Radford Sushi Village boasts large bar and buffet

Andrew Lu opened Radford Sushi Village a year ago in downtown Radford. The narrow yet surprisingly spacious interior boasts a large sushi bar in the front and a large buffet serving area in the back. You can sit at a table or at the bar, where you can chat with the sushi chef while your tasty bites of rice and seafood are being prepared.

On our visits we were always welcomed with smiles and the service was great. The menu is extensive, with dozens of Chinese dishes and about a hundred sushi selections. How about a quail egg shooter ($2.50)? This seems to be a pattern among Asian restaurants: mixing Chinese with Japanese cuisine for a broader appeal . We enjoyed both styles on our visits.

Upon being seated we were given a bowl of edamame in the shell and a bowl of miso soup, both complimentary . The edamame were just right, not overly salted. The miso soup lacked boldness ; but on a cold day it was a welcome warm-up.

Sushi Village offers a lunch buffet for $5.99 that includes three different varieties of sushi rolls (chosen by the chef) along with standard Chinese dishes like General Tso’s chicken, pepper steak, beef and broccoli, and other items along with assorted salad fixings and desserts.

The price is right although we have seen those buffet selections in other restaurants. We had the buffet on one visit and found the food satisfactory, but we would have liked the dishes to be of hotter temperature . This problem persists at about every buffet we have visited.

On another visit we ordered the General Tso’s chicken off the menu ($6.25, lunch). The generous portion was served hot along with a crispy spring roll and fried rice. The sauce was sweet and mild, despite the menu listing it in red, denoting a spicy dish. The breaded bits of chicken were crispy. But let’s get on to the sushi.

Sushi has evolved into a general term that includes nigiri (raw fish over rice), sashimi (fish only), and hand rolls. Sushi Village offers each style along with pickled ginger to cleanse your palate and a dab of wasabi to tickle your sinuses.

To help with our sushi choices a colorful photo menu was offered. We ordered a Las Vegas roll ($8.50), which matched the picture on the menu when it arrived. It was a large roll, deep fried, with cream cheese, salmon, crab, avocado and eel sauce. The roll slices were too big to eat in one bite and fell apart when we bit into them.

We much prefer the smaller hand rolls like the shrimp tempura roll ($6.50) that can be eaten one bite at a time. The dishes we saw coming from the sushi bar were each a visual delight, and diners showed excitement at their arrival. Serving times were quick, even for large orders like the sushi party for two ($35).

For $19.95, you can have “all you can eat” sushi. You can order five items at a time including appetizers like calamari, egg rolls, shrimp and vegetable tempura, and crab puffs. The sushi menu indicates cooked and vegetarian items with a section dedicated to spicy items.

At each stage of our meal, our questions were answered and the service was attentive. We can recommend Sushi Village as another place to enjoy Asian cuisine.

Weather Journal

48 mins ago

1. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

2. 'Best defense in nation,' Tech player says about victory over ECU 

3. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

4. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

5. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football 

6. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

7. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

8. Blacksburg lawyer Painter’s bond revoked

9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

10. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations