in a closet. I choose the latter.
We went on a Friday at 1pm and it was already a full house. Luckily they've gotten us a table within 10 mins. In the midst of the chaos of hand-written orders, the sushi chef rollin' away at monstrous speed, and 4 waitresses running around....the Overall ambience got me vibin' why this place is so popular.
The medium-sized resto caters to mostly upper-hip pberg yuppies and
start-up biz guys. Time management was fair, though the visual execution was subpar. the gunkan weren't wrapped nicely nor topped generously and the makis looked so-so.

However, I was delightfully surprised at the chirashi Don (12€) - it was carefully prepared with 2pcs of each fresh sashimi, some veg deco, over a generous amount of sushi rice. It was fresh and made my Japanese taste buds hit a nostalgic note. Waitresses are kind and a nice place to go when you're craving for some authentic Japanese food.

I have waited TWO MONTHS to find a good sushi bar and waited FOREVER to finally get a reservation here... and boy, am I glad I did.

Sasaya is simply designed, upscale but inexpensive and honestly some of the best sushi I have ever had (and I am from LA). Although I wish I was sitting on one of the floor tables they have and not the sushi bar, I still had an amazing food experience.

I started with a miso soup which was filled with tofu and seaweed and the fried baby crabs which were UNREAL. They were soft and fresh and delicious. Moving on to the next part of my meal, I got 7 pieces of sushi (2 salmon, 2 tuna, 1 sea bream, 2 yellowtail) all melted in my mouth! I also got a toro roll which was tiny but delicious and I wished I had ordered toro sushi, well I asked but they ran out of toro after my maki roll. To finish the meal I had the green tea cake which was at first very tasteless and spongey but by the end of eating it (with whipped cream) I wanted more.

My friend got the 22 piece nigiri and a seaweed salad - both which looked tasty and he said were! Another friend got the salmon miso and a rainbow roll which was significantly larger than the toro roll I ordered and also looked delicious - she even said the mayo in the roll was good!

While at Sasaya I saw people coming in to get take-out... which I will now definitely do now as well as eating in (when I can get a reservation).

Overall it was a fantastic experience, just be ready to wait a while for your food as there are only 2 sushi chefs for the entire place.

You might just be able to satisfy a bit of your Japanese cravings here at Sasaya. judging from the crowds alone I'd say this place is worth the trip for. I went to the restaurant hoping for a seat, but to their popularity, no avail. But that was alright, take out would have easily done the trick- the park nearby would be a great place to have a spontaneous picnic, albeit a more pricier one.

I ordered the chirashi Don (€12), inari nigiri (prices range from €1-3) and avocado making (€3). I was certainly impressed with their consistent use of fresh wasabi, which is hard to find anywhere in the world these days. The take aways were meticulously organised and beautifully arranged. The chirashi had a variety of sashimi and cooked goods (although arguably they shouldn't be there). Overall, the food wasn't bad although the sushi rice was lacking flavor and didn't stand out. They could definitely improve on their temperature of the rice as well as the acidity/ sweetness balance. Other than that, I'd definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a quick fix. Be prepared however to pay a good amount for quality.