Ooka Sushi - Granby Street, Norfolk-NOW CLOSED

The first thing that grabbed my attention about Ooka Sushi was the front door.

OOKA Sushy
BATHROOM FOR CUSTOMER ONLY
NO CHANGE MADE
NO LOITERING

Hmmm. was the ‘y’ on the end of “sushy” a cutsie, on purpose spelling or a typo? In the neon sign above the door it is spelled “Sushi”. On the front of the menu it is spelled “Sushi”. My guess is that it is a typo, because I also found sashimi spelled sashini on one occasion in their menu. And wow, what is happening on this end of Granby Street? Are they overrun by loiterers asking for change and use of the bathroom? I had just crossed over the invisible line past which Granby Street transitions from kind of nice to kind of questionable. I had been to this same location previously when it was a Chinese restaurant, the name of which escapes me. The inside had not changed a bit. The décor is very simple, bordering on austere. Nothing is on the tables except folded, white paper napkins. In keeping with the theme of the front doors, I suppose this provides an undesirable element with little to pilfer.

I was dining with three other co-workers on our lunch hour. Ooka has a good special where you can get any two rolls for $7.50 or any three for $9.99. Most rolls are $4-5 a la carte, making this a financially sound ordering decision. Two diners went for the “3-for” deal, I opted for Sushi and Sashimi lunch, and the fourth diner ordered an AAC roll. I had to ask what that was…avocado, asparagus and cucumber. To me, that sounds a bit boring, but apparently to a vegan it is very exciting!

I had a couple of issues with Ooka’s condiments. I like light soy sauce, which is lower in sodium. Usually, the bottle is green for light, red for regular. Since a red bottle was brought out I requested the light version from the waiter. He told me that they are all light; they just put them in the regular bottle. Really? I’m not buying it. Next, they didn’t have Splenda for my tea. That’s okay; I can handle Sweet ‘n Low every so often. However, they didn’t have Sweet ‘n Low. They had some generic saccharin that was in packaging that made it look exactly like the name brand.

I also had an issue with the length of time it took to get our food. We were one of three tables in the restaurant. It took way to long to get our food. Most places on Granby know they are catering to a business lunch crowd who need to get back in their cages in as close to an hour as possible. Finally, once the food started coming out, it came in stages, rather than the entire table being served out once. That drives me nuts. At least with sushi you aren’t worried about your food getting cold as you wait for your entire table to be served, but that is really not the point.

Thank goodness the food was good. Everybody’s rolls looked fabulous, and seeing three clean plate club members confirmed that they all tasted good too. Mine was quite good. No overdoing of either fish or rice. Simply well proportioned pieces sushi, appropriately seasoned with dashes of wasabi. The sashimi slices were also nice sizes, very fresh and tasty.
Overall, I’d have to say Ooka is a toss up. On the plus side: prices are good and food is good. On the downside, they take too long and use condiments of indeterminate origin. After saying all that…I’d still choose it over Domo any day!

_Laine

Ooka is located at 411 Granby Street.