I don’t know what it is about sushi, but I cannot foresee a situation where I would ever give it a miss. I love it. A lot. In theory, raw fish, plain rice and vegetables smeared in a sinus-clearing, tangy, green paste sounds hideous. Oh how wrong a theory can be. My love of sushi means that I’ve often gone for the quick and easy fix at ‘Yo! Sushi’, where frankly you end up paying extortionate prices for sub-standard and average tasting dishes. Admittedly on occasion I’ve even lowered myself to the Sainsburys' sushi snack box meal just to get that hit. I know, I know, I’m the worst kind of junkie. For want of anywhere decent nearby I cheapened myself and gave in to these sushi fiends.
However, the oppressive reign of bad sushi is over! A Japanese guardian angel has come to my rescue and ensured that I never have to eat inferior sushi again. ‘Yume’ (apparently pronounced you-may) is a brand spanking new Japanese cafe/restaurant nestled quietly among the bars and shops of Cotham Hill, which also just so happens to be roughly 3 minutes walk from my house. Huzzah!
With my sushi cravings going into overdrive I hastened down to Cotham Hill with my fellow foodie and partner in crime, Elly, to check out this new hotspot.
Inside the decor is cute and fresh with clean lines, a warm colour palette and the occasional painted cherry blossom tiptoeing across the walls. Yume retains a sense of Japanese tradition, with folding paper screens and wicker lamps, without being too garish. This little place is all about the food.
They don’t as of yet have an alcohol license, but the staff are very friendly and are more than happy for you to bring your own. Elly and I cracked into a bottle of rosé while we browsed the menu. This took awhile. The range of hot and cold food was amazing and all the dishes looked fantastic. Being the greedy girls we are, and considering that we are both severe sufferers of food envy, we decided to get a hot dish, a sushi dish and a side to share. We eventually opted for the beef teriyaki with garlic sauce, the ‘rainbow roll’ (crab & avocado topped with a rainbow of fish) and a side of chicken gyoza (dumplings) and thank that Japanese guardian angel we did!
The rainbow roll dish came with 8 hefty pieces of sushi, each eye-rollingly delicious. Pouring ourselves generous bowls of soy sauce we merrily dunked away. As all proper sushi deserves it also came with a liberal mound of wasabi (this thrilled my obsession with all forms of spice and luckily for me Elly isn’t a wasabi fan, so I adorned my sushi with it to my hearts content) and, of course, ginger. A mouthful of heaven, every time.
The beef teriyaki was equally as delicious, particularly the garlicky-teriyaki sauce which melted into the sticky rice and made it almost as yummy as the beef itself. Considering chopsticks and rice are not the easiest combo to master, we impressively managed to lick the bowl clean. This dish also came with a side of crispy seaweed and a warming mini-bowl of Miso soup to wash down all that delicious fish, meat and rice. The chicken dumplings were both succulent and crispy, and were accompanied by a tasty chile and soy sauce. We were left perfectly full, those pesky cravings thoroughly satisfied.
Now onto another major plus. Sushi is notoriously expensive (meaning my bank account and sushi addiction are in a perpetual and bitter stand off), however at Yume this cuisine is very cheap. 8 giant ‘rainbow rolls’ cost £9, whilst the huge bowl of teriyaki cost a mere £6, and the gyoza £3. The whole menu is excellently priced (6 pieces of fish maki will only set you back £3). Between 2 our meal came to £9 each and we left with our tastebuds tingling, credit cards singing and expectations thoroughly exceeded.
No more cheap fixes- my sushi habit is now a mere stroll away. I’ve officially died and gone to sushi heaven.
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