The James Logan Courier

By Mei Xin Yang, Courier Staff Writer

On a Tuesday night, a friend called to invite me to a dinner at the Sushi House in Alameda before she heads back to college. As we walked in, we went straight to the outdoor patio area and found our seats, avoiding the long line of would-be diners, since we had made a reservation.

That's one of the problems with this restaurant. Reservations can only be made for the outdoor patio area, but not the inside dining room. Seating on the patio are very limited. On the bright side, there are heaters out there to keep us warm. Even so, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring a jacket if you plan on dining at the outdoor patio area, as it's right across the street from the often chilly San Franciso Bay. This trip, however, the heaters did the trick and kept our party happy and comfortable.

After we sat down, my friend ordered our food without any explanation required from the waitress. Since it was busy that day, we waited for about 20 minutes until the food came.

When it arrived, I was surprised by how artful the food's presentation was. We had miso soup and salad for appetizers. Then came along three sushi rolls, two giant boats of sashimi and sushi, and finally a tray of tempura-battered and fried items.

The attractiveness of the food made me even more hungry, and I wasn't disappointed with the taste of it, either. It was so delicious that, even though I usually do not like sashimi, I reluctantly tried the salmon sashimi at the urging of my friend. Surprisingly, I liked the raw fish, even more after I enhanced it with soy sauce and wasabi.

Prices are reasonable. For example, a rather generously sized two-piece serving of Hamachi, or raw yellowtail tuna, costs $4.50.

After we finished the food and wanted to get our check, the waitress was too busy of helping other tables that just came in and did not notice us. The get the bill, I had to walke up to her and request for it, after we waited for five minutes.

However, this delay did not bother me much, and even though overall the service in the restaurant was not fantastic, I loved the food there.

Overall, this is a good restaurant and recommend anyone to go try it.