East By Southwest

To some, sushi and Durango seem like an oxymoron. It’s no secret that Durango boasts phenomenal restaurants that offer a variety of choices. Yet, we are fortunate to live in such a culinary location where even the sushi world competes nicely at East by Southwest. 

When we tried the restaurant (of course after hearing many positive reviews), we tried three items. To start, we had the blackened albacore sashimi. It was a fantastic combination of blackened flavor and sauce. Combined with soy sauce, the albacore was so tender and tasty. 

We then had a roll with more traditional sushi flavors—it was a California roll topped with seared salmon, the High Roller. We also ventured to try the Hamachi Love, which was a more unique combination of flavors. The cilantro and cream cheese at first surprised us, but ultimately it tasted amazing. 

The presentation of these dishes was on par with nice sushi restaurants—very carefully assembled, with each piece containing all components of the roll. The rolls looked like art and tasted as good! 

When we asked the waitress how the fish tasted so fresh, she explained that it is flown to Montrose and delivered here, so there is no more than a two day delay. We paired these items with locally brewed Ska Mexican Logger, and enjoyed the whole combination of flavors. 

  If you are looking for a unique dining experience, we would highly recommend East by Southwest. The high quality and fast service create an enjoyable dining experience. It would be hard to find better sushi, which is quite an amazing feat coming from a town of our size and location.