Sushi Den

I had only been to Sushi Den once before and in the time away I think I've developed a fairly sophisticated appetite and a better sense of good sushi. On this particular night we tried to dine at two other restaurants but couldn't find a parking spot for one and the other was closed and by that time we had wound up just a few blocks from the famous Sushi Den. Why not? We said. 


The crowd just inside the doors wasn't the best sign if you just wanted to sit down, get some good food, and get out the door, but the wait wasn't bad at 25 minutes for a place that was so crowded it was hard to find a place to stand. The atmosphere inside was hip, fast-paced, and very chatty with groups of people anywhere a server wasn't currently occupying space. Founded in 1985 and quickly recognized as Denver's best sushi restaurant and then later recognized as one of the country's best sushi restaurants, the Sushi Den has developed into a place for sushi and sashimi lovers, but also as a place to see and be seen, which often happens to popular restaurants. That is, people come as much to be there as they are there to eat excellent food. Standing around waiting for our table and sipping on a 22oz Sapporo, I couldn't help but notice a lot of people occupying themselves with people-watching and not with the friends at the table nor the food in front of them. 


Once seated in a cramped corner of the restaurant, we didn't spare any time ordering. We focused primarily on getting some rolls, thinking it would provide us the best bang for our buck since we were both starving. We tried the Spider Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, and the Tuna Firecracker Roll. My favorite among the three was the Shrimp Tempura. All three rolls were excellent and reasonably priced for how popular this place has become. That said, maybe Sushi Den developed a strong reputation on its sashimi, its extensive sake list, and overall freshness of its fish, because I didn't think the rolls were extremely impressive. Not bad in any way, but Sushi Den's reputation precedes actually eating there and it has a lot to live up to. 


Will we go back? Yeah, we'll go back. But I don't know if we'll go back in 2012. There are still a few sushi restaurants out there that we want a piece of and by then 2013 could be upon us. Until next time, Sushi Den.


Dined February 8, 2012.


Written by B.