LLAMASODA

A few minutes away from the Main river, the Altstadt, and the nearby train stations, Happy Sumo offers a wide range of sushi and is open until 11PM, so when you crave some decent rolls, it’s always waiting there for you whenever!

Nothing sounded better than some sushi late at night (we went there at around 9 PM, which may be a surprise to some, but that’s a little late for German standards), so we ventured forth to Happy Sumo which was just a couple of minutes walk from our hotel (which was the great Hyatt Regency Mainz, review coming 2093) when we were on a little trip to the city of Mainz. The restaurant was right around the Mainz Römisches Theater train station and was next to L’Osteria (an Italian restaurant where we had lunch earlier in the day).

The restaurant was small and cozy, and I liked how the blue lighting meshed well with the grey walls, giving a trendy and modern vibe.

I started with the Happy Sumo Mix (€4.90), a simple and refreshing (yep, we’re still doing that in 2023) drink that wasn’t too heavy, making it an excellent accompaniment to the dishes we ordered. If I wasn’t strapped for cash and had to take tiny pitiful sips to make the drink last for the entire meal, I would’ve ordered two or three more of the Happy Sumo Mix.

The Gyoza (€3.90) was the first dish to arrive at our table, and it was a poor start to our meal as I found it to be pretty disappointing because it had a cheap store-bought quality to it, and the filling was somewhat bland. And I also felt that charging €1.30 per dumpling was not equal to the quality and flavor.

All the other dishes were served together on a platter, and said dishes were the Inari Nigiri (€3.60), Kappa Maki (€3.40), and the Happy Summer Roll (€9.50). The sushi items (the Inari Nigiri and the Kappa Maki) were decent and straightforward. Still, nothing noteworthy about them made them stand out from other places (to be fair, there’s not much one can do with these simple dishes either). The Happy Summer Rolls, on the other hand, had many things to discuss, from the subtle savoriness to the chewiness of the rice paper and the crunch of the assortment of vegetables which led to a lovely experience. No wonder many had raved about it and mentioned it extensively in online reviews, and I join them and urge you to try it when you visit there!

Our quick visit to Happy Sumo was definitely a pleasant one because of the friendly staff and the prompt service, and to me even though this wasn’t my first time, having a late dinner at a restaurant in Germany always makes for an exciting experience because typically many do not stay open that late. I also wondered how fun it would be if we had a sushi night when drunk beyond belief… And that’s definitely something to consider for our next visit!

Let me know what you thought about the Happy Summer Rolls and if you liked them as much as I did!

(This article was initially written on the 11th of February, 2023)

• 📍 Holzhofstrasse 555116 Mainz
• 🕘 11:30AM – 3PM Monday to Saturday (Lunch)
• 🕘 5PM – 11PM Monday to Saturday (Dinner)
• 🕘 5PM – 11PM Sunday
• ☎️ +49061316192835
• ✉️ barsushi@yahoo.de
• 🌐 Facebook, Instagram, happysumo-mainz.de