I'm not entirely certain how I came across the fact that Sushi Mori has a few vegan-friendly items on their menu. To make sure I was not mistaken, I called them and the manager told me that although they did not have a specific plant-based menu (many items are labelled vegetarian) a lot of items could be prepared animal-product-free. We decided to give them a try as we are not too far away and often end up nearby to get our weekly groceries.
Located in a strip mall across from T and T on Willowbrook Drive, we arrived around noon on Saturday, and there was seating available right away.
I used to be a nigiri guy in my past omnivore life and there is not a lot available that is naturally vegan. SM does not do the imitation salmon and tuna that specialty vegan sushi restaurants do and I would not expect them to. That leaves squash nigiri and onigiri and both of these were just fine. One of the great tastes of nigiri is well-prepared rice and that was evident here.
In retrospect, I feel like asking again if the tempura batter contained egg. I was assured that it was vegan and often the batter is made without egg. One has to trust. It was of a nice crispy texture and was very tasty. It came with the usual dipping sauce. Very nice.
We ordered the Tofu and Vegetable Teriyaki Don. Again, this was marked as vegetarian on the menu but could be prepared (or already was) vegan. The tofu was delicately battered and fried and absorbed the Teriyaki flavour very nicely. Included were some steamed but still firm broccoli and sprouts as well as a base of rice. This could have been a decent lunch all by itself.
The stars of the show might well have been the rolls. When I was a nigiri head, I usually sneered at rolls as not really sushi. Now that I am vegan anything I eat is not really sushi so rolls are cool! Again, thee rolls are listed as vegetarian on the menu but your server will be able to confirm which do not contain mayo. I can't remember exactly what we ordered but on the left is Mango-Gomae Roll for sure, Yam Tempura on the right and possibly Inari Roll in the middle. They were all delicious!
This is a very nice room, warmly decorated and calming! Service was impeccable as it often is at Japanese restaurants (wait...is that some kind of reverse cultural appropriation?...good thing no one reads this) and our server helped us though the what's vegan/what's not thing. We will definitely be back.
Food 4 out of 5
Vegan Options 4 out of 5
Comfort 4 out of 5
Service 4 1/2 out of 5
Value 4 out of 5
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