SEI Restaurant

SEI is a one of DC’s haute coutre sushi fusion restaurants.  The first thing you’ll notice about the restaurant is the immaculate appearance of the interior.  Ecru walls, slippery white tables, menus and chairs that look like they were stitched out of albino alligators, and bench seating that looks like the owners were able to take down the largest albino ostrich in the world and make it into one comfy piece of seating.

In other words, white.  White, white, white.  Lots of white.  However, there’s plenty of decor to give the monochromatic theme some color.  Deep red branches serve as a see through wall that separate the sushi bar from the alcohol bar, with seating dispersed throughout.  Several infinity mirrors with etched scenes adorn the walls, which had Jen and I trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out how the hell they got that to work.  And somehow, all of this works as a cohesive theme, transporting you to another world entirely.

The creativity of the chefs equally match the decor.  I started up with the Fish & Chips sushi roll, made with raw flounder, french fries, malt vinegar, and wasabi tartar.  Definitely a winner, albeit pricey.

Fish and Chips Roll

Jen and I shared a plate of the Wasabi Guacamole with Wonton Chips. Enormous chips.  The guac was pretty good, too, but not nearly spicy enough for me.  I ended up taking large dabs of wasabi and topping my guac with me, which did the trick.  Another great appetizer, but in the end there were a lot more chips than there was of the good green stuff to put on it.

Wasabi Guacamole with Wonton Chips

Jen had a small dish of the Roasted Curry Vegetables, which were decent, but didn’t really win me over.  She liked them well enough though, and that’s good enough for me to give a recommendation to any vegetarians out there.

Roasted Curry Vegetables

We also split an order of Polenta cakes, which came out in a set of three.  The photo didn’t make it in the low light setting though.  Not bad, but a little bit bland and nothing more than filler.  I’d suggest opting for something else, even if you’re a big polenta fan like me.

For my main course, I had the Seared Duck in a Cherry Teriyaki Glaze and served with Roasted Grapes and a Chili Polenta cake.  I was hoping that the polenta cake would be a bit more different than the order we had put in for appetizers, but the variation was limited to the shreds of chili that were placed on top rather than the preparation of the polenta cake itself.  My polenta-excited pants were frowning about this.  The duck was perfectly cooked, although with as much fat as duck has, it’s pretty hard to screw the pooch in making it.  The duck breast was a tad bit small, and still attached to a thick skin of fat, which isn’t necessarily disappointing, but not exactly something worth raving over, either.

The service is very good, with the waiter stepping in right as we were seated and situated, inquiring about our order of water.  Noise is a bit on the high end though, which makes conversation a bit more difficult.

In the end, it seemed like the big winners here are the sushi rolls and a majority of the appetizers.  The vegetarian dishes are limited to what’s on the appetizer list, but there’s a decent enough selection if you’ve given up the meat.  Given the opportunity to go back, I’d probably try a fish based entree to see if that would be better than what I ordered on this particular visit.  I’d definitely go back, but likely for a big occasion or possibly treating some visitors to a special treat of what the city has to offer.

Recommended for:

• Wannabe scenesters
• Gregarious parties
• People who wear all white to funerals
• Fish fanatics

Not recommended for:

• Anniversary dinners
• Diehard romantics
• Low talkers
• Trashy hobos with muddy butt

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