Butterfish - Great Quality, No Frills Sushi

 

I recently dined at Butterfish (located at 550 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022), and it was a really unique experience.

My boyfriend and I were introduced to the place by a Gilt City Deal that we bought. We had recently had omakase at Sushi Seki, (known for their Omakase) and couldn't wait to get our mouths on another bite of omakase style sushi at a much more affordable price. When we saw the deal, we immediately jumped at the opportunity.

While, the deal was called omakase, I wouldn't exactly say we were served the same type of omakase as that of Sushi Seki, but we were still greatly pleased. Sushi seki decorated and sauced up each and every piece they served us, while Butterfish served us very plain fish that was supposed to be all about the taste, freshness, and quality of the fish. There was no need to dress up this fish.

Our deal included the "Kobe" tasting menu for each person and also 2 drinks per person. All in all, it was a great value! For a sushi place they had quite the selection of hard liquor. Just to name a few, they offered Belvedere, Grey Goose, and even Johnny Walker Blue! Also, my boyfriend loved the sake they served him.

 

First, we started off with Edamame. Not sure you can go wrong with Edamame, but it was the perfect temperature and crispness!


Edamame

Secondly, we had the sashimi of the day, which was Tuna in this very amazing sauce covered with scallions. Neither my boyfriend and I knew what was in the sauce, but we kept dipping our chop sticks back into it when we were done eating to get more of the flavor into our mouth.



Tuna Sashimi covered in scallions in a very yummy sauce

Next we were served 2 pieces of salmon sushi and 2 pieces of albacore tuna sushi. The flavor of both of these were so fresh and were a much larger size than most places serve. Nice thick slices!



Salmon Sushi and Albacore Tuna Sushi

Next up, we were served yellowtail, Tuna, and Seabass Sushi pieces. The yellow tail was so fresh it melted in your mouth. The seabass had such an amazing taste that we later ordered more. I felt the pieces were also of great size!

Yellowtail, Tuna, Seabass

Next, and my favorite, we were served the crab hand roll. I always never really thought I liked handrolls because I never had them made this good! The crunchy texture of the seaweed with the sticky rice and amazing flavor of crab all in one bite made me smile. I couldn't get enough of this hand roll. We ended up ordering seconds of this item as well :)


Crab Hand Roll



Seconds - Seabass Sushi and Crab Hand Rolls

 

I definitely enjoyed my experience at Butterfish and definitely will be back! I think its perfect for a girl's night dinner since we all tend to enjoy the healthier type of sushi with not a lot of sauce. I wouldn't go here if you are in the mood for the Americanized version of sushi where you order a Special Roll that is jam packed with crunch, spicy mayo, and 3 kinds of fish all in one. If you are in the mood to really enjoy the flavor of the fish and the fish alone, then Butterfish is your place!