Tsuki Japanese Restaurant

Clean and simple design in this intimate restaurant which offers excellent food and fine service.  Tsuki is a low-key, quiet place to enjoy sushi, sashimi and classic Japanese dishes like udon soup, yakitori and katsu don (pork cutlet).   The interior is all high-backed booths, plus a Sushi bar and a tatami room for groups.

I visited at lunch, the specials are only $8-14.  Japanese hot tea is included and was very good! Most lunches include a small bowl of a fine miso soup, followed by a very nice small salad of lettuce, shaved carrot and cucumber with an excellent and not sweet sesame dressing.  Afterwards they bring half an orange that was delicately carved into pieces, a great presentation and also easy to eat.

The #1 sushi lunch is a California roll plus six pieces of nigiri-sushi; i.e., sliced raw fish on vinegared rice.  Considering the soup and salad that came with it, and the tea, I thought this was very reasonable at $12.

Another great option at lunch was the udon noodle soup, loaded with fresh vegetables including  cabbage, a whole egg, chunks of seafood AND two huge tempura shrimp on the side, a bargain at $11.

The thinly sliced ginger that came with the rolls definitely was not the typical reddish color I've seen in other places.  It tasted great to me with the same delicate crunch, so I don't know if it was just a different variety or if the one served here is more "natural."

Very friendly and prompt service.  Place was maybe 1/3 full when we visited, it was quiet and perfect for conversation.

Dinner prices are a lot higher than lunch!  But you knew that already.

I love the model (i.e., plastic) food in the front window, a classic touch!

I was in the Bernardsville/Basking Ridge area on business for a few days.  I had a craving for sushi and did a brief internet search for local places.  Tsuki came up and had fairly decent reviews from the locals, so I decided to give it a try - especially since my company was paying for it.  :)

The place was very clean and neat, like the staff are a bunch of people with OCD who have to have every little table decoration perfectly positioned and every empty chair straightened (nothing wrong with that!).  Fine by me.

Another reviewer claimed that Tsuki needed remodeling, but I saw nothing that stood out as an eyesore.  Modern 1-foot ceramic tile floors, wood booths that appeared decent, and your typical sushi/oriental restaurant decor, etc.  The appearance was fine, although some air freshener would be in order since it smelled a bit musty when I entered.  Not a showstopper though.

I was instantly greeted and seated - no problem whatsoever there.  

The service was very attentive, maybe even TOO much if that's possible.  As if I were royalty with a personal servant, a waitress stood at my table for well over a minute while I poured over the menu - a long time if you're counting down the seconds.  I got a little uncomfortable with her staring at me from 3 feet away, so I informed her that I needed time to look over the menu since I'd never been there before.  Hint hint, beat it and give the King some space!  LOL  She smiled, did a little bow, and promptly went away.

I spied her peeking at me from around the corner after that, but that's good.  It meant she wanted to take my order ASAP.  I appreciate enthusiasm from servers.

As for the food, it was decent if you need sushi in a small town like Bernardsville where there are probably only one or two places.  It seemed to be freshly made, especially since it took about 20 minutes to make it and the place didn't seem crowded (I went there late at almost 9pm).  But sadly, it just wasn't that tasty.  It was "meh".  

I had a Phoenix roll, a "spicy fluke roll" that wasn't spicy at all, and a "buddy roll" made with shrimp tempura.  Add a house salad with typical Japanese ginger dressing and the total was almost $30.  That's kind of expensive considering each roll only had 5-6 pieces, but oh well.  Where else could I go for sushi late at night in this little unfamiliar town?

They had a few kernels of corn on top of the salad - never seen that before at a sushi place.  I suppose that might horrify a few Japanese restaurant connoisseurs, but not me.  I ate it all.

The pickled ginger wasn't pink, it was yellow.  I prefer pink, but honestly I think both colors taste the same.  I just like a little color, that's all.  :)

So all in all, great service but merely acceptable food in a small town where choices are few.  I'll give it three stars, but if I lived in Bernardsville and had time to scout out other places in the area I'll bet something tastier could be found after a modest drive to nearby towns.  

I don't think this place would hold up in an urban environment with abundant, tough competition.  The food is fresh and nicely made, but lacking in taste.  Nothing I sank my teeth into perked up my eyebrows.

Tsuki needs to spice their food up a little bit - literally!

There is definately better sushi in the area... I've never had anything memorable there and to be honest, it smells a little too fishy in there...