The food court in Terminal 1 at the Frankfurt International Airport is the unlikely spot for some really good sushi. (Nancy Montgomery / S&S)
The food court in Terminal 1 at the Frankfurt International Airport is the unlikely spot for some really good sushi. (Nancy Montgomery / S&S)
Making the sushi takes a little time - but not too much. People in the airport are in a hurry. (Nancy Montgomery / S&S)
FRANKFURT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Germany — How many times have you said to a loved one, “Let’s hop in the car, drive an hour to the airport, pay $10.40 to park, get lost in the garage, walk a mile to the terminal and grab some lunch?”
Many times, am I right?
If so, then you must miss good sushi like I do and not know where to get any in Heidelberg. But last year, before a flight, I happened into the Frankfurt International Airport’s Terminal 1 and the its food court sushi bar.
I was skeptical. But a man sitting at the six-seat bar had such a fresh-looking, appealing assortment of sushi and sashimi on a pretty laquered platter, and he seemed so happy, I decided to shell out some 25 euro and try it.
I have returned four times.
The Sushi World sushi bar in the Take Off restaurant in Terminal 1, sells great sushi and sashimi, comparable in freshness, taste and variety to that I enjoyed in Japan, where I lived for a year.
According to owner Niklas Lee, his airport sushi was rated tops of all German airport sushi in a German lifestyle magazine. Lee said that’s because he goes to the Frankfurt fish market two or three times a week, and that’s supplemented by suppliers who bring fresh fish to the airport.
“I’m not Japanese, I’m Taiwanese, and my sushi’s the best,” said Lee, who opened at the airport in 2005.
The standard meal is seven pieces of sushi and a water or Japanese beer for $15 euro — $22. “Sushi is very expensive,” Lee said.
We got a platter of mixed sushi and sashimi and a plate of mixed sushi and maki rolls. That meant we had tuna, mackeral, shrimp, scallops, salmon, squid, octopus, clam, I think, maybe some eel and some other fish and/or sea creature I couldn’t identify.
We also ordered a bowl of miso soup, a bottle of water, a Sapporo beer (for authenticity) and, because I love them so much, two pieces of the sushi made with salmon roe. All with wonderful pickled ginger and wasabi. The bill was a little more than 70 euro, or $104.
We learned that Lee has two other Sushi places — one in Frankfurt and another in Wiesbaden. Turns out, at those two places, he offers all-you-can-eat sushi for about 10 euro at lunch and 16 euro at dinner.
So next time, we’ll skip the airport unless we have a flight.
See previous After Hours reviews here.
Sushi World at the Take Off
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.Prices: Sushi can be ordered by the piece or in a variety of combinations. Average meal is seven sushi pieces for 15 euro but prices can climb steeply quickly.English menu: No. Menu is bright, red plastic, in German, with photos for pointing to.Dress: Airport casual.Clientele: Busy travelers and lonely airport workers.Location: Take Off Food Corner, just past the Lufthansa check-in, in Terminal One, Frankfurt International Airport.Web site: None.
