Park Avenue | Page 4 of 27 | Mass Food & Wine

Volcano Roll from Baba Sushi on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

I was so excited to hear we were going to Baba Sushi. We sat in the back patio, an oasis that made you feel like you weren’t in the city, never mind busy Park Ave.

Walking into the back room, you are greeted with a trickling rock water display, some greenery, and a lofted ceiling.

I ordered a crisp Sauvignon Blanc to start and the Seaweed Salad as an appetizer. It was a large portion served fresh with light oil. Perfect!

For my meal I chose the Volcano Roll in a soy wrap, which is California maki topped with baked scallop, crabmeat, spicy mayo, tobiko, and scallion.

Baba is the only place I can find the Volcano Roll with the scallop and crabmeat topping baked. Typically restaurants will serve it cold on top. As usual, Baba’s Volcano Roll was substantial with a heaping mound of baked scallop and crab.

The fish was fresh. There was not too much tobiko sauce either. And, the topping was warm and crispy with mouthfuls of scallop and crab.

My Foodies friend ordered some sashimi and I tried my favorite: the scallop. This sushi perfection was thickly cut and cold. It melted in my mouth.

Wilson came by our table to welcome us. Plus he left us a complimentary chilled bottle of Saki for each table. Wilson’s friendly, gracious demeanor is another reason I keep coming back.

I simply cannot say enough about Baba Sushi. I do have a tip: Try their Hamachi Kama (baked yellowtail jaw). This is the only place that I can find it. It is buttery and light, truly something worth ordering.

Rainbow Roll and Salmon Avocado Roll from Baba Sushi on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Many years ago Baba Sushi was a converted house turned small, intimate restaurant. Today it has a beautiful, and spacious, back room filled with lovely wood and shiny round stones.

Even though there was music flowing all night, I found it easy to hear those around me and at the next table. The atmosphere, though different from the front room, is comfortable.

We ordered sushi. In fact, we ordered four sushi rolls. But my husband, Scott, is going to review two and I am going to review the other two. My favorites were the Rainbow Roll and the Salmon Avocado Roll.

The Rainbow Roll has crab, tuna, white fish, shrimp, and tobiko all wrapped along the outside of the roll, which is then topped with the bright orange fish roe, tobiko.

I love the variety of fish on this roll. Scott loves tuna so a chopstick fight ensues for tuna-wrapped pieces. He usually wins, but only because I let him. I always snag the salmon pieces.

I love avocado with salmon. This classic roll in the sushi world always makes my night. That’s why I order it instead of one of the more complex rolls. I have needs. Simple can also be amazing when the ingredients and the execution are as high quality as Baba’s.

Our server, Brad, was excellent. He was very attentive and always had drinks and water flowing, which for me is a sign of a great waiter.

He was very knowledgeable. He was able to describe any roll in detail. He explained all the components so we understood what we would be ordering. I like that in a waiter. The food came out in a timely manner and everything was correct. Just as it should be…