G and I were too tired (lazy) to head over to Tsukiji fish market at 430am to watch the tuna auctions, but we did make it over at what we thought was a very early 6am for a sushi breakfast at the “#1″ sushi stall in Tsukiji – Sushi Dai.  Turns out we weren’t the only ones.  When we arrived there were already at least twenty people waiting already.  So we queued.  After one hour the line had barely moved, but die die we would wait a couple more hours if need be in order to eat our fill of the freshest raw fish in town!

After two hours of waiting, we finally made it into the tiny twelve seater stall.  The omakase cost around 3500 Y, and included 10 nigiri of the chef’s choosing + 1 “gift” of our choosing.  Soup and a tuna maki were also included in the meal.  Not a bad deal considering the cost and quality of the fish.

Everything was pretty spot on and to be honest it’ll be very hard to enjoy sushi elsewhere.  Some highlights of the meal included the anago, o-toro and saba.  The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the tamago, but hey we came for the fish and not the cooked items.  If we didn’t have to wait more than two hours, I would certainly give Sushi Dai two big thumbs up,  but given that the “#2″ sushi stall. Daiwa Sushi, is just two doors down *and* is double the capacity- we’ll likely try there next time.  Apparently the two stalls are operated by father and son, both fishermen, who compete on the best catch and also the best sushi served.  Depending on which locals you ask, they’ll tell you that one is superior to the other.

So if you do visit Tsukiji, be sure to check which line is shorter and queue up there.  While Sushi Dai offers great sushi at affordable prices, it’s really not necessary to wait that long when there are apparently other just as good options nearby.

More photos from Sushi Dai.

——————————

Sushi Dai
〒104-0045 東京都中央区築地5-2-1
+81 3-3547-6797 ‎