FOOD

Twenty Five is not distinctive because it simply offers a lot of sushi. The AYCE structure rises by ingredient quality. Regular establishes the unlimited foundation; Premium adds a composed omakase box plus richer cuts including bluefin tuna, salmon toro and hamachi toro; Prime pushes into Hokkaido uni and unlimited bluefin o-toro. Instead of expanding mainly through more rolls, the upper tiers move vertically into foods normally ordered carefully, piece by piece, at a sushi counter.

Bluefin is the clearest example. Akami is the lean, deep-red portion, with the tuna’s savory character in the foreground. Chutoro is the middle ground, combining red meat with enough fat to become silkier and sweeter. O-toro is the richest belly cut, heavily marbled and prized for its almost melting texture. Prime makes that costliest end of the progression unlimited, so o-toro can be revisited rather than treated as one luxury bite.

The premium vocabulary keeps going. Uni is sea urchin, prized for a custard-like texture and sweet oceanic richness; Twenty Five brings Hokkaido uni into Prime. Japanese A5 Wagyu means the highest yield grade paired with the highest meat-quality grade in Japan’s grading system, while foie gras adds another intensely rich element. These foods do not need to dominate the meal. Their advantage in AYCE is the freedom to place luxurious bites between cleaner fish and simpler preparations.

The sushi bar has enough depth to support that strategy. Beyond bluefin, the selection reaches into hamachi and hamachi toro, salmon and salmon toro, madai, kanpachi, hirame, hotate, amaebi, ikura, snow crab, eel, mackerel, octopus and squid. Madai is red sea bream; kanpachi is greater amberjack; hotate is scallop; amaebi is sweet raw shrimp. This is serious sushi vocabulary, not a list padded mostly with variations on spicy tuna.

Composed raw dishes and cooked starters keep the meal from becoming one long run of nigiri. Tuna tataki, hamachi carpaccio, salmon crudo and madai crudo provide lighter pivots. From the kitchen come gyoza, takoyaki, tempura, soft-shell crab, grilled squid, baked mussels and oysters, plus chicken, steak, scallop and baby-octopus skewers. Those changes in temperature and texture matter when the richest fish is available for another round whenever you want it.

The creative side survives in signature maki, hand rolls and sushi tacos, with White Gold, Toro Blush, The Crown Jewel and Lobster Lust beside familiar rainbow and dragon rolls. The older teishoku identity remains useful too: grilled mackerel, hamachi kama, katsu, teriyaki, curries, chirashi, gyudon and udon form a second Japanese menu behind the sushi program. A break from raw fish is not an afterthought here.

Then there is the omakase box. Omakase means placing the selection in the chef’s hands, and the Premium and Prime tiers bring that curated idea into an otherwise self-directed unlimited meal. One part of the experience says choose anything; another asks you to accept the kitchen’s composition. That tension is exactly what makes Twenty Five interesting: it behaves less like an upgraded bargain format and more like premium sushi with the normal ordering ceiling removed.