GRAY WHALE
SUSHI & GRILL
Hoppen Hierarchy:★⭑
District: Lincoln
Sushi, Sashimi, & Ramen
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Lunch; Happy Hour
Standout Dishes: Spider Roll; Godzilla Roll
Unless you’re specifically looking for Grey Whale Sushi in downtown Lincoln, you’re probably not going to spot it. The restaurant, which opened a second location in south Lincoln, hosts its original location in the Grand Manse, right next to Blue Orchid and down the hall from Hurts Donuts. Aside from a few printed signs, you’d have no idea it even existed.
And that would be a shame, because it’s a fun place worth visiting.
While it has fierce competition with Blue Sushi and Hiro 88 lurking nearby, Grey Whale stands out by offering rolls outside of the standard fare. There are comfortable offerings like California, Philadelphia, and shrimp tempura rolls that come standard at any sushi restaurant.
But Grey Whale allows diners to try out some different combinations, such as the Monster Roll (spicy tuna, cream cheese, jalapeno, topped with spicy crabmeat and tobiko and all deep fried), Dynamic Roll (smoked salmon, cream cheese, and jalapeno, with spicy mayo) and Kyoto Roll (tuna, salmon, white fish, and cucumber, topped with baked scallop and spicy mayo). There are 52 rolls total, including three that come to the table served aflame.
Yes, you read that right. The dish is on fire when it arrives.
Unfortunately, the flare that proceeds the Titanic Roll (also featured in the header photo) outweighs the flavor. The roll, which comes with shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, and cucumber, is topped with albacore tuna and avocado, spicy mayo, and eel sauce.
There’s a lot going on in this roll of sushi, and I think many of the offering at Gray Whale suffer from the same premise. There are so many flavors clamoring for their shot at the microphone, they end up battling each other a bit instead of complimenting.
Just listen to the menu’s description of the signature Gray Whale roll: shrimp tempura and mango inside, thin slices of avocado on the first layer, fresh tuna on second, 2 types of tobiko on top, served with chef’s special sauce.
Insides, two layers, and sauce on top. That’s a lot of stuff.
That’s the main reason I’m not a huge fan of the Titanic Roll, which was cold like the other rolls despite its fiery appearance. With fried shrimp, spicy tuna, albacore tuna, spicy mayo, and eel sauce all fighting for attention, there’s a lot to unpack here. The roll was still very good, but it might have too many cooks in the kitchen.
The pieces are large, but they also have a propensity to fall apart. I think they need to be packed a bit more tightly to reach their peak.
The experience is far from a failure, though. The restaurant’s tamer offerings are delicious, and some like the Spider Roll (soft shell crab, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, crab, served with eel sauce) and Godzilla Roll (spicy salmon, avocado, and crunch inside eel, crabmeat and green tobiko on top) rolls are a real treat.
I just wish there were a little less going on. I think if each roll were held to five ingredients or so, they would each be allowed to more fully play their part and create an awesome experience.