Sushi on 5 Detailed Review with Photos - Reflection 2/27/16

Greetings Cruisecritics! We just returned from an excellent cruise on Reflection and I know that many enquiring minds have been eagerly awaiting news of the brand new "pop-up" sushi restaurant that now lives in the former Bistro on 5 space on Reflection. We ate here twice and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I apologize in advance for the length and detail, but as a huge food enthusiast, I love to write about food! Hopefully this review will answer any and all questions you may have, but if not, feel free to ask!

We decided to purchase the Ultimate Dining Package for this cruise, as we knew we didn't want to eat in the MDR but were looking for a change from Blu (which we enjoyed on our last Reflection cruise). Luminae was very tempting, but suites were a bit out of our budget. The UDP represents an excellent value (and I'll do a more complete review of all of the other restaurants later), but when we purchased it we were told that it could not be used in Sushi on 5. We therefore decided to wait and eat at Sushi on 5 toward the end of the cruise, to see if they might be running any specials. I don't know if they ever did, but when we finally went in for dinner, the manager was kind enough to let us know that they were allowing those with the UDP to enjoy their meals free of additional charges. I don't know if this will continue but it was certainly a nice surprise for us!

We were also told upon purchasing the UDP that Sushi on 5 would be open for dinner exclusively, and this also ended up being incorrect, although I am sure that this misinformation was not the fault of the person who sold us our UDP but rather due to the newness of the restaurant and Celebrity's desire to market it as effectively as possible. It opened for lunch on the last sea day and was apparently very busy at that time. According to the manager, they hope to make lunch on sea days a regular thing going forward.

Anyway, we dropped into Sushi on 5 several times early in the week to take photos of the space, check out the menu, observe the chefs in action and generally see how busy it was and how the food looked. I think the renovation was very successful - the space is much more inviting than it was when it was Bistro on 5, in my opinion. I apologize for the poor quality of my photos and my immense lack of photographic skills, but hopefully the snapshots in the next post give you an idea of how the space now looks. The lighting makes it quite lovely in the evening especially, and the proximity to the Grand Foyer means you can enjoy whatever concerts are going on down there at a reasonable volume while you dine.

During one of these visits I approached the manager and maître d', Sasha, to ask about how the first week was going and to see if I might order one of their special cocktails even though we were eating elsewhere that night. Sasha was incredibly welcoming and more than happy to talk about the work they've been doing on the restaurant. He also recommended a few things from the drink menu and took care of ordering and delivering our cocktails (which are prepared by the staff at the World Class Bar) personally. We stopped by several more times for drinks only, which was never a problem - there are a couple of tables and chairs just outside of the restaurant which made for a convenient place to wait, but Sasha also said we could take a table if we chose (although I think this would be discouraged at busy times, as it should be).

Their cocktails are strong, delicious and creative - along with some on the World Class Bar menu, they were among my favorites on the ship. The drink package can be used here, and all of their cocktails and many sake selections fall within the Premium Package limits. I think they would be smart to install a small seating area in front of the chefs' workspace to encourage people to come in for drinks only, or drinks and a snack, and watch the chefs work. I forgot to take photos of my drinks, but I enjoyed the Smashy Japanese (a must if you like spice) and the Improved Japanese Cocktail very much. The Shiso Sour and Spicy Mangotini were also good, although a bit sweet for my taste. We also enjoyed the Takatenjin sake - it was silky and dry, really lovely. I don't know much about sake but I am looking forward to coming here again to explore more of their selections!

When we finally came in for dinner, we came right at 6pm, when they opened. There were only a couple of other patrons at that time, but business did pick up a bit as the evening wore on. Still, I would say that no more than a third of the tables were filled, and I never saw it truly busy in the evenings. Loreto, our waiter, took excellent care of us, and coordinated seamlessly with other servers and staff members for some of the best service we experienced on the ship. I thought this particularly impressive given that the venue has only been open for a week, and when I complemented Sasha he told me that they have been working on the roll out for months and put some of Celebrity's best and most experienced servers on the team. They obviously want this to be a success!

Now, what you've all been waiting for - the food! We came hungry and planned to try a variety of items, keeping in mind how much we might have spent to get full if we were paying the a la carte prices. I eat sushi fairly frequently and know a bit about proper cutting techniques for sashimi, the correct seasoning for the rice, maki and nigiri assembly, serving temperatures, etc. Given the prices, which are approximately the same as mid-level sushi and ramen shops in NYC, I wasn't expecting a Masa-level experience, but I was hoping that Sushi on 5 would at least be on par with my go-to mid-range places.

Having looked over the menu thoroughly beforehand, I had already noticed a few things that stood out as interesting, as well as a few menu weaknesses. First, the maki selection is VERY small - only nine rolls, several of which are duplicative. For instance, there is am Alaskan California roll, and then a California roll topped with scallops. A Spicy Tuna and the Green Roof Tuna, which is a spicy tuna with avocado on top. A Shrimp Tempura and an Eel Dragon which is just a shrimp tempura roll with eel on top. Almost all of the rolls contain avocado, which is great if you like avocado, but not great if you don't. No salmon- or hamachi-based maki, no salmon skin, etc. They have a much wider variety of fish available for sashimi and nigiri, so it's not as though they don't have access to ingredients for a wider and more creative variety of maki. Second, the starter section has four different crudo preparations, plus a sashimi salad - why have all of these in addition to sashimi? If you're trying to appeal to different palates (or attract diners who don't care for sushi), offering some cooked options and/or some non-fish options might be a better idea. A wider variety of dumplings, some yakitori, etc., would give the venue much broader appeal.

Despite these quibbles, there was obviously plenty of good stuff to try! We started with the chicken gyoza and ramen sliders, as my husband is not a huge fan of raw fish and I had already enjoyed a couple of crudo preparations at the Porch earlier that day. The dumplings tasted exactly like the chicken dumplings that I buy from Costco - perfectly fine, but not particularly interesting. The ramen slider, however, was really delicious - an open-faced burger on a "bun" made of compressed, fried ramen noodles. Ramen burgers have recently become a thing in NYC, but I haven't yet had the chance to try one here - it's good to know Celebrity is keeping up with trends! Our server didn't ask how we wanted it cooked and it came closer to medium than the medium rare I would have preferred, but the meat was tender and well-seasoned - it almost had a sausage-like quality. The ginger aioli was a nice complement - a little sweet, a little spicy.

Next we decided to share a bowl of the BBQ pork ramen. Ramen has become something of an obsession here in NYC, and each shop does it a little differently, but a very intense broth is a must. A soft-boiled egg with a just-barely-set yolk is also de rigueur. The broth at Sushi on 5 was savory but lacked the signature long-cooked gelatinous richness that a great ramen broth has. Also, the egg was hard-boiled, with a fully-set yolk (I actually prefer this, because I hate soft yolks, but it's definitely not the way a ramen egg is normally done). The noodles were nicely springy, though, and the pork belly slices were flavorful and tender. So, not the best or most authentic ramen I've had, but certainly tasty enough. The portion was on the small side - they were generous with the pork, but not so much with the noodles or broth, so the bowl was only about half full. When you order ramen in a ramen shop, it is meant to be a complete meal (more or less), and this was not - they are obviously hoping you'll order more than one item here.

Finally, we moved on to the sushi! My husband is a big fan of maki, and tends to choose things with cooked fish or eel (although he does like raw tuna in small quantities). I love it all, so we ordered the Green Roof Tuna roll, Eel Dragon Roll and Seared Scallop roll, as well as hamachi, salmon and eel nigiri. The rolls are standard-sized, cut into eight pieces and beautifully presented (photos in the next post). The rice was room temperature with good texture (lightly sticky, but the grains still individual and toothsome) and the maki held together nicely. The seasoning (vinegar, sugar, salt) was on the subtle side of what I would consider appropriate for sushi rice, but nicely balanced. Well done!

The maki fillings were somewhat less impressive. The Green Roof tuna filling was quite bland (not at all spicy as advertised) and the texture was somewhat grainy/pasty due to the way the tuna had been chopped. Usually the spicy mayo in a spicy tuna roll masks any issues with the texture of the fish, but there was no discernable spice or mayo in this tuna, so the texture was at the forefront. The Seared Scallop roll was not exactly what I was expecting from the menu description - I thought it would be a California roll wrapped in thinly-sliced scallops, but it was actually a California roll (made with real crab instead of surimi) with a sort of chopped scallop salad on top. This salad was made up of VERY rare, warm scallops that had been mixed with some tobiko and (I think) mayo, and the roll itself was extremely heavy on the avocado, so the overall impression was quite rich and fatty, with a mushy, almost slimy texture. The Eel Dragon roll was the best of the three, although the crispness of the shrimp tempura was lacking.

The nigiri was also a bit disappointing. Given that the rice was rather lightly seasoned, I was expecting the chef to have added a bit of wasabi under the fish (as is traditional but not done by all chefs) to give it an extra kick. No such luck, although wasabi is easy enough to add oneself. The eel was excellent, flavorful and tender. The hamachi was also pretty good - good texture and a nice even slice. The salmon, however, was a disaster - it was unevenly sliced, far too thick, flavorless and WAY too lean. Salmon for nigiri should be unctuous and have obvious white fat striations, but as you can see from the photos, this was solid pink, without a hint of fat. Huge bummer, as I LOVE salmon sushi and since none of the rolls on the menu came with salmon, this was my only salmon option.

We were extremely full by this time, but in the interest of giving a thorough review, we decided to press on and order some dessert! My husband had the yuzu sorbet and I tried the Caramelized Gingerbread. The yuzu sorbet was incredible - by far the best sorbet on the ship. Tart and intense with just enough sweetness, no ice crystals to mar the texture. So good! My husband was sad that he only received one smallish scoop. The gingerbread was unexpectedly delicious as well, although very sweet due to the crackly sugar topping. The "bread" was actually a soft, spongy cake with tons of fresh ginger flavor, soaking in a creamy rice milk mixture. The passionfruit purée on the bottom of the bowl added a welcome tartness. Again, very small portion, but since it was so sweet and rich, I didn't mind. I probably would have been annoyed at the small dessert portions if I had been paying a la carte prices, though - for $8, I would have expected something large enough to share, and this really wasn't.

Lest you think me too critical, I should tell you that we enjoyed our meal at Sushi on 5 enough to cancel our final reservation for Qsine and dine here again the following night! Service and ambiance were equally nice on our second trip, and even though we arrived quite late, we never felt rushed. We enjoyed the ramen slider, pork ramen, eel dragon roll and yuzu sorbet a second time, and tried the hamachi crudo, lobster ramen and rainbow roll for something new. I was VERY impressed with the hamachi crudo - the preparation was wonderful and subtle, with just a hint of sweetness from the balsamic and a good balance of salty, sour and spicy from the yuzu, jalapenos and ponzu. The frizzled leeks added a wonderful crispy texture contrast to the silky fish. So much more interesting (to me) than plain sashimi or nigiri would have been - I wish I had ordered this the first night! I had consistently good hamachi crudo at the Porch on this cruise as well, so kudos to whoever supplied the fish! The rainbow roll was better than the others I tried - the vegetables inside were crunchy and fresh-tasting and I loved the contrast of flavors and textures among various pieces, depending on which fish was on the outside.

It was fun to compare the two ramens, although I was surprised to find that the pork ramen was a bit different on the second night than the first. Different (flatter/wider and not curly) noodles, richer and tangier broth. The broth was actually better on the second night, but I preferred the curly noodles from the first night's bowl. The lobster ramen had the same flatter noodles so I'm guessing they may have just used the same noodles for both bowls to avoid cooking both types. The lobster ramen broth was different from the pork, too - richer still and ever so slightly sweet, but a little dull. I enjoyed it, but I felt like it overpowered the delicate flavor of the lobster a bit. Something a little cleaner with a bit of acidity would complement the sweet lobster better.

So, there it is! We really liked Sushi on 5 and I would definitely return. The sushi is certainly of much higher quality than what is served in Qsine or what used to be on the buffet - about what I'd expect from a mid-level land based restaurant. They need a greater variety of maki if they want to attract repeat customers, though, and they will definitely need to pay closer attention to the quality of their fish if they want the sashimi and nigiri portion of the menu to be successful.

One final criticism: I think the a la carte pricing is going to be a hard thing for cruisers to swallow, even though you can really eat quite generously for approximately what you'd pay for any of the other specialty restaurants. If you add up the prices for what we ordered on our first trip (when we were quite hungry), our bill would have come to $83+18% gratuity, or $97.94 - about the same as a full-price trip to Murano. Also, we likely wouldn't have ordered dessert if it hadn't been included, so that would have saved us $15 or so. Our second trip would have come to $69.62 (without dessert). I wonder if perhaps doing a la carte prices at lunch (where people generally eat less) and then a set price at dinner (with a small additional charge for sashimi or nigiri, perhaps) might make people see it as a better value.

Sasha mentioned that they were going to be meeting with senior management this week to determine whether to take the restaurant fleet-wide, so I think this "pop-up" title is simply marketing - far too much work has gone into this for it to disappear in three months! Completely renovating and redecorating a space and designing a new menu and concept every three months for a new pop-up is just never going to happen on a cruise ship, nor should it. Thanks so much for reading and please do let me know if you have any questions!

Interior Photos:

Food Photos

Dumplings:

Ramen Slider:

Pork Ramen:

Eel Dragon:

Green Roof:

Seared Scallop:

More Food Photos

Scallop close-up (see how little crab and how much avocado there is?):

Nigiri:

Gingerbread:

Sorbet:

Second Night Food Photos

Hamachi Crudo:

Lobster Ramen:

Rainbow Roll:

Thank you for an informative and interesting review!

So much has been speculated. Now the reality.

I only hope the continue to accept the UDP!

Menu, courtesy of Host Andy:

Great review. Sounds like they are trying. Most disappointing is the ramen.....from the picture, it's credibly small....they have to rethink what they are doing there or lots of complaints. They should be able to serve a wider selection of fish....and certainly some vegetarian rolls. I guess we'll see what hq decides to do.

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Thank you for the detailed review. Sounds like it's worth a try.

Wow! Sounds and looks great. Thank you for all the details, so hungry right now.....

The ramen is definitely small - it might do for a small appetite for a light meal, but I think most people would require more than just that for a full meal. You can't tell from my photo, but there was quite a bit of pork - probably five slices - but much less noodles and broth than I would expect in a full order from a regular ramen shop. Here's another photo that shows what it looked like after we separated it into two small bowls. I would estimate that these smaller bowls hold no more than 10 fluid ounces.

They should be able to serve a wider selection of fish....and certainly some vegetarian rolls. I guess we'll see what hq decides to do.

Oh, and I agree with you on the roll selection - I think what they have now is really poorly planned. There is virtually nothing for vegetarians, either - one roll, one tofu salad, edamame, and that's it. I don't think they even included tamago (egg) nigiri.

If that is the scoop of sorbet for $8.00, they are extremely stingy!! Wow!

The sorbet was actually only $5, it was the gingerbread that was $8. Still, it was a pretty small amount for $5, I thought! Also, there was no presentation - for $5 I would expect at least a damn mint leaf! :D

Thanks for sharing.:D

Thank you so much for doing this review! I'll be interested to see how this does moving forward and I hope we get to try it. I was surprised though how much it added up too. I'd honestly just feel better about paying a set amount up front.

I, for one, was a big fan of the original Bistro on 5, with the wonderful crepes and paninnis. I thought it was a great place for a meal on embarkation day or a light bite when coming back from a day off the ship.

Will be on the Summit in August and hope that Bistro and not Sushi is still there.

Not a sushi fan at all, so if the change is made fleet wide I will be unhappy that there is one less dining venue for me to enjoy.

well done. enjoyable style and a fair amount of objective information to go along with the subjective thoughts

thank you

john

I, for one, was a big fan of the original Bistro on 5, with the wonderful crepes and paninnis. I thought it was a great place for a meal on embarkation day or a light bite when coming back from a day off the ship.

Will be on the Summit in August and hope that Bistro and not Sushi is still there.

Not a sushi fan at all, so if the change is made fleet wide I will be unhappy that there is one less dining venue for me to enjoy.

I know a lot of people feel this way, although if Sushi on 5 opens for lunch every day I think you may find that it is an equally good place for a light bite. Even if you are not a sushi fan, there are some things you might enjoy (the ramen slider, dumplings, beef tartare, udon and ramen bowls, etc.), and hopefully they will expand the non-fish offerings as they continue to refine the restaurant.

I will say that I missed the opportunity to go to Bistro at breakfast - I understand that they stopped offering breakfast a while ago, but on my last Reflection cruise it was still open, and it was nice to have that alternative to the buffet on insanely busy days (same goes for the Porch in its previous iteration, although we definitely enjoyed it as a seafood place for lunch). I wish they could find a way to make use of the fifth floor space in the morning, especially since Cafe al Bacio has become so popular and crowded.

well done. enjoyable style and a fair amount of objective information to go along with the subjective thoughts

Thanks! I always try to include the facts, since I know taste is extremely subjective. Luckily photos (even terrible ones like mine) tell the story well!

Great review, thanks for taking the time to post! I'm not a fan and not a seafood lover, it would be good to see more non seafood options, dumplings etc but am sure it will be very popular with many, aside from the ala carte pricing...I don't see that going down very well but time will tell!!

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Thank you for an excellent review. I was a Bistro on 5 fan, infact it was my embarkation day lunch tradition to visit. I'm on Reflection for 21 nights in less than two months and although I don't like sushi, I will go and try the dumplings, sliders and ramen as you suggest :)

Thanks for the review and great photos...

Seems to be a place for a very specific type of food...we'd prefer more balance...maybe a few of the most popular dishes from Silk Harvest menu would work there.

Overall...we have lost our lunch spot!

We are on Equinox and anxious to try Bistro on 5 but would not try if it changes to Sushi. Especially at those prices. We sail soon for our first time on Celebrity so I guess it may be our one and only time to try Bistro. Change doesn't really affect our choice because we have never gone hungry on a cruise.

Thank you for an excellent review. I was a Bistro on 5 fan, infact it was my embarkation day lunch tradition to visit. I'm on Reflection for 21 nights in less than two months and although I don't like sushi, I will go and try the dumplings, sliders and ramen as you suggest :)

I hope you enjoy it! The a la carte pricing actually works well for those who don't like sushi, IMO, because you can have a light meal of the few things you do like and pay only for those things. At a place like the Porch, you end up paying $30 for a burger if you don't like seafood.