There’s been a bit of discussion on expats.cz lately on the subject of decent sushi in the Czech Republic. When I first arrived in Prague, sushi was pretty much limited to a few overpriced restaurants in the centre. Since the opening of Makakido Running Sushi at Palladium, however, I’ve definitely noticed something of a knock-on diversification in the sushi market of late, with several new cheaper places such as Yuan Dong on Revoluční or Sushi Tam Da on Perunová opening up recently, offering more reasonably priced sushi options of corresponding variable quality.

In search of a decent sushi joint that wouldn’t break the bank, I headed down to Baifu Running Sushi at Bělehradská 75 (no website) last night to check out their sushi belt option. I’m not sure how long this place has been open, but they offer a daily “all you can eat” option at 199kč / 259kč (afternoons / evenings). They also offer fixed sushi platters ranging from 69 – 199kč.


I arrived at about half five to find the place empty and the belt not yet operating, but with a sushi chef chopping away diligently in the corner, they were clearly making moves to get the evening getting up and running. In the meantime I ordered a hot sake at 69kč and read my book for a bit, as the place steadily started filling up around me.


After about five minutes the belt started moving, but with only non-sushi dishes such as mini spring rolls, fried wontons, deep-fried chicken etc as yet on offer. Most of these looked a bit withered and had probably been hanging around since the afternoon, so I contented myself with a couple of prawn crackers and a not particularly inspiring cabbage salad until the sushi itself started coming round.




Having by now also made quick work of the sake, at this point I also ordered a glass of Muller Thurgau at 45kč, which actually came as a carafe.


Another ten minutes and the sushi itself finally started making an appearance, so far all either simple maki rolls (which I always think are a bit boring) or variants of the inside-out California or Philadelphia roll in some way, with imitation crab, avocado, salmon, cream cheese, green tobiko, lettuce and cucumber all employed in various combinations. Plentiful ginger and wasabi were also rotating round the belt if I needed to stock up at any time.






They were all passable, but with a definite overdependence on cheaper ingredients such as surimi and cucumber rather than actual quality cuts of fish. Some pieces passing by on the belt seemed quite clumsily made – the ones photographed are obviously the best of the bunch.

I also picked out what I can only guess to be a big blob of deep-fried surimi masquerading as shrimp. I’m ashamed to say that I went on to eat three of these babies – I couldn’t help myself, I am after all a documented surimi addict (I strongly suspect they secretly mix in crack cocaine along with all that lovely fish slurry and artificial E-numbers).


Only towards the end of my meal did I start to see any nigiri and sashimi coming round. I was getting on for full at this point, but for the sake of review picked out a sake nigiri as well. This was pretty disappointing, coming topped with a not particularly fresh nor well cut piece of salmon. I much preferred the rolls I’d had earlier.


To round off, I picked out a couple of hot sweet dumplings stuffed with one of my favourite Asian foodstuffs from childhood, red bean paste (perhaps laced with the same addictive substances as surimi, who knows…?). These were probably my highpoint of the meal, taking me right back to my early days as a kiddie expat in Singapore - except for that in those days me and my brother used to regularly get handed these and similar teeth-rotting treats free in shops and markets simply by virtue of being blonde and cherubic at the time… Ahh, happy days… :-))



Apart from the disappointing nigiri, I’d overall quite enjoyed my meal here. It was certainly not the best sushi you’ll find in Prague by a long way, but it was at least freshly made and among the best value to be found in the city. I’d say the quality compared to Makakido in Palladium, but at a good 100 – 150kč cheaper and with a fraction of the competition for a seat.

Next time I need a wasabi fix I will definitely head down here, but with the proviso in mind that, like anything in life, I will indeed be getting what I pay for…