This isn’t my initial time going to Sushi Pop in Winter Park, an off-Park offshoot of the authentic Oviedo cafe that opened in 2019. For myriad reasons – please verify gatherings from the past two many years – that evaluate was under no circumstances revealed. But I try to remember considering at the time that the Wintertime Park restaurant was a mere shadow of its Oviedo self, equally in conditions of the top quality of the foodstuff and the all round knowledge.
I nevertheless truly feel that way.
When it opened, in 2011, Sushi Pop seriously did pop. It was entertaining, not only for the diners who had been making the most of owning superior quality sushi in a aspect of town that was however inundated with bland American chain eating places, but also for the employees, who seemed to delight in wearing costumes and sporting wildly coloured hair, all when still offering fantastic assistance.
There is none of that at the Wintertime Park SP, and it’s possible it is no more time the circumstance in Oviedo, either, but I skipped it.
The Winter Park retail outlet is not exactly staid in the way of a regular sushi restaurant. A incredibly hot crimson neon signal blaring the terms “come what may” adorn one wall above wall hangings that look form of like pool noodles. And audio – pop, the natural way – performs, a tad as well loudly, during.
But no 1 seemed to be getting a fantastic time, the very least of all the personnel, and especially the sushi chef who appeared to be the lead. He scowled and averted earning eye get hold of with any guests, like those seated straight in entrance of him. It is customary for each visitors and chefs to acknowledge each and every other at the starting of the food his dismissiveness was rude. (Another chef, on the other hand, smiled at me and my guest when we were being seated at the sushi bar and was content to respond to thoughts.)
Most of the food stuff I sampled was fantastic, with a person pretty notable exception: the hiramasa tummy nigirzushi was inexpertly fashioned and fell apart when picked up.
Of the rolls I attempted, I liked the Kissed by Fireplace, which had lump crab meat and smelt roe with an asparagus spear, a garlic aioli and an additional fashioned with chili bean sauce. The roll receives its identify from a blowtorching of the salmon, but this 1 did not appear to be far too singed. Possibly it was Air-Kissed by Hearth. Continue to, it was a enjoyable presentation.
I also experienced the Drama Queen (be wonderful), which featured spicy tuna, jalapeño and avocado rolled and topped with hamachi, drizzled with a salsa of cucumber and fennel and garnished with micro greens. The spicy tuna and spicier jalapeño additional awesome notes.
Our sashimi range of mukimi scallops arrived very well soon after we’d completed our rolls. But the uncooked, crosshatched mollusks have been a fantastic temperature and experienced a enjoyable tender-firm texture that was complimented by a dab of citrusy yuzu kosho. Whether it was really worth the $18 cost is a discussion we’ll have to conserve for a time when cafe pricing receives back again to prepandemic degrees.
Our server, who wore no costume and had his purely natural hair shade, experienced a enjoyable demeanor and shipped our food stuff as it became offered.
I can’t help imagining that my evaluation of the Wintertime Park Sushi Pop may be various if I hadn’t skilled the first initial. But I did, and it just appears to be to be much less than what it could be.
Sushi Pop is at 115 E. Lyman Ave., Winter Park (map). It is open up for dinner Wednesday by Sunday. (Brunch hours are slated to begin this weekend.) The cellular phone range is 321-203-2282.
