1789 El Camino Real

San Bruno, CA 94066

Good sushi is always hard to find because it is an art form in its own right. There are many things to consider when eating sushi. Is the rice too bland? Is the fish not fresh? Are the portions too small? But I think I may have found just the place for all those picky eaters.

Amami Sushi is located on El Camino in San Bruno and is open from 5 p.m. until midnight. The first time I went was just on a whim while looking for a place to eat on Yelp, but I was not disappointed. Their owner and sushi chef, Alan Li, has been training in his trade for 10 years now and the food he served me proved it.

“I enjoy watching people eat my food, and seeing them smile,” said Alan.

Amami is the spot to go to for sushi because the cuts Alan gives you are fresh; in fact, you can occasionally see him cutting up the very fish he serves you, no frozen fish here.

I went around at around 9 p.m., which is when the restaurant is at its busiest. My party and I, which consisted of five people, were lucky enough to be seated without having to wait as we chose to sit at the bar whereas the other parties eagerly awaited a table.

I figured I would let my meal be up to Alan, so I ordered his omakase for $30. Omakase is Japanese for “I’ll leave it to you,” leaving your meal to the chef. Alan’s omakase plate always consists of 10 pieces of nigiri (cuts of sashimi over a small ball of sushi rice) of his choice. Watching Alan prepare my meal is like being given a dinner and a show; he prepares every piece of sashimi before artfully placing them on your plate.

The plate looked so delicious, it almost entirely distracted me from listening to him explain what I was eating. The plate consisted of Norwegian salmon, Scottish salmon, ocean trout, seared o-toro, kuro-dai, uni, o-toro, and three other pieces (I was staring at my food too much to write down the other two).

I started with the uni, which turned out to be the highlight of my meal and worked my way down the rows of nigiri. Uni is sea urchin and is considered to be a delicacy in many parts of the world. The uni had a melt-in-your-mouth feeling as you put it on your tongue, and tastes nothing shorter than amazing. The amount of uni you get is more than you would normally receive at other restaurants.

What was a big plus for me was their wasabi is homemade and not powder-based. I usually steer clear of wasabi in any restaurant I go to. The cheap stuff really hurts the flavor of the fish, but Alan’s wasabi tasted spicy without being overwhelming. It did not need to be diluted in soy sauce; it tasted good all on its own.

The different cuts of salmon all had distinct flavors to them. I had the Norwegian salmon first, as it is leaner and less fatty than the Scottish salmon. It had a silky texture that just made me not want to chew it (in a good way). Scottish salmon is arguable the best kind of salmon you could ever taste and is always hard to find. I am glad I got to taste it.

The seared o-toro nigiri was the last piece I ate because it looked to be the fattiest. The piece was topped with a bit of Alan’s homemade wasabi just looked amazing. The cut of fish was seared right in front of me with a blow torch, watching as the cut of sashimi was glazed. The piece of o-toro and had a really strong, juicy flavor to it, but did not overwhelm my taste buds. It got to the point where I just didn’t want to let the piece of fish be swallowed to keep tasting it. Although this was not the highlight of my meal, it was definitely close, because it was the perfect cut of fish to end my dinner.

For dessert, I tried Alan’s sorbet, which was made with sake and strawberries. The sorbet was nicely plated in a large spoon which saves you the trouble of picking at it yourself. The sake gave it a nice smell and as I tasted the sorbet, its taste was not overwhelmed by the sake and had the sweet taste of strawberries.

A few recommendations: make sure to eat at the bar if you plan to order nigiri or sashimi and ask Alan what he recommends for the day; the chef knows his fish better than anyone and if he recognizes your face, he’ll give you something according to what he thinks you may like.

Make friendly conversation with your chef, Alan is always eager to talk to those who sit and eat at the bar, and is a pleasure to talk to as he is nothing shorter than humble and an all-around nice person.

When eating raw fish, it is usually best to start with the less fatty cuts first and work your way to the fattier ones as the flavor tends linger and disturb the flavors of whatever food follows it.

I personally recommend ordering Alan’s omakase, you will not be disappointed in the pieces of nigiri he stacks on your plate. The cuts he gives you are also really big compared to what you would normally find, but if you have a smaller mouth, Alan would be more than happy to give you smaller portions.

Amami is usually busy until an hour or two from closing, so big parties should plan accordingly and think about making a reservation.