FOOD + DRINK
Love Sushi
BY LISAMARIE LAMB
Step into the cool , calm , modern chic of Love Sushi in Maidstone and you will immediately experience the feeling of zen that surrounds the place . Whether it ’ s the hand-cut natural bamboo brought all the way from Asia that hangs on the walls , the fascinating – almost hypnotic – conveyer of sushi that makes its way serenely around the dining area , or the friendly , relaxed staff that makes the place so comfortable , it ’ s difficult to tell . But whatever it is ( perhaps a combination of it all ), it ’ s a restaurant I ’ m glad I tried .
And what makes Love Sushi even better is not simply that it is a genuinely lovely place to be with its sophisticated yet casual black and red colour scheme and intimate booths , but that the food is exceptional too .
Everything at Love Sushi is handmade , and most of it – apart from the conveyer dishes – is made to order . This is real sushi , using the freshest of fish and the highest quality rice . And it does make a difference . For our starter we decided to try a selection of ‘ traditional ’ sushi dishes from the conveyer . They all looked fantastic and each one would , we ’ re sure , have been as appetising as the rest , but in the end we had to make a choice . It was a good choice – sake nigiri ( salmon ), hotate nigiri ( scallop ), aftershock roll ( spicy tuna , crab , cucumber and chilli flakes ), Las Vegas roll ( crabstick , cucumber , salmon , avocado , cream cheese , spring onion , tobiko green and garlic mayonnaise ) and California roll ( crabstick , avocado , cucumber , tobiko and mayonnaise ). As either a starter or a main course this would have worked perfectly well – and that is the beauty of sushi ; it is as flexible as you need and want it to be .
Despite the name , Love Sushi is more than sushi , sashimi and nigiri platters ; there ’ s all sorts of other delicious dishes to try . We ordered prawn tempura , soft-shelled crab tempura , shichimi squid and chicken gyoza . The batter on the tempura dishes was light and fluffy , and didn ’ t detract from the taste of the fish within . The shichimi squid certainly had a kick to it , but the garlic mayonnaise dip that was served alongside was just enough to cool the spice down . As for the gyoza … these bite-sized Japanese dumplings filled with chicken and vegetables , delicately spiced and seasoned and cooked just so … We wanted more . And more .
Restraint , however , was called for since there was still a main course to try . Katsu chicken curry ( chicken coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs in a Japanese curry sauce ) had intrigued us since we first sat down to eat and spotted it on the extensive menu , so we decided that it was time to sample it . The chicken was moist and the breadcrumb coating was thick enough to bring taste to the dish , but not so thick that it compromised the flavour . As for the sauce , it was thick and creamy with a burst of heat at the end . Where it soaked into the breadcrumbs it took on an extra dimension of deliciousness .
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake , and for dessert at Love Sushi it is possible to have mochi ice cream in various different flavours . The ice cream is encased in mochi and has an incredible texture and taste to it . We tried both the raspberry and green tea flavours and , despite being so very full , we couldn ’ t help but eat it all up … Try it and we ’ re sure you ’ ll feel the same !
Love Sushi is a modern delight full of new tastes and traditional methods . The combination gives Maidstone something rather special in the restaurant stakes .
Love Sushi Fremlin Walk 60 Earl Street Maidstone ME14 1PS www . fremlinwalk . co . uk
/ lovesushiuk
62