The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Young’s Sushi Bar gives Madison a really nice option You don’t have to be an Sushi obsessive to roll with this place
Madison might not be the first place you think of when you think “sushi.” But if you’re a fan of sushi, Young’s Sushi Bar might just change your thinking.
OK, it’s probably the ONLY sushi spot in Madison, which automatically makes it the best sushi spot in Madison. That probably shouldn’t detract from its allure.
Young’s Sushi Bar is owned by Young Lee, who worked as a chef for years at the original Lure Bistro in Downtown Willoughby and is the operator of Young’s Sushi, also in Willoughby. The Madison location started off as a Bar Lure, a venture led by Lure Bistro’s original owner, Nick Kustala, who also is a partner in Madison’s Heirloom Bistro, a stone’s throw away from Young’s.
Kustala, with irons in plenty of culinary fires around Northeast Ohio already, transferred ownership to Lee in December 2014. Shortly after, the place expanded to occupy two commercial strips along Madison’s West Main Street.
In its current form, Young’s is like the other Main Street establishments within close proximity, utilizing two deep, narrow properties — one of which is mostly bar, and the other a separate-but-connected dining room.
Upon entering, I liked the atmosphere immediately. It has old-village charm — high ceilings, hardwood floors, brickwork walls — that fits the area, not succumbing to the cliche décor to which similar places seem beholden. I didn’t see a single painting of geishas or samurai anywhere.
I went with a buddy on a recent Saturday and was seated right away, opting for a table in the separate dining room even though the long bar adjacent to the sushi prep area was tempting. Despite arriving at what I thought would be the height of a dinner rush, we were the sole guests for a while in the separate dining area. It started to fill in, but even by 8 p.m. or so, quite a few tables remained available.
Not a huge participant in the sushi phenomenon that began sweeping the area a few years ago, I never seem to know exactly what or how much to order when I go to a sushi place. We started with an edamame appetizer ($5) and saved the sushi for more of a main course.
The edamame was more than enough for the two of us, and it was perfectly prepared — not over- or under-cooked, as is sometimes the case, and salted just enough. Salty edamame pairs decently with hoppy beer, we discovered.
That’s another tricky point when it comes to sushi and me: Is beer considered a faux pas? Young’s will make brew fans feel comfortable in that regard, as the beer selection is pretty darn good. For a sushi place, it’s remarkable. That told me that, yes, other people must drink beer with their sushi, too. When we went, the Great Lakes seasonal on tap was Chillwave, a 9-percent-alcohol doubleIPA that could be had for $8 for a 22-ounce pour.
I’m not very adventurous when it comes to sushi, so I asked our server about my go-to, the California roll ($6 for six pieces), as a starter. He suggested instead the Love Roll, which is similar but for $2 more includes white tuna and real crab, not crab stick. We opted to have it arrive with our main selections rather than just a second appetizer of sorts.
It was solid. Still heavier on the crab than the tuna, it was good for a non-adventurous guest such as myself while providing a more complex profile than a typical California roll would.
I normally get sushi with my wife and/or kids, so we tend to keep it pretty vanilla. There’s a lot of eel on the menu at Young’s, and I’m not going to eat eel, but not being with my family let me go a little spicier than I usually would.
My friend and I split eight-piece Clark and Crazy rolls, which, in retrospect were a bit redundant. The Clark ($14) was deep-fried crab with shrimp, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado, topped with a spicy crab salad. There’s a lot going on there, and I kind of expected the coolness of the cucumber to balance out the spicy crab sauce. It was more spicy than cool, however, but nothing to complain about. It was good.
The Crazy Roll ($13.50) was our favorite. It was crab stick, avocado and cream cheese, topped with white tuna and lightly toasted. It, too, had a sauce with a bit of a kick to it, but the spice level was a bit more muted, which allowed the other flavors to come out a bit better than with the Clark Roll. It was perhaps the best sushi roll I’ve ever had, but that might not be a ringing endorsement coming from me.
I will say that the two eight-piece rolls, plus the one six-piece, was just enough for two 40-something guys. We finished it all because nobody takes sushi home, right? But we couldn’t have eaten more.
The service was great, and we appreciated our server’s candor and helpfulness. I liked the atmosphere a lot — Young’s puts the “bar” in “sushi bar” — and I think if I had, say, an out-of-town guest who likes sushi and wants to go somewhere in Lake County, Young’s Sushi Bar is probably where I would take him or her.
Even though I’m a sushi noob and Madison might not be the first place you think of when it comes to sushi. Reviews are based on one anonymous visit to the restaurant.