In the pages of the Sendai Lunch Passport are some great restaurants. Many of them seem to be in there because they are hard to find, and Oretachi no Sushi Dining was no exception. After scrutinizing the map several times, and circling a building, my friend and I eventually had to ask a shop worker. It turned out that it was at basement level, making use of Japan's many multi-storey buildings. Hopefully their other store in Kokubuncho is easier to find.
The Passport allows you to eat the ¥1000 lunch buffet for just ¥500 at this store, so it was very busy. But the wait wasn't very long: the staff were working hard to seat people and keep the food coming; it's also surprising how filling it is – people quickly finished their meal and left.
We paid before we went in, and were shown to a table on tatami that was ostensibly for large groups in the evening. At lunchtime, it's shared between various customers. It felt somewhat subdued in the low lighting, but the decoration - beautiful tourism posters for Miyagi – brightened it up.
Everything is self-serve, so you take your tray and load up on food and drink. One warning before you start, though: you have to pay extra if you leave food. First, the rice. You can choose from plain rice or sushi rice, which is vinegared. Then there are different types of fish; one was definitely salmon, others being possibly tuna and mackerel. There is also fish roe (probably from salmon), which is a stunning reddish color. Next is a selection of salads and sides, from potato salad to more Japanese fare such as daikon (radish), renkon (lotus root) and seaweed. If you have an artist's touch, you make a meal that looks as delicious as it tastes. Accompany it with something to drink; there's mainly different types of tea.
The food was very good for the price, which obviously won't get you top-quality fish. Even for ¥1000 it's a great offer – for the same money, you can eat more than you could in a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. If you come in the evening, the atmosphere is different. The buffet area reveals its true colors as a counter area, and the menu is full of expensive sushi. It's open late; perfect for groups of work colleagues.
Whether you're hungry for sushi, or you want a more refined sushi experience, there's no better place than Oretachi no Sushi Dining.
