Kabuto Sushi and Teppanyaki

You know when that craving for sushi sets in and you just can't shake it until you get some good sushi?  Well luckily for Allie and I, Kabuto Sushi came to town a few months ago.  And when the craving hit the other night, we knew that's where we had to go.

When we pulled up in front of Kabuto on Pantops, I was rather surprised to see that they still had their "Now Open" banner hanging, considering that they have been for several months.  Anyway, we headed inside to the rather small restaurant.  Kabuto has about 10 tables total, though it has not been full either time we have been.  We ordered a couple bowls of miso soup right away.  Kabuto's miso soup is quite good - it is thicker than some of the miso soup you find at other places in town (which is often a thin, clear broth).  Kabuto seems to blend some tofu into the broth itself in addition to the tofu and seaweed pieces in the soup.

Kabuto

Miso Soup

We spent some time looking over the sushi menu, but Allie is kind of stuck in her ways and we ended up deciding to order the same sushi rolls we had ordered the first time we visited Kabuto.  First was the caterpillar roll.  The caterpillar roll is essentially a spicy tuna roll with tempura flakes inside and sliced avocado draped over the top.  The caterpillar roll was very good, but not great.  The tuna was not as spicy as I would prefer in a spicy tuna roll, though the tempura flakes inside the roll do add a very nice, subtle crunch to the roll.  Next came the Philadelphia roll.  A traditional roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese and avocado, it too was very fresh and well-made.  Finally, we had the butterfly roll.  My favorite roll of the night, the butterfly is a shrimp tempura roll with avocado inside and a spicy snow crab salad on top.  The tempura shrimp was crispy and the spicy snow crab was actually spicy and added a nice kick to the classic shrimp tempura.  The butterfly roll was also topped with a "special sauce" which was quite tasty, though I'm not sure exactly what it was.

Caterpillar Roll

Caterpillar Roll

Butterfly and Philadelphia Rolls

Overall, Kabuto is my new #1 choice for sushi that is fresher and more inventive than many of the other places in C-Ville.  While it is certainly not the best sushi I've ever had, it is the best sushi I've found in Charlottesville (unless you want to pay an arm and a leg to eat at Ten).  Kabuto also has hibachi dishes (which I haven't tried) and a number of lunch specials, making it the perfect place to grab sushi to eat-in, carry-out, or have delivered.  Allie and I will definitely be returning to Kabuto next time the sushi craving hits!

Overall Impression:  Fresh, reasonably-priced, made-to-order sushi that is as good as sushi gets in Charlottesville.  

Food Rating:  

Contact Information:
          Kabuto Sushi and Teppanyaki
          1836 Abbey Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911
                 (between Christian's and Sticks in the Giant shopping center)
          (434)973-1585
          http://kabuto-cville.com/