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新橋 清水 Shinbashi Shimizu
Add: 2-15-10 Shinbashi, Minato Ku / 港区新橋 2-15-10
Tel: +81-3-3591-5763
Hours: 12pm~, 5:30~9:30 (L.O.)
Price: [lunch] 8,800+ yen [dinner] 15,000+ yen
Visited: Oct 2016
Among the myriad of high-end sushi restaurants in Tokyo, what foreigners are most familiar with are probably Sushi Jiro and Sushi Saito. Sushi Shimizu, on the other hand, is also highly ranked by the local Japanese (#34 on Tabelog’s top 50 sushi restaurants in Tokyo, just 6 spots after Sushi Jiro), but one can hardly find any non-Japanese information or reviews online. Why?
在東京衆多高級壽司店裡，一般外國人比較熟悉的不外乎是壽司之神すきやばし次郎（Sukiyabashi Jiro）和鮨さいとう（Sushi Saito）。而我這次去的新橋清水，雖然在當地人的圈子內是一座難求的名店，不過在網上卻很難找到非日語的信息和評論。爲什麽？
Let’s take a look first. The tiny sushi bar is located in a small alley not far from Ginza. It’s a space that fits only 8 customers, and inside the sushi bar is chef owner Kunihiro Shimizu. There are no fancy decors, just a simple bar, and behind it hung wooden boards listing today’s freshest ingredients.
先進來瞧瞧。小店藏身在離銀座不遠的狹小巷子裡，招牌也（不令人意外的）毫不顯眼。入門後是個能容納八個人的壽司吧台，站在裡面的就是主廚清水邦浩先生。沒有華麗的設計，只有簡潔的吧台，以及後方用來示意當日新鮮食材的板子。
Shimizu-san entered the trade when he was 18, and after 11 years of working at Shimbashi Tsuruhachi, he started out on his own in 1999. In fact, he was awarded one Michelin star in 2012, but as someone who doesn’t want his restaurant to be on any food guides, he complained to Michelin and had his star taken away the next year. Instead of running a sushi bar that’s world-famous and becomes impossible to book, he’d rather have it stay as a casual place where his regulars can come as they wish.
清水先生十八歲入行，于名店 “新橋鶴八” 工作11年後，1999年自立門戶。清水其實曾經在2012年被米其林評爲一星餐廳，不過他並不希望出現于任何餐廳指南上，所以氣憤的向米其林投訴，隔年隨即被撤銷了星星。長年來低調經營的清水先生，希望自己的餐廳不要成爲高高在上，需要好幾個月前就要訂位的拘謹名店，而是他的熟客可以隨意進來享用美味壽司的輕松地方。
Regulars of Shimizu can book in advance, but everyone else must book the day of – you can start calling after 8am to try your luck. As to why there are rarely any foreigners, it’s because Shimizu’s reservation policy has a couple of foreigner-unfriendly rules: you must speak Japanese, you must book with a Japanese local phone number, and they do not take reservations from hotel concierge – and these eliminates probably about 90% of the foreigners who want to come. It sounds very anti-foreigner, but it’s basically because Shimizu-san and both his staff speak only Japanese, and it would be very troublesome for them as well as for the customer if they cannot communicate with one another, making the experience less than perfect.
這裏除了熟客可以提早預約之外，一般只接受當天預約，從早上八點過後可以打電話碰碰運氣。至于爲什麽很少外國客人會來，則是因爲清水的預訂方式有不少規定：訂位時必須說日語，需要有日本當地的電話、而且他們不接受酒店禮賓部的預約。聽起來似乎姿態很高，不過其實是因爲清水先生以及他的兩位店員都只會說日語，如果來了個語言不通的，對客人對店家來說都很不方便，體驗也不會好。
A friend’s friend happens to be a regular here, so I was fortunate to score a reservation (totally did a happy dance). As is typical at sushi bars like this, there’s no menu, and everything’s done omakase-style, though of course you can request specific items that you are craving for as long as it’s available that day. The rice at Shimizu is flavored with red vinegar, giving it a beautiful rosy color and acidic taste, and the texture was perfectly chewy. As in the old days, Shimizu-san places the sushi right on the counter for customers to pick up simply with their hands.
正好朋友是這裏的熟客，我便喜滋滋的跟著來嘗鮮了。清水的壽司吧沒有任何器皿放壽司，而是依照傳統做法將捏好的壽司直接擺在壽司台上讓客人取用。醋飯用的是紅醋、味道清爽偏酸，軟硬適中有嚼勁，上桌是還帶余溫，和生魚片搭配起來美味極了。
Each piece of sushi at Shimizu was a delight, though I was especially swooned by this anago (sea eel) sushi’s fluffy soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture. On an unrelated note, because the shrimp and sea eel sushi are larger in size, they have both been cut into two for the ladies – a small yet considerate gesture.
蝦壽司和穴子壽司都很貼心的爲女士切成兩塊，方便放入嘴裏。（和我同行的朋友是位男士，他的就是以一貫壽司呈現）。清水的壽司都非常精彩，特別是下面這個綿密柔軟，入口即化的穴子實在另我難以忘懷…
Lunch at Sushi Shimizu starts at 8,800 yen while dinner is around 15,000 yen, the actual price depends on how much and what you eat. For lunch, we had about 14 sushi, and the price came up to be a bit over 10,000 yen without drinks, which is excellent price performance ratio. The only trouble is that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get another reservation next time I visit Tokyo…
午餐8,800日幣起跳，晚餐一般一萬五左右，具體價格根據吃的多少而定。我們當天吃了大約14貫壽司，沒有點酒，價格大約是一萬多日幣，以壽司的品質來說是性價比非常高的一家店。只不過下次去東京，不知道還訂不訂的到它啊…
新橋 清水 Shinbashi Shimizu
地址：東京都港區新橋 2-15-10
電話：+81-3-3591-5763
營業時間：12pm~, 5:30~9:30（最後點單）
價位：午餐8,800日幣＋，晚餐15,000日幣＋
造訪日期：2016年10月
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