LOCATIONOn the corner of Pitt and Liverpool Streets.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe concept of a sushi train is not new to the Australian public – most people are familiar with the idea of sitting down in front of a conveyor belt of Japanese fare and plucking dishes off as they roll past on colour-coded plates. However, this type of dining is often considered to be the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds – fast, cheap and of questionable quality. Not so at the vibrant, and ever-bustling, Makoto Sushi Bar. This little eatery is an offspring of the Masuya Group of Japanese restaurants and delivers a respect-demanding quality. Even before you know that the chef visits the Fish Market every morning to pick his seafood (and that similar attention is given to the rice and vinegar), the throng of people who gather outside, clutching little pieces of paper like prize-winning lottery tickets, hints at just how good the food is.
It is not rare for the restaurant to be at full capacity and handing out numbers to salivating, sushi-craving, customers – in fact it boasts in excess of 500 customers a day. However the staff are efficient, the conveyor belt is always brimming and it usually doesn’t take long before you are seated in front of the parade of variously-plated sea life. And the food is so wonderfully fresh, so pleasantly textured and so deliciously flavoured that by the time you slide onto a stool, waiting is a distant memory. The dishes that sail past, grinning with pride, vary from favourites like salmon and tuna sashimi to less-common delicacies like
uni (sea urchin sushi),
tobiko (flying fish roe), shark fin and a good range of desserts. Diners also have the option of selecting from Makoto's a la carte menu, which includes anything from sushi and sashimi sets to tempura, noodles and soups.
Agnes Gajewska, July 2009