Metro Lounge & Cafe

Sushi was decent.  We went as a group so the wait was very long, but the atmosphere was enjoyable.  The aesthetics were weird since it was a dance floor that they happen to set up as a dining room.  Not a bad experience but not earth shattering either.  There is much better food elsewhere on Westcott.

Metro missed on all cylinders. From the very beginning. Food was mediocre at best. Received some of the smallest chicken wings I have ever seen. No Draft beer. Service was horrible and annoying. Management was benign and short and somehow they don't have hot sauce even though I ordered buffalo wings. And to top it off the place was empty. Would avoid at all costs.

(Review is for half-priced sushi nights)

To call this place a regular sushi restaurant would be misleading.  It's more like a mediocre American twist on sushi, shoehorned into a lounge/bar space.

On the upside, there's no shortage of experimentation seen in the rolls here.  One roll even uses beef tenderloin as the main ingredient (try finding that elsewhere).  

The problem with their sushi comes down to the basics.  The variety of rice used is correct but undercooked.  There's not enough rice vinegar and sugar added to the sushi rice to make the rice stick properly.  Moreover, the ingredients used present a challenge to keeping the whole roll together in one piece (and it doesn't help that the rolls are sliced too thin).  Additionally, don't expect the raw fish to be sushi-grade.

Another problem is the prices.  At $6-10 for nigiri and $7-16 for specialty rolls, Metro Lounge has priced themselves right up there with San Francisco and Los Angeles-area sushi joints (areas that are well known for their top-quality sushi).  Unfortunately, with high prices come high expectations, which are definitely not met.  Frankly, at these prices, I would expect to see a Japanese sushi master with at least 10-years of apprenticeship training behind the sushi bar.

However, there is a silver lining in all of this.  The sushi isn't terrible and you can definitely satisfy your sushi cravings if you come here for half-price sushi nights on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Although you're required to make a drink purchase to get the half-priced sushi, the pricing comes right in line with quality expectations on these special evenings.

And if you're looking for a strong drink to wash down your sushi, their potent martinis cannot be missed either.

Overall, three stars.  It's top-quality sushi for Syracuse (with extra points for creative experimentation with the specialty rolls).  But you can bet that sushi like this wouldn't past muster in a large cosmopolitan city.  I'll definitely be back, but with my expectations in check.