Sushi Gosuian is the only restaurant on this list that ive previously visited. Thats because it was my favourite sushi restaurant during my previous trip, ranking higher (in my opinion) than many tabelog gold, silver and bronze sushiyas ive tried.
Its run by a super friendly married couple consisting of chef Tsutsumi and his wife, who is an ex pastry chef and now works as the hostess for the restaurant. Tsutsumi is a self taught shokunin that serves edomae sushi with his own twists and just learned through trail and error. A rare thing in Japan, where most Sushiyas are either led by the son of a shokunin or have studied under some famous shokunin.
Just like last time I walked in and was immediatly greeted by the couple, that recognised me and welcomed me back. It felt a bit like dining at a friends house. While chef Tsutsumi is very focussed when hes preparing the dishes, including a stern focussed look, he and his wife always serve the food with a smile and theyre happy to answer any question or request even though they dont speak english ( but they try).
Regarding the menu, heres the full detailed overview ( sorry if there are any mistakes on how I wrote the Japanese names):
Flounder sashimi from Nagasaki with menegi ( baby green onion)
Bincho grilled Nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) with wasabi, seasoned rice, kabosu and a drip of soy sauce
Aorika ( bigfin reef squid) from Fukuoka with soy sauce
Katsugo ( red snapper) from Fukuoka with yuzu and soy sauce
1 day aged botan ebi from Hokkaido
Amadai (Tilefish) from Fukuoka in chawanmushi with yuzu. The jelly is made from aged dashi with katsuobushi from Kagoshima and Rausu kombu
Akami tuna from Aomori
Chutoro
Kumamito kohada (gizzard shad)
Hamaguri (orient clam)
Aji ( horse mackrel) marinated in ginger and green onion
Kuruma ebi from Nagasaki
Smoked Tawara ( spanish mackrel) from Fukuoka
Aka uni ( red sea urchin) from Karatsu
Shiitake Akadashi ( dashi with red miso)
Hand roll with tuna and pickled radish with super crispy seaweed from Yanagawa
Warm Anago ( salt water eel)
Hojicha cheesecake made by his wife
The reason why you dont see any notes is because it was pretty much the perfect meal in my opinion. While my last visit wouldve been a 9-9.5/10, this was a 10/10 for me.
Definitely taking into account the price of 27 500 yen, which for this quality of ingredients and level of technique is an absolute steal.
It is truly a top 3 restaurant of all time for me, maybe nr 1 in terms of flavour and overall enjoyment.
The highlights were the blackthroat seaperch, the Aka uni, the botan ebi and the cake. I know, a dessert ranking in the top at a sushiya is something youll probably never see again but last time I visited I dreamt of their matcha cheesecake almost every day.
My least favourite were the hamaguri and flounder sashimi. But this is mainly due to personal preference and while I generally dislike clam sushi I actually still really enjoyed it this time.
So if youre in Fukuoka make sure to book a spot at Sushi Gosuian. The restaurant is always full of japanese people and both times I was the only foreigner there.
Its very popular among locals but you can use Jpneazy or Tableall ( if you like to pay extra) to book it. I recommend giving a decent range of dates and being 2-3 months in advance or you might not get a seat.
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments and keep your eyes out for my last review. Im ending with whats supposed to be a real banger of a restaurant.
by Normal-Metal3664