Blue Ribbon Sushi

Service here was great. The waitress knew her sh*t. It was a pretty big menu and we bombarded her with questions. The beer and food we ended up ordering was pretty accurately described. She also knew which dishes were heavier and suggested heavier dishes to be served last. We did not take her suggestion but in hindsight we should have listened. I liked the fact that when we asked her what was good she didn’t give the standard «everything on the menu» response.
The food was mostly good. In order from best to worst dish.
1.) Dynamite — Umami explosion in your mouth. You MUST try this.
2.) Bone Marrow Oxtail fried rice — Awesome dish, really rich flavors.
3.) Gindara Saikyo — Recommended by the waitress. The cod was super buttery.
4.) Fried Chicken w/​honey wasabi sauce — It was alright. The chicken breast was dry but the honey wasabi sauce was good.
5.) Blue Ribbon Platter — basically a $ 145 omakase. Everything tasted very fresh but still a big disappointment for me. The three unique items we got were cooked toro, blue ribbon roll and a whole horse mackerel. The cooked toro came cold and dry… and COOKED toro?!? I don’t get it. Blue ribbon roll was decent, lobster and shiso paired well but they skimped on the caviar. Horse mackerel was too fishy for me but the presentation was cool.
Overall, it was a good experience. I would go back but wouldn’t order any omakase since everything was fresh anyway so just get what you want.

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner and the food was exceptionally good. We ordered edamame, miso soup, spicy crab roll, and teriyaki salmon. All were completely delicious. (He thinks it’s probably one of the best sushi places in the neighborhood.) The prices are pretty decent for the quality of the food. The salmon was slightly crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside. The miso soup and spicy crab roll were what you’d expect… not completely mind-​blowing, but good nonetheless.
The décor in the restaurant is very cozy and intimate, and we would definitely come back again.

OMAKASE OH MY GAWD. It’s beautiful, the presentation. The sashimi is served on a huge board, with the fish head and the lobster head and the world’s largest clam and it’s just stunning. But we didn’t come here to gawk, we came here to eat. And eat we did. We ate the omakase down to the very last drops of miso butter, then ordered more shumai and edamame so we had an even better base for the late night drinking.
To be honest, although I do like sashimi, I’m not a HUGE sushi fan. Give me some spanish mackerel, tuna in all its varieties, some rolls. I just don’t get down the clam or raw lobster or anything too fishy or smoky, so the omakase was a little lost on me (boo hoo, I know), but the other 4 devoured the plates (hence, the ordering of the shumai for me). It was a bit on the outrageously expensive side when all was said and done, and some of the others thought it wasn’t über-​excellent for what you pay.
Our service was excellent, the room is beautiful and zen-​like, and over I would give it 3.5 stars. Rounding up for the overall experience.

Me and my boyfriend come here once and awhile, I like the atmosphere of the place its cozy and romantic but there is always a wait on the weekends. We wait at the bar and the bartender is very friendly and makes strong drinks.
We like to try different things on the menu. We tried the bone marrow and oxtail marmalade, I wasn’t a fan of the bone marrow, but then again I never had it before so but the marmalade was good. I had the duck confetti which was cooked very nicely.
I miss there pepper steak it was soo good, it was a special on Saturday.
Overall I never had a bad experience here and I will continue to go.

Sushi joints make me nervous. I never know what to get. Or how much to order. Or what is too much to pay. Or which ones come with the rice on the outside. Or what is the kind of tuna I think I like. Or if anyone saw me use the hot towel on my face instead of my hands. My palms are sweaty already just thinking about it.
So, on the suggestion of sushi for dinner, a rare Zen-​like serenity had fallen over me. I didn’t question the change of mood from my usual anxious self, and when Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn was the chosen location, I was ready to tackle that menu with the patience of a Buddhist monk and the questionable conviction of a one Donald Trump.
And tackle, I did.
Thankfully, nothing seemed too outlandish for my amateur sushi palate from the terse, yet sufficient descriptions, and I was able to confidently order across categories (appetizers to maki rolls to sashimi, and dessert, even) without too much of a worry in the wallet department. The results? Drum-​roll, please…
Appetizers:
Nuta Ae (Whitefish, scallion, cucumbers, and mustard miso) — Not to pat myself on the back or anything (surely, Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn deserves some of the credit here), but I feel like I hit the lottery with this pick. Somehow simultaneously sweet, salty, and fresh, I could’ve ordered an entrée-​sized portion of this appetizer and walked out a happy man. And this one was a back-​up selection. But more on that later.
Shumai (Home-​made pork dumplings) — This one was a pretty safe bet. And we’re talkin’ some fancy-​pants dumplings here — soft to the touch, filled with steamy pork goodness, topped lightly with sesame, and gone before you know it.
Maki Rolls:
Spicy Crab Roll (Blue crab and shiso) — While they really weren’t that spicy, the compact helping of crab stuffed in each roll was pretty generous, I gotta admit. And yeah, these are the ones with the rice on the outside — got it.
Negi Hama (Yellowtail and scallion) — I’m a sucker for anything that reads «scallion». Call it a personal buzzword. Anyway, these guys complimented the Spicy Crab well as they were a bit more bite-​size and a bit bolder in taste. Still, while delicious, both of these sushi selections were not the show-​stoppers some of the other items proved themselves to be.
Sashimi:
Tako (Octopus) — This little guy just looked just perfect, its suction cups perfectly sliced down their centers. I recognize octopi can be tricky to pull off, whether raw or cooked, and this cut was just a tad on the tough side, but still enjoyable.
Hirame (Fluke) — This was probably one of the most immaculate cuts of fish I’ve had the luxury of tasting. If only I were able to hold its flavor in such high regard as its cleanliness. A bit bland, but worth it on texture alone.
Unagi (Fresh water eel) — Got a xenophobic cousin from the South? The one with the Confederate Flag bandana and overalls? Well, I’m assuming he’s anti-​sushi, too. Tell him it’s barbecue pork and he just might not taste the difference. I’m serious. And yes, that’s a round-​about way of giving this one my very high praise. Just order it.
Binnaga (Albacore) — Take the cleanest tuna fish you’ve ever tasted and pretend it’s prepared like a pocket-​sized Porterhouse. Put your imagination down for a moment. This is for real. With the Unagi included, these two were big-​time game-​changers.
Dessert:
Green Tea Ice Cream /​Pear Sorbet — The former pleasantly milkier and creamier than expected, the latter providing just enough of a fruit-​flavored tinge, these two scoops proved to be a damn near-​perfect way to shut it all down.
Now, mind you, some items we tried to order were 86’ed — such as the Toro (fatty tuna) sashimi and our initial first choice for an appetizer, the Tiger’s Eye (Broiled giant squid, smoked salmon, and scallion), which our waitress then proceeded to gush just how good it was despite just having told us it was unavailable. A bit of a disappointment, sure — especially when we then asked her what on the menu was similar and she pushed specials four times the price of our original selections. For both items.
In the end though, it couldn’t have mattered less. This sushi skeptic had been seriously won over. I felt as if I’d just feasted like some emperor of the sea. And then the table behind us had to go show me up and order the Omakase.
You need convincing sushi chefs are artists? This is proof positive — a culinary masterwork placed before the patrons like a centerpiece, featuring piled portion upon portion of sushi and sashimi, with a head-​on, bone-​in, deep-​fried fish to tie it all together. I was in awe, not to mention pretty much intruding on these people’s personal space as I hung my drooling head over into their booth to get a good look at this thing. Words just won’t do it justice, but trust me, it was a work of art. There’s no doubt it had to taste as remarkable as it looked. I mean, really, as if I needed more of a reason to return to Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn. The Omakase awaits…

High quality sushi. Nothing particularly special or standout, but nothing to complain about either. Would come here again.

I love sushi. I love good sushi. I have no excuse for not having tried this place before. I mean its there, everyone knows about it, and you know that you will try it, but you don’t. As I said, no good reason for not eating there.
So what is the verdict. Remarkably in line with other reviews.
The sushi is very good, it is reasonably priced, and the service is friendly and attentive.
Two truths about sushi places, always:
–they close early
–they’re closed on Sunday
In my layman’s understanding of global logistics and the above truths I usually would call this a good thing. Sushi is made from fresh fish. Fish mongers and fishermen have a day off on a Saturday, so no fresh fish gets delivered on a Sunday. Does it really? I mean do you really expect the Tuesday sushi to be fished on a Monday night and freshly delivered on Tuesday morning to be sliced into fresh sashimi on Tuesday evening? So I say MYTH!
And with that I can comfortably go at 10pm on a Sunday to have good sushi at Blue Ribbon with the peaceful comfortable feeling that I will be ok.
Maki combo is a good deal. 3 x rolls for $ 15 – 16
But one more thing about Blue ribbon that I love, which I actually think its pretty unique about sushi places. You can go all out and have an amazing meal (have done so at the Blue Ribbon in soho) or have a normal meal. Equally enjoyable by the very fact that sometimes you feel like having a $ 150 meal (for two) and sometimes a $ 50 meal. Here you can do both!

Absolutely the best sushi in town! We’ve been coming here for yrs and this place never disappoints. The fish is always fresh and the variety is amaizing. Huge selection of apetizers, and sushi/​sashimi a la carte. The white tuna and scallops are crazy good! Btw.
Everything you order will be great, trust me on that. The place is a bit pricy comparred to the 50% off sushis lol, but for this quality the prices are where they need to be.
Enjoy!!!

If you read nothing else within this review, pay attention to this one word… OMAKASE. There is no excuse to come to Blue Ribbon and pass on this. It’s pricey but you will quickly realize that you don’t give a darn.
The sushi chefs here are unbelievably talented. They present the fish as, essentially, a fine art piece. I was in awe watching them and almost felt bad as I went to deconstruct their creation. But not for long… Because once I tasted the fish, I could think of nothing else. We went with a party of 7 and here’s a recap of what we had:
* Giant bottle of sake (very dry and delicious) plus a round of one additional glass per person
* Shrimp Shumai
* Edamame
* $ 75 per person Omakase (minimum is $ 50)
Total price — $ 134 per person (including a hefty tip)
Highlights of the Omakase:
* Two heaping portions… After the first serving which was all sashimi we thought it was over. Then a huge board of rolls, negri sushi and other things came out. SO much food.
* The Spanish Makeral was one of my favorites as was the miso butter that came with the lobster on the second round.
* They serve the Omakase with the remnants of a fish… They then take it away, deep fry it, and re-​serve it to you. Apparently the head is off the hook but I’m not a brains/​eyeballs kinda girl so I can’t speak to it. I ate a part of the body but was injured by a bone stabbing the roof of my mouth so be careful.
Honestly, Blue Ribbon was just an all around amazing food experience. GO.

Pure tasteful delight…
1^st of all, there’s a heavy variety of drinks which is a plus, especially when it’s good.
2^nd, the service is great and couldn’t ask for anything better.
3^rd, the food is perfect, though I did wish they had sweet teriyaki sauce but that’s just me being too picky.
4^th, not only is the ambience nice, the décor is extremely comfortable.
Though the prices are slightly up there, the food speaks for itself so I definitely recommend BRS

Very delicious! I can see why this place is so popular. We have been meaning to come here for quite some time and finally made it. We didn’t make a reservation, so wasn’t sure if we’d have a long wait as it was a Friday night and about 7pm, but to my surprise, there was no wait and we were seated right away.
Service was prompt and we were immediately provided with hot towels to wipe our hands. As we sat down and got comfortable, I noticed the really cute and hip décor, there was wood everywhere. I also noticed they were playing 90’s Hip Hop/R&B music which kind of surprised me, but I caught myself singing along a few times which really put me in a good mood. Also, I noticed the restaurant began to fill up steadily and soon became packed with families. A lot of families with little kids who seemed really at ease eating sushi! Very interesting. this must be good stuff if usually notoriously picky eaters like 5 and 6 year olds were eating their sushi with no qualms about it.
I decided to jump right in and ordered the Maki Combo 2 which has Yellowtail, California Rolls & Salmon rolls and then I also ordered a few Kumamoto Oysters. All I can say delicious! Everything was so fresh and I really liked the presentation. You know I cannot turn away from oysters either, so this really made my meal for sure to add those in with my simple rolls.
They were really nice and speedily brought our bill and got us out there promptly upon request as we had to dash out to catch a play, but I really enjoyed my dining experience here and the food was great. I’d definitely recommend going here for some delicious and fresh sushi oh and oysters! YUM! I’ll be back!

Ok. So it seems really unfair to give this place a 3. But hear me out. Really, keep in mind, the décor is fantastic and the ambiance is reminiscent of a high end shishi restaurant in Midtown with its attention to intricate detail. The drinks were delicious as was the tuna tartare starter served with aged soy sauce and a quail egg. The black cod was delectable, tender and chopstick worthy, while the fried concoction my husband ordered was also excellent.
The sashimi was top grade and perfectly sliced while the rolls were a toss up, with the spicy tuna being excellent and surprisingly, the blue ribbon half lobster and caviar roll being subpar.
The oxtail fried rice was insanely decadent as usual, and we ended with the crème brûlée and the green tea ice cream, which were both scrumptious.
All that seems worthy of at least a 4. Nevertheless, we stepped into Midtown but live in Park Slope. Meaning at $ 100 a person it was just too much to warrant anything above a 3. Next time we’re going to Geido or Taro for a fraction of the price, all be it the real deal.

We were in the area for an event at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and I realized that Blue Ribbon Sushi was only a few blocks away. Long on my list of must visit restaurants, we decided to give them a try. Verdict? They well exceeded my expectations!
We arrived just before 7pm on a Friday night to a mostly empty restaurant and were seated right away. Amazingly enough though, every seat was accounted for not even 15 minutes later, so we definitely beat the rush.
I ended up splitting an order of Kumamoto oysters with my girlfriend, and had the sushi deluxe meal ($ 29) for my dinner. The oysters were fresh and delicious making for a most auspicious beginning. My sushi dinner consisted of 10 pieces of sushi (spicy crab, eel, shrimp, salmon, 2 tuna, fluke, hamachi, whitefish, and albacore) and a spicy scallop roll. I was actually impressed that the roll was not a tuna roll which is what is invariably served with sushi dinners everywhere else. The spicy scallop roll was delicious owing to good quality, sweet scallops. As for the sushi, it was just outstanding. Every single selection was good and as fresh as could be. I was amazed at the high quality of each selection given the very low price point of the dinner. The standouts were the spicy crab which used real crab and the albacore which just melted in my mouth. The presentation was beautiful with great color. The fish were all cut to an appropriate size and served at a favorable temperature. Well done.
I think Blue Ribbon Sushi has the best sushi dinner under $ 30 in the city. They easily rate as good as Kanoyama and are on par with Tomoe Sushi. They are definitely not as good as Sushi Yasuda, Sushi Azabu, or Ushiwakamaru for example, but those places will charge three times as much for a comparatively sized meal, so that is to be expected. Definitely recommend — it is now one of my favorites.
4.25 stars

You know how many many sushi places has Chinese people making sushi? Well this place is definitely not, they are really Japanese people. After my dine in Brooklyn experience at the Blue Ribbon Brasserie, I came to this one right next door the following night. There was no wait for this place. My friend who is able to read Japanese informed us that she found out that the wood used for the interior is over 2,000 years old. I think that’s a pretty neat fact. The waitstaff were friendly, but we did had to let them know we want more tea. At our table, we were watching the sushi chef putting together a sushi dish. He used this very thinly sliced fish with bones (I believe) and made it to look like the sail of a sailboat. The plating was very different from many sushi places.
For appetizer, we had the Tiger’s Eye, which has salmon, scallion and squid. We ordered from the dine in Brooklyn menu, which we’ve all gotten the miso soup. It’s my first time having the miso paste on the side, so the person can set it to their own liking. To be honest I’m not a big fan of miso soup, but perhaps maybe at this place I get to choose how much miso I prefer that I actually do like miso soup. I had the wakame seaweed salad, which was very fresh and good. For entrée I had the sushi sashimi platter, which was really fresh and good. For dessert it was a scoop of ginger ice cream with real ginger pieces in it. The ginger flavor was too strong, but it was just enough for my taste.

This was my Dine –In-​Brooklyn destination for Sunday, a day after I went to the amazing Blue Ribbon Brasserie next door. After having a great experience at the sister restaurant next door and still having thoughts of the previous meal in my mind (still slobbering over memories of the bone marrow) I was eagerly anticipating my meal here too.
We started with an appetizer of Tiger’s Eye which consists of smoked salmon & scallion wrapped in broiled giant squid. Pretty good dish with a nice chewy texture from the squid. The flavors are very subtle but it works.
We all received miso soup to start of the meal. The miso was good and interestingly the soy bean paste (miso paste) was placed on a small sauce platter on the side to flavor the soup as you please. At first, we were like, «What the hell? Why does this miso look so clear?». Then we noticed the paste on the side. One of my friend said his was too salty, but that was because being the nut that he was, he just scooped all the paste into the soup. He liked mine better (I only put in ²⁄₃).
Next up was Wakame, seaweed salad with sesame dressing. Loved the crunchy texture of the seaweed.
I chose the Honoo (assorted spicy gunkan & rolls) as my main course but was bombarded with the sushi and sashimi from my friends so I pretty much was able to try most the sushi/​sahimi from the Dine-​In-​Brooklyn menu. The fish was very fresh and was soft and smooth and the seaweed on the rolls were just the way I like them, still crispy. A small complaint I have was that for something that was billed as spicy, I didn’t register any heat at all. Might as well be a regular roll.
We finished the meal with a small scoop of ginger ice cream. Very subtle ginger taste. Could be slightly creamier. Not bad but had better at other Japanese establishments.
Overall, I am glad that I had the chance to try this place out thanks to Dine-​In-​Brooklyn. I read that the cooked food was amazing too. Guess I’ll give those a try at the Dine-​In-​Brooklyn next year. For now, if you had a choice to try only one of the two Blue Ribbon Restaurants here, I would select Blue Ribbon Brasserie.

Blue Ribbon Sushi didn’t seem to live up to the hype for me. While the atmosphere felt very genuine to be a classy Japanese restaurant with Japanese employees (nevermind the Mexican guy peeping his head out from the kitchen), the service was lacking and the sashimi wasn’t very memorable. Then again, the thing about raw fish is that it isn’t very difficult to compare one place to another — it’s either fresh or not. You can’t really mess up soy sauce or wasabi — although I did appreciate the fact that the sashimi pieces were cut thick.
Our salmon tartar, blue point oysters, and spicy lobster roll were to me the largest dissappointment. It’s like, ok I get it — I’m paying $$$$ for… this? There wasn’t much of a wow factor when you’re served up food in tiny portions no matter how pretty the plating is. The sashimi deluxe is good, and the giant orange clam was my favorite. Five dishes after for two people the waitress asks if there’s any other sushi or sashimi we wanted. No thanks, but my friend requested the dessert menu. We got the bill instead.
Blue Ribbon wouldn’t be my first choice if I’m craving for sashimi, but I would rather try their cooked food or maybe the omakase next time.

The kind of place where the sushi is really good and not flashy. Just high quality rice and fresh fish. (I feel like legitimately good sushi often looks not as sexy as lower grade sushi, but tastes oh so much better. Maybe because your average sushi place knows how to dress up the food in order to make up for the lack of quality). And the price is not too bad, comparing it with other places.
The place itself has nice sleek appearance with polished wood all over the place. The other Blue Ribbon place right next door has more comfortable seating.

I have been to this Brooklyn location twice, once about 2 yrs ago and last a week ago. Interior is almost entirely wood paneled, with mostly bench seating that is comfortable, solid, and fairly roomy, and sushi/​sashimi bar along one wall. Service is generally attentive and courteous.
I ordered the omakase on both visits. I recall being mostly impressed on my visit 2 yrs ago with the generous assortment of sashimi, sushi, and a whole filleted mackeral whose bones get deep-​fried after for a tasty snack. My only reason for not going more often is the higher cost; its mostly justifiable if you add up the general quality of the food, service, and environs.
On my visit a week ago, the omakase was similar (I imagine the items are different but can’t recall what I had 2 yrs ago), including the whole mackeral. This time, while the fish were very fresh, it was too cold, which affected both taste and texture. Both times, the sushi rice was good but not of a quality I’d expect from a restaurant of this caliber. The anago sashimi I ordered separately was quite good, tender with a delicate sauce.
This time, I also tried (i.e., sampled from fellow diners’ plates) some of their non-​sushi/​sashimi items. The fried chicken was so-​so; the batter neither Western style nor Japanese style (karaage) but not really remarkable either way; filet mignon was decent but can’t imagine why you’d come here for it. The ankimo that I ordered for myself (monk fish liver) was excellent, tasty, good texture, and sauce was a refreshing accompaniment. The green tea crème brûlée was wonderful: smooth, with a great green tea flavored infused throughout, and a light shell. Pear sorbet was akin to eating a fresh, chilled pear; delicious.
To be honest, I’ve simply had more transcendent (and substantially cheaper) sushi experiences at Taro Sushi nearby, although they can be uneven. These restaurants are very different so I don’t want to compare them, but if my mood points me only to sushi/​sashimi, I favor Taro Sushi. For a dining experience that includes ambience and menu variety with high quality sushi/​sashimi for the neighborhood, Blue Ribbon Sushi is an easy choice. For Park Slope, this is one of only three places where I’ve had sushi/​sashimi that makes the cut for decent (the other two being Taro Sushi and Sakura Café; I haven’t had good sushi experiences with Geido, although their other foods are great).

Some of the best sushi ever on one of the worst dates ever. Stories like this make me glad I’m getting married and out of the dating scene. Thank goodness for the sushi!
I heard many good things about Blue Ribbon. I suggested this place for lunch to the date from hell, and since it was restaurant week, it was actually a pretty good deal. We walked in and the décor was very earthy and zen-​like relaxing. Lots of wood everywhere. We were seated and looked through the menu.
I’m ready to order two meals, when he confesses that he just ate (even though he knew we were going to eat somewhere). Before I had a chance to really say anything, date from hell ordered one meal from the waitress and sent her away. So here we were on Restaurant Week, for lunch, ready to split one meal. Luckily I managed to call the waitress back and get an extra miso soup. I had a bad feeling about this…
We had the miso soup, which was really good. Then onto the sushi. The pieces of fish were so melt in your mouth good. It was fresh and high grade cuts. I covet sushi like this and it honestly made the date not a total waste of time. Sushi, you were my saviour that day.
Then we get the last course. It was a green tea ice cream. It came with one spoon. I don’t know why the staff didn’t bring a second spoon over since we’d been sharing. But this guy knew how much I loved ice cream and how it was one of my favorite foods ever. So surely date from hell is going to ask the waitress for another spoon so he can have manners and share it with me. NOPE. The waitress doesn’t come by, and he doesn’t bother to get her attention. I tried a couple of times to no avail. Yay, crappy service! So date from hell proceeds to eat the ice cream all alone. Doesn’t offer to share or anything. Then he says, «oh, I’m not really an ice cream fan.»
WHAT. THE. F*CK?
He ate that ice cream all by himself AND DIDN’T OFFER EVEN ONE BITE. Needless to say there wasn’t another date.
As for Blue Ribbon Sushi, 5 stars for the food, but minue one for the spotty service. I’ll be back. And I will try this ice cream this time.

I love everything about this place – the wooden décor, the eager to please hosts and servers, the wine list, fantastic appetizers, and the sushi itself. This is great date place. My only complaint is that if you get either of the two real kinds of crab in a California roll, they chop it up and mix it with mayonaise like deli seafood salad. For me, that ruins the experience of real crab.