I love sushi and eat it 3 - 4 times a month (at least). I'm not good (or prepared) enough to make it myself, so that means dining out. We have some decent sushi places nearby (Yanagi Too and Oriental Pearl), but there was a place in nearby Collingswood that I've been wanting to try for a while - Sagami. When we got some good news a few weeks ago, it seemed like the time to finally try it out.

[ • a surprising LOCATION •]
I had thought Sagami was near the revitalized downtown of Collingswood, but it turns out that it is closer to the nearly famous Airport Circle, near the final resting place of poet Walt Whitman (Harleigh Cemetary). To be honest, it's not the nicest of areas and a bit of a strange place to find a sushi restaurant with such a sterling reputation.

When you enter, you come to a room I can only describe as Japanese chic-meets-Irish Pub. Low ceilings and lots of dark wood are met by a small sushi bar and Japanese accents (prints, lights, tapestries) throughout. The main room has ample seating and despite the black ceiling and dark walls, it portrays a sense of intimacy rather than claustrophobia. Smaller tables line the side of the room, while larger ones fill the middle. A second, semi-private room is in the back just past the 5-seat sushi bar which sits in the front of the main room, well lit and exuding an almost show-like atmosphere. The first visit had us sitting at a boot, while our second trip was at one of the larger tables since we had a party of 6. The smaller table, although ostensibly a 4-top, was moderately small and would have been very tight with 4 people; with two it was just about perfect.

[ • red fish, BLUEFISH •]
Taking the chance to get out for a nice sushi dinner, we thought we should also take the chance to try some new things. To get started, we also ordered some miso soup ($2) and salads. They had a special salad with what sounded like a tasty dressing - soy wasabi vinaigrette, so I ordered a normal salad with that. It was delicious - the dressing was tangy with a hint of that unique 'heat' that good wasabi gives, while the soy and vinegar mixed exquisitely around the wasabi spice. We also ordered the special seaweed salad ($7), which was a delicious variety of 5 seaweeds and a tangy soy-based sauce. I've had seaweed salads before, but this was completely different. I can't even name the types of seaweed, but they were a rainbow of colors: lighter green, dark green, white, purple-red and a deep black. Some had a subtle spice to them, others were sweet and one was a mixture of spice and salt. The thicker soy sauce was also deliciously sweet and tasty.

She got the Sashimi Dinner ($26.50), while I got the Sushi B Dinner ($26.50), though in reality we planned to share. The sashimi dinner contained 12 pieces of sashimi (sushi, no rice) - a great combination of pieces including 3 types of tuna (magura, toro and hamachi), omelet, unagi (eel), octopus, scallop, flounder, shrimp, crab, shrimp and a California roll. The sushi dinner had 12 pieces of sushi and sashimi, and sides of ikura (salmon roe) and tobiko (flying fish roe), along with a tuna roll. We also ordered a spicy tuna roll ($5.50) and two pieces of giant clam ($4). All of the sushi was fantastic, fresh and delicious, with reasonably-sized pieces that in many cases melted in your mouth. The rolls were well-built (just one of those nice extras at a sushi restaurant) and tasty, and my wife loved the clam, although I wasn't a big fan. Both dishes came with a small seaweed salad which was as delicious as the sushi. On our second visit, we most of the same but tried a few new things. One of our party ordered Salmon with sauce ($18), which he said was fantastic although it had a bit too much sauce.

For desert, they have a number of items included in your meal - the pineapple was excellent, cut in a stylish design and garnished with cherries. But beyond the superb presentation, it was really delicious pineapple. On our second visit, I decided to branch out a bit and went for their Red Bean Ice Cream. It turns out to be a reddish ice-cream with pinto beans in it. Not so surprisingly, it has a distinctly bean-y taste to it but more surprising was that it wasn't bad. Not great but better than I thought it would be.

Obviously, sushi is the staple of the place, but they do offer a variety of udon ranging from $5 to $9.50 for the Tempura Udon; a number of teriyaki and tempura dishes, and a few other seafood and chicken dishes. All dishes (including the ones we had) come in both an a la carte and dinner version. The dinners come with soup and salad, while the a la carte is obviously just the dish itself.

[ • domo ARIGATO •]
Like the food, the service was great. Both times our servers were right there with our every need, checking on us and making sure that we had everything. They provided the service with smiles and did so in a classic sense. We haven't sat at the sushi bar, so I can't speak to the way that the chefs do their job, but I do know that our meals came very quickly considering how busy the entire restaurant was.

[ • so long SAGAMI •]
This restaurant was everything I was hoping for - excellent sushi, great service and a nice atmosphere. It isn't cheap but the quality of the food makes it worth every penny. But quality like this gets the word out and Sagami can be crowded almost any given day - so be prepared to wait. But once you get in, it will all be worth it.

[ • more INFORMATION •]
Sagami
37 Crescent Blvd. (Rt. 130)
Collingswood, NJ
856-854-9773

Hours: Tues - Fri: Noon - 2; Tues - Thursday: 5:30 - 9:30, Friday: 5:30 - 10, Saturday & Sunday: 5 - 10; Closed Monday
Parking: On Site
Reservations: Taken for large parties only
Dress Code: Casual
Payments: Credit Cards are accepted
Smoking: Allowed

Recommended: Yes

Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Try the seaweed salad - it offers a delicious variety of yummy seaweeds.
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd