By accident, I found one of the best places to experience art by a chef. M Sushi should be your next friends night out or intimate conversations type restaurant.
I was looking for another asian restaurant in downtown Durham. I didn’t even notice I was in the wrong place until I sat down and the friendly waiter welcomed me. After I saw how it looked inside, I was ready to experience everything.
You’re seated by a lovely host into a low light dinning hall. The decor setup is like a street noodle shop but imagine it with varnished wooden seats and counter tops, beautiful dark stone or grey walls, low lights and without kanji and good luck cats hanging everywhere. The immaculate design is such a great setup for what you can expect from the dinning experience.
M Sushi is one the few Omakase style restaurants in NC. Omakase literally mean “I will leave it to you.” In context it means you will leave your dinning experience up to the chef. To note, right after I was seated by the host, the next person that spoke to me was the Chef that prepared my meal. #Personable
Unless you are with a party, you will be seated right in front of the chef. There is a menu but you can still get a sense that even after you may have made a selection, you’re still having a curated experience by the professional across from you. M Sushi, like most Omakase places, focus on preparing meals with the freshest seasonings and ingredients.
That was the very next thing I noticed in the green tea that I had. It was clean simple tasting. No leaves at the bottom and no shock from really strong or watered down tea flavors.
The Chef prepared a lobster tail, with the meat cut for me to dip into a delicious crustacean butter. The butter sat on top of small grill with a live flame which made eating it all the more fun delicious. The lobster was cooked, served cold and fresh for dipping. I let some of the pieces of lobster sit in the butter and it took on a beautiful texture absorbing the butter. Ugh it was so good!
Don’t judge the picture quality, you have to go there to get the experience for yourself.
To follow up, I had the M Special sushi roll. The plating of every dish was so in sync of the feel of the restaurant and the idea of a fresh food experience. All the more reason why it feels more like a curated experience. My chef didn’t verbally talk much but he delivered with the plating. I love when my food looks good.
It tasted just as good as it looked if not better. You already know that I love sweet and savory. Now imagine having that with something thats crunchy and smooth, cold and warm. All that contrast worked so well. I would definitely recommend that dish as an introduction to good sushi.
Be prepared to spend a somewhat pretty penny. Dishes range from as low as $8 to about $40. Don’t worry. The serving sizes and additions that come with the more expensive plates justify the prices.
This restaurant will meet all of your needs if your masterdating or out with a group just wanting to have someplace to chill, have intimate conversation, or maybe just to have a relaxing culinary experience.
M Sushi is located at 311 Holland Street in Durham in the alley near the Google Fiber office building. For a better view of their menu click here.
