Date Visited: 1/21/2020
(Though we’ve been multiple times before)

Sushishima Japanese Restaurant resides in a little strip mall called The Vineyard just north of Loop 1604 and west of Blanco Road in the Stone Oak area of San Antonio, TX.  It’s quite an interesting location for a sushi and Japanese fusion type restaurant, but it gets the job done as it’s very conveniently located close to almost anything you’d ever need to shop for.

The restaurant is well-signed within the shopping center.  You can’t miss it.  As it is in a shopping center, the parking lot is large and there are handicap spaces close to the restaurant for those who need them.  The hours are clearly posted at the entrance.

When you enter you are greeted by a dining room that is quite spacious and softly lit.  Those with light sensitivities should do just fine here.  The ambiance is quiet and there is usually a mix of soft music playing in the background.  There is a bar tucked away in the corner, which offers beer, wine, and hot/cold sake.  Lynn, true to his roots having had a great-grandmother who was full-blood Japanese, always orders a hot sake with his dinner.

The menu seems to be very easily modifiable for food allergies/reactions.  Neither one of us have ever had any trouble navigating and the wait and kitchen staff have always been happy to modify to accommodate.  For those who like soy sauce, they even have gluten-free soy sauce available upon request for no additional charge.

For the purpose of our review, Lynn had a few offerings from the sushi roll menu while Laina had a salmon entree.

Lynn:

This is pretty much my “standard” order when coming here.  The first thing is a “Rainbow Roll” (minus the imitation crab as it contains gluten).  It consists of avocado and cucumber inside the roll and topped with a mix of tuna, salmon, and white fish.  It is a lovely mix of delicate flavors – the fish used are not too strong or gamey.  The softness of the fish contrasts the crunch of the cucumber, which keeps things interesting.

The second thing is a spicy salmon roll, which consists of chopped salmon mixed with sriracha sauce, and the outside is coated with sesame seeds.  The spice level is pretty subtle; anyone can handle it, but it is still quite nice and flavorful.  It’s a great substitute for those who have gluten issues but want something like a crab roll – the texture is very similar.

Finally is a simple yellowtail roll, which features yellowtail and green scallion with the seaweed wrapped around the outside as opposed to an inner layer.  A very light and delicate roll, this one is refreshing and would be a good introduction to sushi for those new to it.

The hot sake is of quality to be enjoyable.  It’s nothing terribly special, but it does have that characteristic umami zing that you’ve come to expect in a hot sake.  It definitely takes me back to my childhood and makes me reflect fondly when my great-grandmother would give me little sips of hers.

As I cannot have imitation wasabi (which also has gluten, surprisingly!), I normally just ask for extra ginger and gluten-free soy sauce.  The ginger is a bit of a weak point here – to me it doesn’t have quite enough sweetness for sushi ginger (Laina agrees), but to me it isn’t offputting.  This might be a temporary supply issue though, as the ginger when we first came here was sweeter.

Laina: 

This was anything but my standard fare when we visit this place.  Typically I go with the Rainbow roll as Lynn described above (except I also remove the tuna for mercury precautions), but alas, I was coming down with a virus and warm food intuitively felt like a better option for me that night.

Luckily, however, I could still taste (!).  And this entree didn’t disappoint.  The salmon itself had good flavor without any fishy smell/taste, flaked easily in most places, although a little dry and just a hair tougher/less tender than I’d like in other places.  The restaurant typically cooks this fish with a teriyaki glaze, which contains gluten, so I had to have it left off, and the salmon was stripped down to basic seasonings and oils.

The entree also typically calls for yaki-soba noodles, which are also wheat flour-based, and they helpfully suggested substituting grilled vegetables in their place.  The vegetables were grilled nicely, with mild seasoning, and not too much salt, and paired well with the fish, giving it a little extra flavor.  The sticky rice lived up to its name, at least until I drizzled roasted garlic in oil over it.  😉

All in all, an excellent entree that I would order again!  It was a nice combination; even if the flavor didn’t pop off the plate, it was still plenty tasty.

I typically have wine with my usual sushi, but because of the developing virus, I couldn’t indulge in that this time.  Usually, I have a nice white moscato, but since I’ve only had that a few times, I can’t say too much about it just yet; I will remember to do that next time, so I’ll edit this post then!

Fun Facts: This place has a happy hour, 7 days per week from 3-6pm for dine-in customers only.  Monday-Wednesday is when you get the best deals, with all non-starred menu items being 50% off (as well as the sake!), starred menu items being 20% off.  Thursday-Sunday it’s just 20% across the board.  For lunch specials (open until 3pm), all sushi rolls are buy 2, get 1 free (equal or lesser value), so you can really do sushi on the cheap here if you go at the right times.

Highlights: 

• Well signed and accessible
• Dimly lit, ambient dining room
• Quiet-ish atmosphere
• Easily navigable for food allergies
• Very good happy hour deals
• Beer/wine and sake available
• Quality food at a good price
• (Laina thinks it gets just a little chilly in the summer as they ramp up the A/C full blast)