Whether you are a die-hard sushi fan, anti-sushi or on the fence, there’s something for you at Sumo Sushi Bento. Serving up amazing contemporary Japanese cuisine, you will find something to entice your tastebuds. Personally i was on the fence regarding sushi (coming from a landlocked region we cook the occasional fish to death. Raw seafood consumption by humans is incomprehensible in our culture.) Nevertheless, the adventurous foodie in me is now convinced that to get to love your sushi, you need to eat it at the right place. Sumo Sushi would be a great choice.
At the recent bloggers meet organized by Whatsup Doha we sampled a few items from their menu at their newly opened branch at Villagio mall. You will find everything here from soups and salads, a huge variety of sushi, sashimi, maki to bento boxes and classic deserts – all with a fresh, contemporary vibe.
We started off with a sampling of their gyoza, prawn tempura and garlic edamame. Loved the tempura, the prawns were huge, fresh, the coating was just right and it was delicious with the sauce. The garlic edamame however left me confused as what I was to do with it. The shell tasted raw and not-so-tender but the little peas in the pod were delicious with the hint of garlic. Best shell them and eat them up.
Next up was the Seafood Amazu Tartare served in a beautiful black boat. I didn’t think I would like a tartare which are basically raw fish cakes but it was so well balanced. Loved the freshness, the creaminess of the avaocados, the tangy zesty amazu dressing and the teeny tiny salmon roe popping in the mouth. It was amazing! If you are into raw seafood this is a must try.
Then came the star of the show. Two large golden boats filled with a sampling of their different sushi rolls and sashimis. I had a few of them and most of them I liked. However one which stood out was the sweet potato crunch. It was simply outstanding with creamy avocados, prawn and salmon rolled in rice and sprinkled generously with tiny sweet potato crisp.

If you order 4-5 types of their rolls, they can be served in the boat.


We also had tasted some of their other entrees. The ramen (amazing), fried rice (very good), prawns bento (very dry, didn’t like) and classic beef bento (awesome).
Lastly we were served the desserts. My top picks were the Matcha Tiramisu and the Chocolate Bomb. At a later visit we also tried the Mochi ice cream rolls and found the cool bites to be only lukewarm on the tastebuds.


Customer vs Blogger experience
At a later visit we ordered our favourites from the last time – the sweet potato crunch and the beef bento. Both were as delicious as the last time, if not more. The sushi rolls came with a side of pickled ginger which was really delicious and we had it with everything including the beef and rice.

The service was quick and courteous. They were happy to address all our concerns. We had ordered prawn tempuras with one of our kid’s meals and we were not happy with a few pieces. They very much looked like white fish. But the staff listened to our concern, checked with their chef and he personally came and assured us that it was flattened tiger prawns and not white fish. Even gave us 2 complimentary pieces of the more prawn looking prawn tempuras!
Kids Menu
They have a dedicated kid’s menu featuring a ‘build a bento’ with a lot of options to choose from and all served with fresh fruit, juice / milk and a generous scoop of ice cream. Priced at 44 QAR.

But the best part is every Sunday the kid’s eat FREE at their Villagio branch. One kid’s meal is absolutely free for every adult ordering an entree. And that’s a great value! So do visit and enjoy some great sushi while the offer lasts.