Shima Sushi (4429 Wallingford Ave N) will wrap its last sushi roll in Wallingford this Friday, October 30th. The owners, the same folks who own Hawaiian Breeze (which is also out), say that they were unable to negotiate an affordable lease for the space, but plan to re-open elsewhere when they can find a spot. Customers who come through this week are being encouraged to sign up for their e-mail list to get the notice when they do.
I hadn’t been in before, but popped in last night to confirm the story. It’s always re-assuring to see the place filled mostly with English as a Second Language asian people in a sushi restaurant. Somehow, it gives me the sense it passes muster with those who can tell the difference. I had some unagi and anago, and found both pieces rich, creamy and generous. Sorry that it took them leaving for me to try it out!
(Thanks, Danielle, for posting this to the Wallingford/Fremont Facebook page.)
Sad. The sushi was always good at Shima. Service was a little sleepy sometimes but everyone there was super friendly.
With the handful of spaces being vacated recently around the neighborhood and the new space opening up (Smith & Burns) soon, I wonder what will take the spaces. It seems like other new apartment buildings that opened up right away around here have a restaurant opening right off the bat:
– Rooster (Roosevelt): Portage Bay Cafe
– Ray (Lower Wallingford): 36 Stone
36 Stone is worth a try btw, just opened last week. Friendly owner and reasonable cocktail prices.
I like Shima’s. I hope they can find a place with reasonable rates, which very likely means not in Wallingford.
As a point of information for fans of Japanese cuisine, I was surprised to learn that the ubiquitous unagi is actually an endangered species in Japan. Most of the unagi we eat here is farmed, in pens, which contributes to the problem similarly to salmon farming. Seafood Watch recommends you avoid it. Anago is much less common here, so while there isn’t any advisory against it, that doesn’t mean it would be a sustainable alternative to unagi. My recommendation for sushi would be 1) learn to eat raw fish, 2) try the vegetarian options which can be quite good, 3) saba (mackerel), which has been cured for a less raw effect. While unagi is very popular in Japan, I doubt it’s as big in sushi per se as it is here.
Bummer, I really liked this place. It was always super fresh with very large pieces of fish on their nigiri. The staff was very friendly too. If anyone knows how to get on the e-mail list, please post it.
I was soooo upset to see this post. Shima sushi is one of the best sushi restaurants in the area. If anyone gets anymore information regarding their new location, please post so we can all enjoy it once again. Chef Taka…….see you soon, “Thank you, come again”