Oishii Boston   

1166 Washington St
Boston, MA 2118
617-482-8868
www.oishiiboston.com/

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Oishii is one of those dining experiences that would only be better if it were followed by a massage or a facial. Between the calming indoor waterfall and sipping sake at a sleek black bar, you couldn't get much more relaxed. Be warned, however: Oishii's reputation continues to draw people from far-flung suburbs, so there's often a wait, especially on weekends. As patrons of the Chestnut Hill location already know, sushi chef Ting San treats sushi-making as though it were a religious ritual. Watch the chefs, focused as surgeons, slice the fish and assemble the rolls and sashimi plates. That said, when you see the menu, your calm may be jolted at the sight of the prices. As for the sushi itself, keep it simple and you won't be disappointed: The tuna, yellowtail, snapper, toro, escolar, or wild salmon in the sashimi and makis are of the silkiest quality. It's almost as if freshness has its own distinct flavor. You'll find the rolls here are exotic, and the more adventurous the maki ingredients -- kobe beef, Asian pears, foie gras -- the more likely they are to mask the natural flavors of the fish. San has also been noted as saying that he was going for something different conceptually at this second restaurant. The menu, which is different from the one in Chestnut Hill, features hot and cold appetizers and if sushi's not your speed, there's udon and pan seared and steamed fish dishes. One thing we're still trying to figure out, though -- with this kind of price tag, shouldn't we have full claim to a soy sauce bottle? We appreciate ritual, but there's something unreasonable about servers that act like soy sauce vendors, coming around to refill your dipping dish from their supply in a ceramic teapot. There's nothing relaxing about flagging down a server when you're out of soy sauce.