Photo by: Michael Furman
Located in trendy South Pearl district, Sushi Den, 1487 S. Pearl St., has long been a weekend destination for DU students and couples.
The restaurant’s popularity is reflected in its rating by the Zagat Survey as one of the best sushi and Japanese restaurants in the United States.
Behind a simple, concrete faCB’ade, the restaurant offers comfortable seating in wooden chairs at marble-topped tables or at the sushi counter for those who want to observe the sushi chefs at work. Nearly a dozen chefs bustle behind the well-lit bar, while the large dining area is dimly lit for customers and soft jazz music plays in the background.
Staff is professional, friendly and knowledgeable about the restaurant’s menus. Customers are given three menus when they are seated: a regular menu, a sushi roll menu and a menu with the chef’s nightly specials.
Sushi Den is famous for the freshness of its ingredients. Fish is flown in daily from Japan. The entrees are presented artistically to whet the appetite.
The regular menu has numerous combinations and dinner options. Priced at $11, the plentiful calamari divides nicely between two or three people as an appetizer. Sushi Den’s calamari is served sliced into strips and sautéed in a choice of spicy miso sauce or garlic butter, and served with a medley of steamed tomatoes, mushrooms and asparagus.
Another starter is a calamari spinach salad for $11 or a traditional miso soup for $3.50.
Combination platters are great to share. These include the sushi dinner platter for $23. This platter is served with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, white fish, scallops, crab, shrimps and octopus sushi with a choice of a six-piece tuna roll or five piece California roll. Another platter at $16 is the chef’s special sampler, served with duck, salmon, calamari salad and miso tuna.
The sushi roll menu has a variety of tempura rolls, vegetarian rolls, hand rolls and exotic Japanese fish rolls.
The popular California roll costs $6 for eight pieces and is a safe order for the novice sushi eater. The rock-n-roll is a delicious balance of smoked salmon and cream cheese served in eight pieces for $6.50.
Five pieces of the futomaki roll is available for $7. This is a concoction of egg-and-shrimp tempura surrounded by rice and a thin rice paper wrap. Though this roll comes in three pieces, two of the pieces are oversized with shrimp tails sticking up wildly from the circle of rice.
The Sushi Den is known for its specials. As signature one at $12 is the Buri which is two slivers of the belly of a yellowtail. The belly is the most flavorful section of the fish, making the cost not only worth it because of its delicate flavor, but also because of its smooth texture.
Dining on sushi always leaves room for dessert. For $6 you get three mochi ice cream balls, each cut into halves. This delectable dessert comes in six flavor options including mango, strawberry, green tea, cappuccino, vanilla or red bean. For $6.95 the banana cream pie is also a good buy. It is made fresh daily. Each bite is a cool surprise of flaky crust, luscious cream and banana slices that are melt-in-your mouth delicious.
Reservations are highly recommended because even on a Wednesday night Sushi Den is packed. Parking on Pearl Street is limited, but the streets that parallel have plenty of parking and are within a short walking distance. Pearl Street is also accessible by foot from the campus in about 20 minutes or 15 minutes via bike.
