Sushi is a food that, for me at least, always seems to oscillate between the good and the bad with little room in the middle. Not too long ago now, I found the impulse to try out another one of DC's sushi restaurants. I've had the pleasure of eating at one very good sushi restaurant out of the five I've been to since living in DC. Uni, unfortunately, is not that restaurant of distinction.
Situated just west of DuPont Circle, Uni charges DuPont prices and delivers Kingman Park quality.
I settled in with my dining companion and ordered a round of beers and a bottle of sake. For the first round of sushi we ordered ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin), unagi (freshwater eel), and maguro (tuna) as nigiri pieces, and a spicy tuna roll for a few pieces of maki.
The unagi was fine. It's really hard to mess up something you cover with a delicious sauce and quickly heat with a blow torch. The ikura was of decent quality. The maguro could have been fresher. And the uni was terrible. Uni should be sweet and have a hint of the flavor of the sea. This uni lacked any sweetness and tasted like I'd just swallowed a gulp from the Atlantic after I was thrown about by an errant wave.
There's not much to say about the spicy tuna roll other than it tasted like anyone's spicy tuna roll.
The only event worth noting from eating at Uni was trying their concoction entitled the "watermelon roll". It lacked a despriction on the menu but I figured it couldn't be any worse than what I'd already had.In a moment of creative flair, uni used sesame seeds, avocado, and tuna to create the illusion of watermelon around a maki roll. It garners higher points for creativity that it does for taste.
I'd assume that at this point it goes without saying, but I'd keep looking if I was in the mood to have some high quality sushi in DC--or at the very minimum something that is worth the price you're paying. The whole meal left my hunger unsated and kicked me in the wallet for 48 dollars (after the check was split).
Uni A Sushi Place
2122 P St., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.833.8038
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