Central Zagreb is teeming with sushi bars as of late. Right now, there are four of them within a few blocks from each other. Some are more appealing than others, but all of them are pretty reasonable in terms of both quality and price. I have been an aficionado of this Japanese delicacy ever since my years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and so I am making the rounds of the new bars with gusto. Chances are that I will not settle for the best of them any time soon. Instead, I will be going from one to another and look for the best on offer in each of them. For my deepest loyalty still remains with the best sushi bar in the Croatian capital, which is called Takenoko (“Takenoko,” May 31, 2005). Its only fault is that it is some way away from the center. Whenever my beloved and I go for sushi together, we go to Takenoko, and it takes us about twenty minutes to reach in on foot. The profusion of sushi bars around us will never affect our loyalty. After all, sushi is a Japanese dish through and through.

Addendum (June 4, 2018)

Well, well. Takenoko moved from Tkalčić’s to Gundulić’s Street in the center of Zagreb a couple of years ago. Now it is within a stone’s throw from my beloved’s apartment building. We went there soon after the move, but we were sorely disappointed. New Takenoko is a far cry from the old one. For some reason, the menu has been radically changed to suit standard tastes, and we failed to find anything to our liking. Just to be sure of our first impressions, we went there one more time, but we were disappointed once again. Ever since, Takenoko is history for us. Luckily, the center of the Croatian capital is still teeming with sushi bars. And a few of them are just to our tastes to this day. Hooray!