Review The Sushi Counter - Crows Nest

My partner and I had a wonderful experience here for dinner the other night. All the staff were so friendly and cheerful so it was a very comfortable atmosphere. The sushi was super fresh and beautifully presented. We even ordered more food to take home cause it tasted so good. Thank you so much!!

All round pretty good and I'm happy with it. They do things nicely, give you a little salad, miso, good quality wasabi, everything is actually good quality. You get smaller 'good' pieces not bigger trash pieces. You can chose any 4 hand rolls for 21$. I will get the soft sheet crab next time. It's not cheap, but cheap sushi places are not common, and cut corners. I liked the Japanese music. So... really nice. Big menu too which is important to me.

Very tasty Japanese food, great menu, a la carte or set menu. Lunch specials also. Service as excellent as you'd expect.

Teriyaki chicken udon set $25.8 nigiry fish very small... Overpriced. The first time is the last time.

The food was average, certainly not fresh. We were offered “free green tea” however they charged us for it at the end, plus a $1 surcharge without even advise us. You can’t take advantage of your customers like that. We will not come back.

Unexpectedly nice experience. I’ve been avoiding the restaurant as it is bit dark inside — just not usually the vibe I would like. But the food was really nice — Very fresh sashimi and $10 sake tasting set is very good value. Will go again.

It's very unassuming place but certainly the quality of food is reflective of the price point. I enjoy sitting at the bar and the set up is functional. Food is great and I strongly encourage the 24.90 dinner set.

$31 for the beef bento, $25.80 for the pork tonkotsu udon set. The taste of the food was all right, with the pork tonkotsu being the best of the lot, but the size of the sashimi/sushi side plate leaves a lot to be desired. Thin slices half the size of other places and the nigiri rice wasn't packed very well. Beef had a good yakiniku scent but wasn't juicy, would have greatly preferred more sauce just for the rice in the bento. Everything arrived off kilter - soup was well before the udon + nigiri which arrived without the tonkotsu, then the bento when the udon was half finished. It might be preferable to drive to Eastwood for Japanese fare.

Best Japanese food in my opinion, fresh seafood and delicately presented, friendly staff and reasonably priced, generous portions, a place you must visit

If you like sitting at the bar and being to see the chef prepare your sushi, this is a great place for that - half the restaurant offers bar seating. The lunch menu is very affordable and you get a variety of dishes including salad, gyoza, miso soup and main. The sashimi was served with a slight warmth which makes me question the freshness of it. The food is quite average but a good affordable lunch set.

Randomly went into this little sushi joint (also has a sushi train) in Crows Nest during my work lunch with my colleague as we were short on time and kinda felt like Japanese food. The place was small, quiet and not too packed. I decided to order the pork katsu-tama don and cornflake chicken (out of curiosity) while my mate ordered her salmon avo roll.<br/><br/>I tried her sushi and it tasted average, the cornflake chicken (came with chilli mayo) tasted like what you’d expect it to taste like (deep fried, crispy and pleasantly soft) and the pork katsu tasted like a dry piece of bark with some semi crispy batter. Yes, it was really dry with no moisture at all and really lacked that chicken “bouncy-ness”. <br/><br/>Customer service was friendly though which was a plus. <br/><br/>I didn’t check the reviews before dining here but I can see they’re quite high. I would assume that we might’ve rocked up on the wrong day or time but I can only judge on what I ate that day. <br/><br/>

The menu was extensive, including various types of sushis, rice dishes, bentos, teishoku etc... We wanted to order everything. We end up ordering the Sydney Roll, California roll, a salmon salad, a beef bento and pork kastu don.<br/><br/>The food came promptly, and the portions were quite generous. I like the Sydney roll, especially the smokiness to the Salmon Aburi. The bento also came with a lot of side dishes. <br/><br/>Would like to come again next time when we are around.

Really enjoyed this place for lunch. They have a lunch menu - I ordered the salmon set. It is definitely filling enough for me - you get miso soup, soup & dumplings, salad, nigiri and sashimi. Super fresh and tasty sashimi. I will return!

Pleasant staff but slow to get orders out. Food good; nothing outstanding; nothing bad. Inexpensive so good value for money. We keep coming back.

Ordered the seafood inside out roll. It was awesome! Really like this place. The ambience is great as well sitting behind the counter watching the sushi being made right in front of you. Very friendly service as well.

Great value for money good conistent food quality sashimi and love the bento boxes. Service is good not great but food more than makes up for it

I was very impressed with my lunch at the Sushi Counter. The karaage chicken was some of the best I've had and damn those pickles! Lovely fresh sashimi to boot. Recommended.

Since i havent been back here in years, i thought to satiate my sashimi crave today, since the family refused to have jap over the long weekend. Place has not changed at all but i find that the vibe is different from before. The new owners are chinese, whereas before they were all japs. <br/><br/>Sashimi (lunch) set: salmon kingfish prawn dumpling soup salad miso soup rice. Glad to see that the salmon quality has not dipped much, except the slice is thinner and portion smaller. No big deal as the set includes chinese style prawn dumpling soup which was pretty good. Nestled under the salmon were 2 kinds of seaweed. 1 not marinated, the other marinated in sesame oil. I found it distracting. Better to just use the un-marinated one. The salad was a pitiful as i remember it during the jap owners’ tenure. I like how they dish out one at a time instead of plonking everything in front of you. The hot steamed rice should have been served together with the prawn dumpling soup though, not with the cold sashimi lol 😁. Minor gripe it was. <br/><br/>Tempura prawn hand roll, despite being quite tasty, i had difficulty finding the prawn.. <br/><br/>They have managed to keep prices quite competitive (for the area) for lunch anyway. Service was prompt.

Absolutely great value for money! $15.80 sashimi set at lunchtime was delicious and plentiful. Perfect for a quick lunch. Quite a bare place with a long counter, suited me fine for a quick lone lunch. The service was really nice too. Will be coming back again.

The crew here was awesome! Very close to closing and still let us order food!Sushi was very fresh and delicious.Everybody was really really nice .We definitely be back!

The Sushi counter is a small welcoming shop with a modern minimalist fitout with a long sushi counter and blessed with natural sunlight to create a clean ambience perfect for an afternoon lunch. The menu is well designed and there were ample lunch options available starting from $14.90 for a set meal which you couldn't find in Crows Nest. The $24 I chose contained a Miso soup, side salad, tempura and assorted sashimi. <br/><br/>It is amazing to see the contrast in quality between a sushi train and a proper restaurant and the Sushi Counter counts as the latter. Every single componant delivered was perfect whether it was the simple salad with a mild citrus dressing or the super fresh fish all prepared meticulously and presented alike complimented by two types of seaweed both of which marinted differently. <br/><br/>The tempura batter was as good as you could get as was the fresh prawn, fish and vegetables used. I also ordered a side dish of udon soup and that in itself was presented nicely and flavoured perfectly. <br/><br/>An excellent sushi restaurant, with great food and friendly service. I will sure be back to try their interesting specials on the blackboard and the sake range on offer.

Very clean looking establishment and was excited to try it given the hype around the freshness and quality. <br/><br/>A bit disappointed with the sushi and sahsimi though, cut is a bit small and the price is a bit high and nothing extraordinary. Tried alacarte and i think the better option is omakase. <br/><br/>Overall not bad and not great

Fresh sushi and sashimi, prepared straight after you order. I liked the place, looks very clean and brightly lit. Staff was attentive and lots to choose from the menu. We tried some of the specials (we were a group of 7 including kids) and they were delicious. Nice kid friendly restaurant, would come back again for the sushi and sashimi platter!

I like this place. Fair price, fresh sashimi. Neat clean and bright. Just the way you want a sashimi bar to be! The menu is quite big, not lacking of choices. Perfect for besties catch up.

"The Sushi Counter is a small family run Japanese restaurant which has been opened for over 20 years in Crows Nest, at the heart of the lower North Shore. The current sushi chef and owner took over the restaurant from his father five years ago. " 7 pieces of Salmon Sashimi $18.50 The Salmon was fresh and cut just the way I like it - not too thick. Miso Soup $3 It's almost tradition for me to pair a miso soup with Salmon Sashimi and Salmon Nigiri. It just doesn't taste the same without it! Salmon Nigiri $4.40 Warm Soba $15.80 Buckwheat noodles in warm soy based broth.  Just as Salmon and Miso go hand in hand, there is no way I would have Japanese noodles without chilli powder!  Age Dashi Tofu $9.50 Deep fried tofu served with soy sauce base stock When executed correctly, Age Dashi Tofu (Agee-Dashi-Tofu) is a show stopper. This ADT was perfecto - with it's crispy deep-fried exterior and soft, silken interior.  Futomaki (thick sushi rolls) Tempura Prawn + Avocado Roll $14 Lastly, a generous serving of one of my favourite sushi rolls, Tempura Prawn and Avocado. Our meal at The Sushi Counter was definitely what we needed.   With friendly staff, classic Japanese dishes which were executed brilliantly, The Sushi Counter is without a doubt worth a visit (even if it's on Christmas Eve). 

Sushi Counter actually feels a bit like those little family run sushi restaurants in Japan. There’s the wife helping out the back and the husband making the sushi at the front. It’s not the cheapest sushi around, but you can tell it’s really good quality and prepared by a chef who knows what he’s doing. Plus they serve an ume-shu and edamame set for only $6.50! Nice.

A lovely and quiet Japanese restaurant that is laid out mostly around a long sushi counter from which you can watch the chefs make your sushi orders. There's always something extra special to the dishes when you've watched the chefs make it, and it's no different here. We ordered the deluxe sushi platter for two, and were able to view the chefs slowly putting together the platter in front of us. 

Terrific food, attentive staff. Transitional and morden cuisine infusion. Freshness beats everything! A place u can experience all the good things abt Japanese food in one go! Just love it!

Sashimi Platter. Impressed with the plate display and 4 different types of fish combined with different bite porpotion of white raddish, two kinds of seaweed and fresh scallops with sprouts underneath

Service is hit and miss - we once waited 40 minutes for food and it was quiet. However, the food is good and hasn't disappointed thus far. We love the temaki, soba and pork belly.

Hai there. Simple, well functioning sushi train with fresh and varied dishes. Attentive staff and reasonable prices. $33.30 for 9 dishes, green tea and miso soup, made for an easy and quick meal in the heart of Crows Nest. God enough formula to consider returning again.

Ambiance is like the food: bright, clean, crisp and very nicely done indeed. Consistently the best sushi, sashimi and hand rolls on the north shore. Great jazz playing quietly and wizened sushi master does his thing while you sit at the long counter.