Sushi Central | Abu Dhabi

“So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.” Franz Kafka

Since opening a few years ago homegrown venture Sushi Central has been making its mark on the Abu Dhabi casual dining scene. As a vegetarian sushi restaurants are not generally top of my list but with plenty of fish free options I was impressed with the selection of dishes available at this award-winning concept.

Located in three venues across the capital, Sushi Central offers a healthy and affordable Japanese inspired menu that can be enjoyed either dining in at one of the restaurants or via home delivery. While platters of elegantly arranged fresh sushi and sashimi are the restaurant’s bread and butter it has plenty more to offer with an extensive menu that includes dim sum, soups, salads, maki, yakitori, teppanyaki, teriyaki, katsu and desserts.

We were invited to try a selection of some of the new dishes, Dim Sum Chums, Miso Glazed Eggplant and Black Sesame Ice Cream amongst others of our choice. Dim Sum Chums was eight pieces of siomai presented in a traditional wooden basket; two each of shrimp, chicken, crabmeat and vegetable served with three dipping sauces. I’m a big fan of all things eggplant so really enjoyed the perfectly cooked and tasty vegetable dish, miso and eggplant are an excellent combination and it’s something I regularly order when dining at Japanese establishments. Other dishes we sampled were a generous portion of Edamame with sea salt, a spicy Miso soup and Sashimi Salad the other half’s favourite.

The portion sizes are very generous and we found ourselves very full. We did however manage to save some space to try the more unusual mochi topped black sesame ice cream with caramelized pecan nuts and chocolate straws which was a palatable and light dessert option. The other half was so impressed with his ginger and lemon homemade iced tea that he ordered two and even asked for the recipe.

Opened at the end of last year, Sushi Central’s third branch at Yas Central is a big space with an equally large terrace overlooking the F1 track. While it may be a tad warm for alfresco dining right now the expanse of floor to ceiling glass in the air-conditioned interior gives its guests uninterrupted views of the cars whizzing around the Yas Marina Circuit. The light and airy unlicenced restaurant was sadly empty on the weekend lunchtime when we visited which is a real shame as the food is excellent and affordable, it’s family-friendly, the service is good and the staff courteous.

While Yas may be quiet the more centrally located venues in Khalidiya and Mina are more populated, Sushi Central’s home delivery is booming bringing fresh high quality restaurant food straight to your door. Special Ramadan bentos will be available for home delivery throughout the holy month across Abu Dhabi, the boxes will feature different combinations of the restaurants most popular dishes. Three options of bentos will be available with dishes such as Crab & Cucumber Salad, Edamame, California Uramaki, Salmon & Avocado Fresh Maki and Shrimp Tempura.

Throughout Ramadan, delivery and takeaway will be available all day from 11:00am until midnight, dine-in is from Iftar until closing, delivery is available all across Abu Dhabi including the islands.