Costco Fresh Sushi Review Made Daily instore @ Paradise Valley Test Market Phoenix, AZ

Costco Fresh Sushi Review

Rating A-

Imagine my surprise when I saw on my facebook wall that Costco was now offering fresh made sushi right at the store.  Imagine my astonishment that Costco only has it at one location and it happens to be at MY Costco at Paradise Valley Mall!  Having shopped there just a few days earlier I headed over to grab just one thing, sushi!

Costco Paradise Valley Mall, Phoenix AZ

Arriving in the afternoon we were greeted with the display and already most of the salmon rolls were gone.  I found out that they just started this two days ago and PV was the test market.  Let’s hope it’s actually good.  We grab all three types and headed home.

Background

Keep in mind, I’m no sushi expert and I rarely go out to eat sushi because I feel it is mostly overpriced.  I never buy from the grocery store and consider the rolls they pass as sushi in the refrigerated section a bastardization of the concept.  I have however hosted my own sushi parties making them from scratch using sashimi grade fish flown in from the coast and have all the cooking supplies to go with it.  

I have also eaten at conveyor belt sushi restaurants at budget locations in Tokyo at Shinjuku station where the common people eat sushi, which is by far not a fine dining experience (which it shouldn’t be). 

Hey Mom!  I'm at Costco in Tokyo

Large Sashimi Platter Costco Tokyo

This is commonplace in Japan... Sashimi - Sushi - Zushi!  Prices in Yen

  

I have also bought Zushi and Sashimi from the Costco in Tokyo.  I am also in Culinary Arts education, having created an online culinary arts program used by businesses, schools and universities called KP Culinary Arts Online. 

The Review

We get home and inspect the rolls.  The first thing we notice is that they are missing a tray for soy sauce.  They use the traditional dry wasabi powder and it was of good consistency.  Included was a fair amount of white pickled ginger.  The rolls were done in the inside out roll style and you get 8 pieces per roll, 2 per package at $10.  The rolls are larger than the average roll, almost twice as large compared to grocery stores and upscale stores like AJ’s.  Inside they put a generous amount of the product and you never feel cheated unless you get the end pieces which is capped by the rice.  The rice was drier than what I would have liked but that may have been the timing of when we purchased the rolls.  From what we can tell, 90% of all ingredients are items they normally sell at the Costco warehouses in the USA.

The only complaint I have is that whomever the sushi chef was went a little overboard with the wasabi.  You can use wasabi to accent the roll inside but in some bites you find a large enough portion of wasabi that makes you gasp, and I ate mine without any additional wasabi or soy sauce.  If they are a little more careful with the green stuff, this would have been a glowing review.  My other complaint is that the rolls should not be placed side by side.  They were stuck to each other and took some effort to get them unstuck.  Either place them apart and have the soy sauce in between or place a small piece of wax paper or plastic to separate them.

Admittedly not the best sushi I’ve ever had but it’s damn good and you can’t beat the price vs value Costco offers.  If you are a sushi lover, definitely give their sushi a try.  I’m going back for more! (except when I went back a couple days later they were all out in the evening.)  I guess they can’t meet the demand.

Here’s my review of each type of roll.

Smoked Salmon Roll

Consists of Costco’s sockeye smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber and a line of wasabi inside with a light drizzle of wasabi mayonnaise.  Generous portions of the smoked salmon make this roll the highlight of the trio.  Definitely my favorite roll to buy there.

Dungeness Crab Roll

Consist of what I believe to be Phillips dungenous crab mix in generous amounts along with cucumber and a good helping of avocado with a light spread of wasabi inside, topped off with a fair amount of capelin roe.  This was a nice treat and really tasty.  I loved the portions of crab inside the roll and the roe was a nice touch.

Shrimp Crunch Roll

Contains chopped up precooked shrimp, a good helping of avocado and cucumber with a small line of wasabi inside, and topped up with a decorative drizzle of wasabi and spicy mayonnaise with a sprinkle of onion crunch topping.  This was a delightful roll but was very plain for my taste.  The crunchy onion topping was a nice touch but it didn’t fit, was soggy and the pieces were too large for the rolls and served to fall off when you pick it up.  It’s still an enjoyable snack but my least favorite of the three.  I would recommend replacing this roll with another roll style.

Thank you for reading and I let me know what you think of Costco’s new fresh sushi!

Nai Wang