Sima Sushi

This weekend Harvey and I had guests visiting from out of town. Little did we know, so did many people, including all the hotels and many of the restaurants. The city was flooded with dancers and musicians for the Rob Roy Highland Dancers Fall Competition making it difficult for locals like us to find a place to eat.

After several failed attempts at getting a reservation to somewhere like Casa or Wooden Heads, we decided to try out the latest addition to the Kingston sushi empire. Yes, we know we’ve been talking a lot about sushi lately but it just seems to keep coming up. If you’re a fan, you know what I mean. The craving hits in spurts and it hits hard.

We decided to try out Sima which is only a few months old and had yet to make it on our list. We were slightly nervous at first, seeing as there were only about 4 other people in the restaurant, two of whom were only sipping tea. Our fears were quickly quashed when the waitress immediately greeted us with a friendly hello and an offer of drinks. After we placed our order (spicy tuna, california rolls, avocado rolls, “the rockstar” handroll, veggie and shrimp tempura and edamame) we sat enjoying our beverages and were treated to excellent service. Many of the Japanese restaurants in town have a feel of eat and go. They are brightly lit and not necessarily the coziest of places to spend a long, relaxed dinner. Sima is much closer to this feel than any other sushi place I can think of. The lights are low and the candle light welcomes you to stay for a while.

The waitress set us up with pretty little soy sauce bowls and chopsticks set on ceramic holders. She checked on us often (but not too often) and always made sure our drinks were full. When the tempura and edamame came, they looked almost too good to eat. The tempura was sculpture-like and somehow, the most delicious tempura I’ve ever had. I’ve never made it, so I’m not sure what secrets there are to bestow, but there was something extra yummy about this tempura. The sushi came split up on two platters – specifically for two couples to share and enjoy. The personal touch to make it easier for us to share was greatly appreciated and worked well for us all.

I am not a fish person. I’d like to be because I know there are many benefits to eating fish, but for as long as I can remember, I could not stomach any kind of fish with the exception of the odd shrimp ring or crab leg. I was coaxed into trying the spicy tekka (tuna) and the rockstar roll which had salmon in it. Both were incredible. They had the tiniest bit of tempura in them, allowing for a nice crunch and there was absolutely no fishy flavour at all. I ate it all up.

The bill came and didn’t shock us – it was pretty on par with what you would expect for four people who are eating and drinking. And to top it off, they gave us Chupa Chup suckers to end the evening (which, to my horror, no one else at the table had ever had!)

All in all, I would say that Sima Sushi is the best sushi experience I’ve had. I don’t consider myself a great connoisseur as I’ve only been eating sushi for a few years but I’ve had it all over Kingston and a few other cities and I definitely enjoyed this experience the most. We’re lucky to have so many great Japanese restaurants in Kingston and they are all fairly quick with their take out and delivery but the next time you are looking for a sushi outing, and a classy one at that, Sima is tops in my book.