Mid-2015, N and I were on the hunt for a new Japanese restaurant for sushi after two disappointing experiences at our favourite Japanese restaurant. That hunt landed us in Sushi Suma, a Japanese restaurant run by Japanese staff in Surry Hills.

We arrive at lunch hour and there are just a few seats left. The front two thirds of the restaurant is seating and that opens into the kitchen at the back. It’s not the most intimate space – it’s loud (you can barely make conversation) and cramped (you’re 10-20 cm from the next table) with rickety tables. There’s confusion over the order at the next table, but online reviews had us hopeful that the food itself would be redeeming.

I order the sushi and sashimi set ($16.90). While this was a very decent price to pay for such a set in Australia, it irked me that both the sashimi and sushi came out of the fridge wrapped in cling film. That aside though, the sashimi tasted fresh even if each slice was strangely a uniform rectangular shape. The sweetness of the egg and the vinegared rice were just right, although the soy sauce was so salty as to be bitter.

Overall, the food was tasty and the servings were decent, but it’d have been more enjoyable in a more spacious, intimate setting. And of course, if I didn’t know it came cling wrapped out of the fridge. I didn’t go in expecting to receive fast food on a plate, and unfortunately, that’s what I was served.

Sushi Suma is located at 425 Cleveland St, Surry Hills NSW 2010.