Service sets Spanish Springs Sushi apart

(Credit: Marilyn Newton/RGJ)

With so many all-you-can-eat sushi joints open already, another addition in Reno-Sparks might seem unnecessary. The restaurants offer much that's similar and blend together like swirls in a Van Gogh. But standout dishes and exceptional service can set a place apart from the pack.

Take Spanish Springs Sushi, which owners Jerry and Barbara Kiger and Marty and Cheryl Gallagher opened about six months ago. The restaurant does offer standard sushi fare like edamame, nigiri, tempura, sashimi and long and hand rolls. But the menu is well conceived (if a bit lengthy) and sometimes rises above the ordinary; service is excellent.

On a recent weeknight, couples sit at the long bar and snag pieces of sushi off each other's plates. The restaurant's walls are painted a calming jade, and cheerfully glowing bar signs promote Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban beer.

Sunomono (cucumber salad) to start is delicious and not an afterthought, as at many sushi restaurants. Cucumber half-moons are topped with crab and sprinkled with white and black sesame seeds. The dressing has a whisper of sweetness and clings to the cucumber slices.

Shrimp tempura is served with two accomplices, cabbage salad and rice. The long, deep-fried shrimp are buttery, crisp and golden, but the batter lacks the lightness that is essential to tempura.

Mackerel slices in the mackerel nigiri are enormous. The fish is flavorful, but it doesn't taste quite fresh enough. Salmon nigiri is an improvement, with brighter, fresher flavor.

Rolls at Spanish Springs Sushi have interesting names like Fear No Fish, UNR, I'm on a Roll, Elvis Rock 'n' Roll and Reno Roll. I order the Marilyn Monroll because of its name alone. The roll — salmon, avocado and cream cheese wrapped in seaweed and rice — is delightful in its simplicity.

The dragon roll is the biggest hand roll I've seen. Spicy tuna, spicy crab, avocado, green onion and rice are stuffed into a seaweed wrap.

The caterpillar roll, a long conglomeration of crab and unagi, is draped with avocado slices and sesame seeds. The accompanying sweet sauce complements the smoky unagi and succulent crab. Slippery avocado adds the finishing touch.

Spanish Springs Sushi offers a chef's special, and one night, it's a gargantuan specimen - I ask the chef to make it hot - containing spicy crab, green onion, spicy tuna and crystal shrimp. Cayenne pepper provides heat that balances the cooling shrimp. The special is easily the best item of the evening.

The service at Spanish Springs Sushi is impeccable. The sushi chef is friendly and accommodating, and servers are cheerful and efficient. Three servers try to refill my drink in the span of about five minutes and consistently clear plates and check to make sure everything is OK.

As usual after a sushi dinner, I leave the restaurant feeling sated. But unlike many sushi places, I'll be back to Spanish Springs Sushi — despite the long drive from my northwest Reno home — for super-friendly service that's often hard to come by.

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