I love a bargain as much as anyone else. However this doesn’t extend to rummaging in sales bins or queuing up from 6am to get into a Department Store sale only to jostle around and snatch clothes from other shoppers. I am a lazy bargain hunter at best but when a bargain presents itself and it’s in easy reach, I grab it. The easiest bargain to be had in this GFC riddled world has to be Sushi Choo’s $20 All You Can Eat Sushi available from 12-1pm or 6-8pm every day.
I did a double take when I first saw the bargain advertised thinking that it must be one of those cheap and nasty sushi chains that is always featuring in the news for food poisoning scares. Surely this isn’t Merivale’s Sushi Choo? Home to the chic and perfectly merchandised furniture and staff? I immediately told my husband who readily agreed to a date. We rarely go to Sushi Trains because he can easily eat $50 worth of sushi in one sitting so the idea of eating as much as he wanted for $20 appealed to him enormously.
Just in case, we’ve made a booking for two people for 6pm. We arrive at 5.58pm only to be asked to wait for 2 minutes while they get the train 100% ready. At 6pm the black wooden barriers slide open and we enter the room which is bathed in a glowing red. The interior is beautiful although it does strike me as more “Chinese” than “Japanese” (I imagine a Franck Eggelhoffer Interior Decorator type saying “Just make it look Asian!“) except for the robots and Astro Boy figurines.
The sushi train is in full motion snaking its offering around the room. It seems most customers are partaking of the $20 all you can eat deal although a la carte plates can also be ordered (prices are pretty reasonable for many of the a la carte offerings). During the promotion times, the sushi train is a reduced version of the menu so not all of the regular sushi train plates are featured.
Miso Soup $5 (a la carte menu)
Mr NQN declares this to be delicious although I didn’t try this for myself.
Spicy Seaweed Salad
The spicy seaweed salad is of course a favourite with its spicy sesame dressing. I confess we probably ate about 7 plates of this (but Your Honour, they’re small servings!).
I can admit my little secret to you Dear Reader: I love Japanese Mayo mixed with soy sauce to dip my sushi into. Our lovely waiter who is both courteous and friendly offers me a Jalapeño Mayo which I eagerly try. It’s fantastic and gives a little kick to the sushi as my sinuses can’t take wasabi.
Dynamite Roll
My favourite sushi was the dynamite tuna roll. Edged with roe, it’s filled with delicious raw spicy tuna and cucumber with the chili giving it an extra dimension.
Salmon Nigiri
The salmon nigiri is sublime as the salmon absolutely melts in the mouth. Mr NQN usually doesn’t like salmon but he eagerly eats these choosing them over his usual favourite, raw tuna.
Tuna Nirigi
The tuna nigiri isn’t bad although I am always prefer salmon and as I mentioned, even the avowed tuna lover Mr NQN prefers the salmon here.
Cooked Prawn Nigiri
I’ve never been a big fan of cooked prawn nigiri finding the prawn comparatively tough next to the rice but this one is surprisingly tasty and probably the only cooked prawn nigiri I’ve really enjoyed.
Edamame
Perfect beer snack food, we enjoy popping the salty edamame pods and releasing the little beans into our mouths.
Sweet Pickles
The pickles are sweet with a sesame flavour.
Salmon Avocado roll
It seems anything with salmon is good here and this is no exception and it’s a nice match with the creamy avocado.
Fried Prawn Sushi Roll
Unfortunately with the fried prawn sushi roll, the crumbed prawn inside was not as freshly cooked as I like and was lukewarm to cold.
Fried Prawns
The panko crumbed prawns are freshly cooked and give us a nice break from the sushi.
Cooked Tuna
Unfortunately these were not my favourite and I left most of this behind as it was quite dry in texture.
Potato croquette
The crispy potato croquette is freshly fried and piping hot and with a soft potato filling inside.
“I know this is cheating but I just wanted to bring you this to try out” says our favourite waiter. He explains that the dish he is holding is part of the regular sushi train that comes out after 8pm. Outside the hours of the promotion, diners have a card that sits on the table. Each plate ranges from $3 to $9 (for dishes such as the grilled eel) and when the plates are cleared, the waiter stamps the card in a fusion of sushi train and yum cha.
Three types of fish
It’s a cooked salmon roll with cream cheese with avocado, kingfish and tuna on top with Jalapeno mayo and terikayi sauce on the side. Essentially three types of fish. We dig in eagerly and it’s delicious, all of the flavours playing together well with a judicious amount of cream cheese (which can be quite frankly ghastly in sushi if overdone).
And the total bill? $45 – $5 for the miso soup and $20 per person for all the sushi we could eat and more. Even Mr NQN (the proud tightass) declares it 10 out of 10 for value (and in turn he demotes his beloved Shanghai Night restaurant to 9.5/10 for value).
So tell me Dear Reader, what’s the best deal you’ve spotted during this GFC?
And because it’s Wednesday, here is our Wednesday Wallpaper! How about a bit of Persian Love?
Also I would like to announce the winners of the Brasserie Bread Roll Call competition:
Zi-Yang from Blake Dawson
Sarah from Suede
Are the lucky recipients of the box of Brasserie Bread! Mei from Brasserie Bread will contact you to arrange delivery. Thanks to everyone that entered 
Sushi Choo at Ivy
Level G, 320 George Street, Sydney, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9240 3000
Open: Monday – Friday 11.00am – late. Saturday 6pm – late
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57 Comments | Add your own
What a beautiful restaurant (I love the red decor). I like sushi with Japanese mayo in it, but I never thought of mixing it with soy sauce for dipping…brilliant! I’m dying for sushi now!
Jealous!!! Although I was just in Japan, I still want to eat all I can eat sushi with you in Sydney
Well being in Brisbane, my fav value meal is at Indian Kitchen in West End. Authentic northern indian curries, you can get 2 veg and one meat on a plate with heaps of beautiful tumeric dyed basmati rice for $10. The meat curries pull apart with a fork, the butter chicken is so so sweet. They even have a Taj Mahal mural and the Bollywood channel on at all times, and many desserts to choose from.
The interiour looks gorgeous, if not very Japanese, and what a deal! Oooh, my BIL would really enjoy this – I’ll be able to take him when I vist Sydney next month, WOOOO HOOOO! xxx
We tried this a few weeks ago – I love a ‘lazy’ bargain too!
It was good value and we were full. My favourite was the crumbed prawn (I don’t eat sashimi) but we had to be patient (we arrived at 6:15pm and it got busy quickly) and wait for them to be added to the train.
We recently enjoyed the $49 two-course pre-theatre dinner at Bird Cow Fish. We’re thinking of making a booking for Flying Fish – $85 for three courses from Peter Kuruvita’s cook book on the last Monday of each month.
That sounds absolutely amazing.
I can’t get over what good value this is. It definitely appeals to the tightass asian in me! Oh man, I haven’t seen croquettes served on a sushi train before, I would eat SO many! Same with the seaweed salad, I don’t blame you for eating 7
Looks like it was a very good bargain!!! the waiter you had sounds lovely- good service makes such a difference.
Looks great! Will definitely have to go soon.
Had friends who went and demolished it. Each consuming 16-20 plates. That works out to be $1 a plate if you have 20 plates. Cheap as chips if your a bloke with a huge appetite.
ohmygoodness this is a bargain! normally $20 = 4 sushi plates but eat all you can is waaaay better! potato croquette mmm yum!
I am so going there! Such a great deal and the food doesn’t look too stingy. And have you tried wasabi with Jap mayo – delicious with bbq Wagyu beef!
All you can eat sushi for $20 sounds like possibly the best thing ever!!!!!
oh wow. you have me completely convinced, NQN. i heard about this deal a little while ago but was hesitant because i thought it might be all sashimi type stuff (of which i can’t eat a lot due to allergies) but the variety has me impressed!
i actually passed by sushi choo the other day and was wondering ‘oh god, another sushi train’. now i know it’s actually ‘not just another sushi train’ – thank god
give me a good salmon avocado roll any day!
oh wait a minute.. sushi choo’s at ivy? i swear i saw another sushi choo on the street in the CBD..
Ok so you got a better deal than we did !! I was a little bit disappointed as the choice was a lot more bland when I went. There were definitely no prawn options at all.
Either way it was great value for $20. Sushi Choo is my fave sushi train in Sydney.
oh wow, what a bargain, must go before the offer ends !! thanks for sharing
Excellent review! Decided I had to do this the minute I heard about it – so very excited about my own booking soon too. Yum!
The decor looks really funky; I mean, Japanese robots and Chinese accents! But really, the food looks quite good and it was a steal at that price.
looks good- i’ve also heard reports that the offerings aren’t always as generous.
apparently kobe jones down at KSW has a similar deal at $25/ head. A chance for comparison perhaps?
wow, the place will be in my list. I love eating maki with mayo also but never thought about mixing it in soy sauce.. clever!
and.. thanks for the persian love cupcake.. super pretty !
I’m actually not so good with sushi buffets…it’s amazingly filling with all the rice! But that is a pretty good deal!
Heads up – Umi Kaiten Zushi has a $3.50/plate special for its 4th anniversary. Last time I went there, there was super fresh sushi!
I LOVE sushi and when I first heard about this deal I thought that the sushi would be packed full of rice to fill people up but it actually looks really good! Must pay Sushi Choo a visit, and Kobe Jones as well since they have a similar all you can eat sushi special for $25 (and it includes their volcano roll – my favourite
)
Japanese mayo + soy sauce sounds like an intersting combination – I’m not a big fan of wasabi either so this is something I’ll have to try next time I eat sushi!
The restaurant is chic. Love the goldfish bowl vases with peonies (are they?). The three fish roll has my name written all over it.
Love the interior! and all those for $20?!! What a bargain.
That’s really good value! I’m sure you’ll be returning to them at some point?
It’s great that the food was good as most ‘all you can eat’ places are usually not very good.
Someone mentioned Kobe Jones in the earlier comments (and a $25 all you can eat special)… I’m so envious! Wish they had the same special here. The volcano roll IS amazing. And the number one special… we always order two each when we go there, lol.
I count 19 plates in the first pic – were there more that couldn’t fit into the frame?
All You Can Eat Sushi is also available here in Canada. It’s been a rage here for the last 10 odd years in Toronto. Although, I find the quality of food seriously gone downhill over here. This restaurant sounds super yummy.
i’d heard that sushi choo was expensive but this is a bargain! i take it you can eat a full two hours worth if you get in at 6pm? and lol…that is a lot of plates in that photo!
Thank you sooooooooo much for the info. I’m definitely going there
Hi Faith -The Merivale/Ivy restaurants always look so nice! Oh cool, so you don’t think I’m crazy?
Hi Christie-I know, it would have been so much fun with you darling!
Hi Tara-Wow, what a bargain! Mmm yes I love fallapart meat curries! And Indian desserts? I’m so there!
Hi Angela-Hehe yes not quite Japanese but the sushi definitely was! Oh you’re coming to Sydney? How very exciting!
xxx
Hi LC-Hehe nothing like barely lifting a finger for a bargain!
Ahh perhaps they learnt their lesson as they were very particular about not letting ppl in until the sushi train was ready. Wow, so many great deals out there now! Thanks for letting me know! 
Hi Amy-It was great!
Hi Steph -I know, I think I did a double and then a triple take. Haha I think I would ahve gone for more than 7 if I wasn’t so embarrassed
Hi sandra-It was an amazing bargain! Yes definitely, he was fantastic and great service and I agree, makes such a difference
Hi romaverona-Excellent! PLMK what you think of it if you do go
Hi Damian-Haha wow! Great job!
Absolutely, it’s such a great bargain. I can’t remember how many hubby had but he made the most of it!
Hi Trisha-I know! That’s why hubby never goes to sushi train. He can spend a fortune there with his appetite!
Hi Belle-Great! Yes there was so much food and there wasn’t a huge amount of rice which was good. I can’t do wasabi-it freaks out my sinuses and almost knocks me out!
Hi Jenny -Hehe it seems almsot too good to be true!
Hi lindsey clare-Yes I was a bit unsure too! Even with the limited menu it’s still a good range!
Hi Mei-Hehe yep it’s at the Ivy complex
I don’t know if there’s another one but I’d stick with this one! 
Hi BD-Oh really? So there wasn’t as much range? Perhaps they got a bit of feedback about that! It’s top notch sushi so it’s amazing that they do an all you can eat
Hi isLa-You’re welcome-enjoy!
Hi Forager-Thankyou! Yes it’s hard to resist isn’t it!
Hi Midge-I know, you just can’t beat it when a great restaurant does a bargain priced deal!
Hi TA-Oh really? Hmm I wonder if they change it day on day? Yes that’s another one we’re meaning to visit! I used to go there all the time and get the
volcano roll and No 7 special
Hi Ja-hehe thankyou! I thought you’d all think I was crazy!
You’re welcome! 
Hi Sophia-Yes the rice does fill you up! I was tempted to just eat the fish but thought that was a bit wasteful
Hi Vivz-Are they sushi plates? That’s not bad -how much as the plates normally?
Hi Jacq-Yes I thought it would too and I thought there’d be no raw salmon or tuna so I was pleasantly surprised!
Oh yes the volcano roll is amazing! 
Cool! 
Hi DeLaCour-Yes it was very nicely decorated (although I am yet to come across a badly decorated Merivale place
) . That roll was great!
Hi pigpigscorner-I know, you couldn’t dream it up!
Hi Su-yin-If Mr NQN has anything to do with it, we will!
Yes the food quality cna really suffer with all you can eats. Ah yes the Volcano roll is so good. We sometimes have to order 2 of them and yes the number 1 special is great! Both of them are so good and cream 
Hi Tina-Yep there were!
That didn’t include all of the seaweed plates 
Hi The Asian Pear-The quality of this one is great. I don’t think I’d risk it when poor quality sushi, especially where raw fish is concerned
Hi Panda-Hmm I assumed it was expensive but the menu looked really reasonable! Yup you sure ca and the waiters are great. I told them that I liked the dynamite roll and he said “Please, take more!”
Hi Liny-Excellent, that’s wonderful! Enjoy!
Sushi train? All you can eat? You have my attention! I love watching the food go by but I take forever choosing what I want! This looks like a fabulous deal. Spreading the word…
I love Sushi Train, and at $20 all you can eat, what a bargain! There’s a place called Jackpot Noodle up the road that serves hot Asian meals, complete with rice and miso soup, for as little as $6.60 – that’s my bargain pick.
That’s such a good deal. But it would be better if they had sashimi and more exotic options, that would make it amazing! Woah, can’t believe shanghai night has fallen in value compared to sushi-choo!
Hmm I am scared of trying the special as I heard from so many ppl how it was quite horrible but I did enjoy my first visit to Sushi Choo :S
It doesn’t look like there is much choice though hmmm
Great review,i thought that the all you can eat special was just a TIMEOUT MAGAZINE special, but looks like not anymore
ITs been a while since i found a all you can eat sushi place, the ex sushi train in parramatta use to have it but i think they knew they were losing money by how much me and my friends use to eat!!
I’ll tell you something bad,when i was at all you can eat, because it was limited menu, me and my friend use to eat the FISH part of the sushi, and leave the RICE part there
argggghhhhh! i need to go soon! LOL i NEED $20 ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI!!
Hi Maria-Hehe cool! The good thing is that you can have as much as you want so you can grab anything!
Awesome 
Hi Cakelaw-I know, crazy good isn’t it!
Wow, that is very cheap-like winning a jackpot!
Hi Betty-Yes I suppose sashimi is the expensive stuff so they limit that but it would be amazing if they did do it! haha I know, his esteemed Shanghai night has fallen in value! I never thought I’d see the day!
Hi FFichiban-Horrible? Nah, it’s Sushi Choo so it’s got to be of a certain level. We got one of everything so that was the entire range that night.
Hi sydneyguyrojoe-hehe nope, it’s open to one and all
Haha really! We were looking around and there were plenty of slender females that I think would help to balance out the hungry males 
Haha really! I used to do things like that!
Hi K-haha yes! It’s hard to beat isn’t it
Wow that is indeed great value! I love the red and black plates decorated with flower patterns…
I went to sushi choo today.. Before I read your review.. My experience is totally different.
We were seated towards the end of the sushi path and there’s absolutely no food left by the time it gets to us. We then asked whether we can get up so we can get some food.. Initially told yes by one staff then stopped by another. It wasn’t till close to the en of the hour that we managed to see a plate of salmon nigiri. The 4 of us left still hungry
haven’t had sushi in a while. Your post is so cool; made me want to have that spicy seaweed salad. Gotta call my hubby from work and get him to take me to a sushi place this evening
Looks like they may have improved their quality a fair bit since I went, 2 weeks into this all-you-can-eat deal. When we went, we got mostly rolls, and even then, the rolls would shame the most novice of Japanese chefs. we barely got any nigiri, and the ones we did get were over-riced and under-fished. I wish I had my trust camera with me on that day…
Unfortunately, I’d have to agree with some of the comments here, and say that my experience at Sushi Choo was less than adequate, and I felt they were not up to their proclaimed standards. In comparison, the Kobe Jones all-you-can-eat deal at $25pp is a MUCH better value although the service was somewhat lacking.
and $5 for the miso?? that’s as bad as the $5 green tea at kobe jones… Plain restaurant robbery…
I have to agree I was hugely disappointed about the sushi at sushi-choo.
The place was decorated so well besides the stickers on the lane(for seating numbers). The food could not compare to the atmosphere.
Merivale claims Sushi-choo is lead by second generation sushi chefs – it doesn’t seem like it.
I only went there just last week we tried all that was on offer on the lane. The sushi rice was not up to scratch, the salmon on the salmon nigiri much too thin. According to sushi chefs each piece of salmon is meant to be about 30g and the ones at Sushi-choo were probably 20g.
For those who normally eat at sushi train yes you could call it a bargain…however there are places with better sushi!
Like Makoto in Chatswood it’s so much better. They are quite strict with their sushi standards. There rarely is any bad sushi days there.
I reckon their grilled salmon (when made to order) and tofu steaks are just divine!
The Makoto in the city does not compare (nor does it offer tofu steak)
I would rather pay more for better sushi as you’d feel so much more satisfied!
though Merivale’s Teppanyaki’s 3 course winter feast menu has been fantastic!
Hi foodie-central -They’re pretty aren’t they! I think they’re the more expensive plates
Hi Charmaine-Aww no that’s terrible! Like getting a bad seat at Yum Cha where the trolleys don’t go. I would have complained about that. You should leave there stuffed!
Hi Jackie-Thankyou!
I love that spicy seaweed salad so much 
Cool, have fun! 
Hi Onomatopia-That’s awful. They were mostly premade when we went (we saw whole boxes of them already made up)
$5 green tea? Eek and I thought $5 miso was a bit expensive!
although they were really good when we went. There was lots of nirigi (I think hubby would have been upset if there
weren’t). Yes we’re aiming to try the Kobe Jones sushi deal too
Hi Yoshi-Ahh it sounds like lot sof people are disappointed. I wonder if we just lucked out that night? I thought the nirigi was samller but then the rice was less too (which I like as I don’t like so much rice).
Hey, sounds great. My birthday is coming up and me and all my friends were planning on going out for dinner on friday after uni. This seems like a great place. However just have a few questions:
1) Would i need to book before hand because i might have 8+ people going?
2) I read some other reviews elsewhere saying that they have really small sashimi, etc, with loads of rice to fill you up? Is that true?
3) My friend said we won’t be allowed in because it’s at Ivy’s and we’ll all be carrying bags and stuff? True or not?
Thanks Nigella. Your food reviews are great!!
Hi Con-Sure, just don’t forget the special is only on between 6-8pm so if you want to go to a place where you’ll spend the whole night, you might want to choose elsewhere
Sure here you go:
1) Yes definitely boook. Even if there are only 2 of you, it’s a very popular deal so if you don’t book you may be turned away on a busy night. We went on a weeknight and it was v. busy.
2)There is no sashimi there. They did have nigiri and the pieces were a decent size. The rolls and sushi did not have a disproportionate amount of rice in them, the nigiri in fact was the opposite and only had a small ball of rice.
3) I’ve never heard of that but when you ring to book you can certainly ask them that.
You’re welcome and Happy Birthday!
The interior was lovley! and the food was great. There was not as much variety as i expected, maybe chicken sushi? or beef? and more cooked seafood would of been good. I think sushi choo is a 10/10 for value and i recommend you go there!
My husband and I tried this restaurant a month ago. After reading the reviews about it, we were just so excited to try it. We decided to go on a Saturday night and even brought a friend who was visiting from overseas at that time. All of us being absolute sushi lovers, we were so psyched that we were the first ones in the restaurant. The offer just seemed too good to be true – and it was.
The place was gorgeous. If we were after the decorations we would’ve rated this place a 10. But since we were there for the food I must say we were terribly disappointed.
First of all, the options were very limited. There were only six varieties available – salmon nigiri, tuna nigiri, prawn nigiri, cooked tuna roll, vegetable roll and what I think was a chicken katsu roll (not the best quality sushi, in fact they would compare to the kind you could buy at food courts). Where were the fried prawn roll, fried prawns, potato croquette and three types of fish?? Plus it was obvious that they really packed it with a lot of rice to make you feel full more quickly.
Second the quantity was clearly controlled. Since we were early, the train was always full. However as the night progressed and more people arrived, the train started getting empty. They stopped topping up, even if a lot of people who had recently arrived hardly had much to eat yet. The chefs behind the counter even stopped making the sushi and left! And this with only an hour and a half having passed. It was still pretty early yet the food was nearly gone, with no sign of it being replenished.
The service was pretty good, but only because we got someone who was new so she was really accommodating. There was one (who seemed to be the manager as she seated people and handled the cash register) who was quite rude and somehow gave the impression that she didn’t want you to be there, or stay too long at least.
Anyway, bottomline I would say even at just $20 this place is still not worth the money. For the quality of sushi that you get, you’re better off spending that $20 in a real sushi train – even with fewer plates, you’re still bound to leave feeling fuller and more satisfied.
is this promotion still on, because after looking this i am starving for ‘all you can get sushi for $20.
Wat a great tip!!!!
thanks soooo much!
I literally just got back from there after reading about it earlier! Thanks for the tip!
I’m so stuffed I can’t move anymore – definitely got my money’s worth, hehe. Total sushi overkill. It was good but obviously a bigger selection is always nicer; I really liked the athmosphere too. Will blog about it in the next few days but the lighting gave my poor lil camera trouble – my pics probably wont be as lovely as yours!
oh btw, i went in hotpants and a little top and was worried they mightn’t let me in but nobody minded at all. i didnt book either but then again i went by myself and was there at 6 pm sharp. it got really busy later though!
I just went their and can confirm that it is really nice food and great value. I am vegetarian and I ordered a vegetarian platter which was really nice and I toughly recommend it. I am going back there with my entire family for my birthday in a few weeks.
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