Mainichi Sushi

What a disappointment Mainichi is! If you'd like good sushi or tempura or even miso soup, go next store to Akemi. Or, for just sushi, travel up the street to Sakana in Kensington. But, let's talk about Mainichi. I ordered miso soup to start -- way too salty, one lonely piece of tofu and one green at the bottom at the bottom.Next was the mixed tempura appetizer. Mainichi tempura batter was more akin to a batter you might find on fried chicken. It was heavy and seemed to have an extra layer of bread crumbs on it. The sweet potatoes were not of good quality and the other vegetables were undistinguished. Strange to eat the shrimp with a non-tempura type batter on it.Finally the sushi -- the rice was soggy! I have eaten sushi all over the world and never has the rice been this soggy. The sushi--a roll comprised of salmon, rice, and avocado--was inedible. Gee, too bad, I hate to write unflattering things about a neighborhood restaurant, but I can't recommend Mainichi at all.

Note to the chef/cook:Garlic Spicy Edamame- please do not mesh the garlic, it leaves a bitter taste and aesthetic becomes too un-appealing. Dice them, with small amount of butter and olive oil, and chili oil, soy sauce, then mix with cooked edamame as a last step. Do not over cook edamame, 5 minutes in boiling water will do just fine.Note to sushi chef:Even if not very busy, preheat the sushi oven at all time. Unagi must be fully roasted to perfect the texture. If mushy and undercooked, bones will be felt while chewing, and leave in-appealing texture and visual.Miso soup: when not busy, lower the temperature down in the soup pot. Too salty for people who are coming in around less busy time. I would rather get charged for the miso soup and get a better, less salty one.Salmon Skin: Do not shred salmon skin. It's always about texture. Salmon skin loses its crispy-ness when shredded. Service was alright, but I saw a kitchen staff walking slowly toward the kitchen after his break time with dirty apron while the customers were eating inside. Use the back door and be discreet.Nigiri pricing is too expensive compared to other places , and looking at the quality of food, customers will know the quality and pricing won't match among the many sushi joints around the area. The owner really must take care of this place - I see potential and has great atmosphere but employees also must be serious about food and sushi.

Just ate here with a friend for a late lunch. Place had a nice ambiance to it and well decorated. Nice long menu with all sorts of the typical dishes. Decided to have the sunomono, karaage, hamachi kama to share and friend had the ramen and I had the yakisoba. Food was very reasonably priced and everything was done very well. The hamachi kama was a large piece of fish and very well cooked. I was especially happy with the yakisoba as it was well seasoned but not too salty, which I find in some places. Well worth a try and will visit again.

Food was amazing, service spectacular and ambiance nice. Also, the cleanliness of this restaurant is impressive. Everything we ate was delicious and I recommend you give this spot a try.

Great sushi and relatively affordable considering the area. Service wan fast and friendly

Authentic Japanese cuisine is being served at Mainichi Sushi on a daily basis. Located on Solano Avenue near the Albany-Berkeley border, Mainichi Sushi arrived on the local scene just a couple of years ago replacing the long-standing Sushi 29. Now with an updated exterior with wooden paneling, and an interior that's full of light thanks to the floor to ceiling windows that open out onto Solano Avenue, Mainichi Sushi is ready to take on the world, and why shouldn't they, as the word Mainichi literally translates into the word "every day" in Japanese. Celebrating a recent weekend dinner with two friends recently, we were thinking of dining along the commercial corridor that stretches from the Albany lowlands all the way up to the Berkeley Hills, and none of us had ever heard of Mainichi until we did a little searching via our map apps. Once I saw how nice renovated their exterior looked, we took a look at their menu on our Yelp app and noticed how reasonable their prices were for their combinations and sushi rolls and decided to try something new. Despite coming after 6 p.m. on a weekend evening, there was both plenty of parking and not too much car traffic traveling up Solano Avenue, which would also be indicative of how busy they were, as they were not packed with customers and we were sitting at a table of four right away. The menu at Mainichi Sushi is separated into categories including Appetizers; Kitchen, which was a variety of hot menu items; Rolls; Veggie Rolls; Special Rolls; Deep Fried Rolls; Teriyaki Plate; Sandwiches; Bento Box; Donburi; Ramen; Udon; Sashimi; Sushi; Hand Rolls; Sashimi & Sushi Special; and Dessert. After bringing our table three bowls of complimentary miso soup, we knew we wanted to share everything, so we ordered one of their Bento Box, which is served with steamed rice and a salad. You are supposed to select three menu items from columns labeled A, B, and C. We ordered beef teriyaki, tempura, and sashimi, of which we selected their salmon from options that also included tuna and hamachi. We also ordered their 15 piece Sashimi Tasting from their Sashimi & Sushi Special menu, their Hamachi Kama, which is grilled yellowtail cheek from their kitchen section of their menu, and their Jasmine Blossom Roll from their Special Rolls section of their menu, which featured yellowtail, avocado and tobiko. The latter roll was one of the first things to be brought out to our table and it was the perfect starter to what would be a wonderfully filling meal. Simple as it only had one freshly sliced raw fish, it was a nice palate cleanser. Then we were presented with our Sashimi Tasting, which featured no fewer than sixteen pieces of freshly sliced fish. I particularly liked the fresh Tai fish or Japanese sea bream and it was so rich with flavor.After enjoying some lighter bites, out came both of our cooked entrées, led by our Bento Box dinner, which was easily shareable between three people. I have to admit a majority of elements of our Bento Box were rather subpar as the beef teriyaki was overcooked and the tempura, although delicious, was rather unremarkable. Although it came with sliced sashimi at an additional cost, I wouldn't recommend ordering this entrée again, as they have other items on their menu that are much better, which includes their Hamachi Kama, which was buttery and nicely grilled at the same time. We decided to order one more roll as our dinner progressed, we ordered one more of their speciality sushi rolls, and their Solano Roll, with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, unagi, cucumber, avocado and tobiko, had an overabundance of ingredients with every bite, but still was very good and satiated our appetites. We had a wonderful time at Mainichi Sushi, as everything was fresh and authentic, as their staff clearly knew what they were doing. Our total bill was $134.51 before gratuity was added in, which was rather reasonable considering how much food we enjoyed this evening, and we were able to take home a few extra small bites for a future meal. We cannot wait to return to Mainichi Sushi in the future, as we now have a place where we can take visitors who have a craving for freshly sliced and prepared Japanese raw fish and sushi rolls. Here's hoping that Mainichi Sushi will reign along Solano Avenue for many years to come!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SUSHI PLACE IN THE EAST BAY!!! (and I eat a lot of sushi) This place can get busy but there's never been a wait for a table when I've been. The wait staff is attentive and friendly. I always get the 8 piece nigiri combo. Every piece is flavored perfectly and it's plated beautifully. They make me like the fish I usually avoid. A complimentary sliced orange for dessert speaks is honestly my love language. Makes me want to give this place a 6th star.

Always fresh ingredients and friendly staff. Easy free on street parking out front. Love the Bento boxes. Mainichi Sushi (previously Ton Ton Sushi) is our go to place for Japanese cuisine!

Excellent service! Amazing sushi! Incredible prices!Can't beat this combo.What else?

We had a lunch delivery that was super high quality. However the avocado roll was mixed into all the other sushi which made a real mess when we were dividing up the meal for 4 people.