At the Maker’s Table: Sushi Sen, Nishinomiya

Nothing can beat a sushi dinner, and in October 2019 my business partner Kyo brought me to his favourite restaurant: Sushi Sen. It was the sort of place I would have struggled to find by myself. The entrance was on a residential street in Kurakuen, without a large sign.

There were a few seats at the counter, one chef and a couple of helping hands. Everyone called the chef Sen-san. Most of what he made was nigiri, but our meal also included a bowl of matsutake and prawn soup. I described it rather clumsily in my blog at the time. The part I was certain about was that it was delicious.

A place Kyo could keep coming back to

Kyo liked being able to enjoy good sushi without turning every meal into an elaborate plan. He loved the celebrated sushi restaurants too, but the advance arrangements and fixed menu could make a visit feel daunting. Sushi Sen was his local alternative.

That suited me. On this visit, we could order as we went, with Sen-san showing us the ingredients and helping us decide what to eat. At many of the local restaurants I enjoy in Japan, you can begin with a lighter set and add individual dishes. Our neighbour just had a beer and a couple of dishes. There was no pressure to finish a huge set or settle in for three hours or more.

I like that freedom. Having been heavily involved in hospitality, I also know how hard this style is to pull off outside Japan. That is a whole other story.

Another customer asked for konbu shoyu, a seaweed soy sauce. Sen-san took out a bowl, ground the seaweed and made it for him. I tried it and thought it tasted lovely. I wanted to try making it myself.

What we ate

Sen-san showed us the tuna on the board. There was also a box of uni, and individual nigiri were set down in front of us. The wooden box of golden uni was labelled Yura, Awaji Island, with a cut citrus fruit resting against it.

There was otoro, the fatty belly of the tuna, along with squid, aji and kuruma ebi, and the soup of matsutake and prawn. I thoroughly enjoyed the sushi, and I understood why Kyo liked eating here.

Back in August 2026

I returned to Sushi Sen on 14 August 2026. Back at the counter: the handwritten menu, trays of ingredients, a long piece of tuna on the board and nigiri on a serving plate.

Nearly seven years separate the two visits. Kyo introduced me to Sen-san on the first one.