Well-curated raw fish is always worth chasing, and even more so when it comes at a price point that’s easy on the wallet. That’s a rare combo, but in Huron Village at Sumi House, that’s exactly what you get: high-quality, fin-flapping fresh fish at a budget-friendly price. The sushi nook (“sumi” means ink or nook in Japanese — I’m certain the owners mean the latter) checks all the boxes.
The restaurant opened in the space that had long housed Village Kitchen— where you could get the best Italian (no mayo, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and olives) tuna sub in town. Then, briefly, Fupo, serving up Chinese street food, including wildly unique pizzas: lamb, bananas, or durian, the prickly Southeast Asian fruit. As Sumi, it’s a cozy spot with a smattering of tables that serves lunch and dinner, and also offers sushi platter catering orders.
Besides the Sumi House maki (steamed lobster and crispy crab meat), as well as king and mango lobster maki (both with fried lobster), the menu looks pretty much as you’d expect at any sushi stop — California, Alaskan, scorpion, and caterpillar rolls — but the care, quality, and presentation elevate the restaurant.
The sushi, sashimi, and maki combo lunch plates, with your choice of salad or miso soup, all $20 or less, are a steal. At that price, I went all in on the sushi and sashimi combo: five pieces of nigiri atop moist, grainy sushi rice that had a hint of a vinegary sweetness and five healthy slabs of fresh fish. Both arrays featured silky smooth salmon, tuna, and white fish (yellowtail and snapper). Appetizers include shumai, chicken wings and tenders, and fried soft-shell crab. The restaurant also serves ramen and tempura shrimp udon.
On another visit, I ordered the mango poke bowl, which was less poke and more cold bibimbap crowned with large plump edamame, ripe avocado, warm long-grained rice, diced mango, a section of seaweed salad, bonito flakes, and a mound of ahi tuna. It was rice-light and ingredient-generous. The mango wasn’t quite as ripe as I would have liked, but the gloriously green avocado was. Overall, it’s an above-the-bar poke bowl. Sumi also serves daily specials, so along with the poke bowl, I tried the fresh crab maki that arrived in cucumber cups: a neat idea and gorgeous presentation. The crab was fresh and generous in serving — but I could see getting more out of that delicate crab meat in a hand roll, perhaps.
The service at Sumi is friendly, and the nook setting is bright and intimate and a worthy distraction for a quick, affordable fine dine — a quality-value win that you’ll be hard pressed to find elsewhere.
Note: At the time of this writing, Sumi was changing its operating hours, so make sure to check before going.
Have a favorite dish or dine out spot that we’ve not covered and think we should? Email Tom Meek at tmeek@cambridgeday.com.
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