So Tsunami technically isn’t in Durham but in Chapel Hill, in the Falconbridge area. It’s on the section of 54 where the city lines play hopscotch with each other, so I figured it was close enough to count. That’s my excuse for posting the review, anyhow.

Tsunami Sushi is a small Japanese restaurant that offers all the standard menu choices, including sushi, bento boxes, tempura, and teriyaki. The atmosphere was fine, if a bit plain, with elevator music playing, green walls, and red paneling. Service was a tad slow for a completely empty restaurant.

Luckily, the food was a lot more interesting than the décor. We started with their appetizer sampler platter; my husband and I were starving that evening. It included shumai, a spring roll, croquettes, and goyza, served up in a sushi boat.

I thought all of these were fantastic, in large part because they were fried perfectly. They weren’t greasy at all, but had crunch and golden-brown deliciousness. The shrimp shumai popped with flavor, the ground beef gyoza had a delicate texture, and the spring roll was stuffed with bright, tasty vegetables. The croquettes were phenomenal. Their creamy inside, a potato and curry combination, was delightful and I enjoyed the drizzled sauce on top greatly, even with a hint of mustard to it. I’m not usually a mustard fan but this wasn’t pungent and had great spice .

For the main course, my husband ordered a sashimi bento box, with which he was quite happy.

I opted for two sushi rolls, a spider roll and the Ocean II.

The Ocean II was very good, and I thought the thinly sliced cucumber wrap gave it a nice freshness and crunch. Contained inside were crab, whitefish, shrimp, roe, and avocado.

The spider roll was also good, and with it, I noticed how great Tsunami’s rice is: moist, tender, and tossed in a light rice vinegar. The spicy mayo wasn’t spicy at all, but it was a good roll regardless, especially the fried softshell crab.

I enjoyed my meal at Tsunami a lot. Generally, I prefer fancier sushi rolls—I make no claims to be a sushi purist—but these were very good, and the appetizers great. Tsunami’s offerings are simple, crisp, and good.

Tsunami Sushi
6118 Farrington Road
Falconbridge, Chapel Hill
Website
Entrees: $10.95–$18.95
Sushi Rolls: $3.25–$5.95
Specialty Rolls: $5.95–$11.95

Reviewed 2.27.10

Carpe Durham does not issue ratings, but registered users can agree or disagree with our opinion. If there is significant user disagreement, we highly recommend that you review all of this post's comments, because, sometimes, we just don't know what we are talking about.

No members have expressed a view on this post.
I generally agree.I generally disagree.