Sazanami, Wyndham Resort and Spa, South Shore Road, Southampton.

With a plethora of sushi places in town, eating raw fish must be one of the fastest growing food fads on the Island. Perhaps it's unfair to describe a style of dining that's been around for centuries as a fad, but in Bermuda it's a fairly recent phenomenon.

Whether the explosion of sushi bars across the Island in recent years will become a permanent fixture is anyone's guess, but they're certainly thriving at the moment.

Taking a break from our regular sushi haunts, Hack this week decided to try something new.

Sazanami, at the newly refurbished Wyndham (formerly Sonesta) hotel on the South Shore, hasn't been open long and we were curious to see what might separate it from the competition.

Walking into the dining room we're warmly greeted by a beaming giant of a ma?tre d'. Philip asks if we would like to sit at the bar or at a table, before proffering menus and taking our drink orders.

We opt to sit at the bar for two reasons. Firstly, it's close to the action, with two sushi chefs beavering away right in front of us.

Secondly, Philip informs us that a moat running around the perimeter of the bar isn't purely for decoration. Miniature boats bearing plates of sushi glide by and we're told that we can simply grab anything that takes our fancy.

This seems an excellent idea and we grab a plate of vegetable maki while checking out the menu. Only later do we realise that it's a bit of a gimmick - our plate, along with some pretty tired looking vegetable spring rolls, are the only things that float past during the course of our stay.

Perhaps the chefs are too busy making orders to fill the boats the place is pretty busy, despite the early hour.

Sazanami's sushi list is as extensive as any other bar on the Island. All the standards are here - spicy tuna, California rolls, octopus and roe along with some more unusual ingredients such as cuttlefish and deep-fried tofu.

But it's with its appetizers and non-sushi offerings that Sazanami stands out. There are plenty of options here, including a number of soup and noodle dishes.

We opt for some seaweed salad, shrimp tempura and a plate of pork dumplings with chili to kick things off. We're not disappointed. The tempura was crisp, the seaweed suitably wet and slippery, the dumplings light little mouthfuls of delight. Everything as it should be.

We again go for something a little different with the sushi courses. Cooked lobster with pesto does not sound particularly Japanese and is not anything we've seen on a menu before, but it definitely works. Likewise ‘The Volcano' - a combination of raw scallop in a fiery mayonnaise dressing.

That pair was backed up by a couple of old reliables - tuna nigiri and spicy tuna maki - along with some cuttlefish sashimi which was as briney as could be.

The plates might be small but we were left surprisingly full. A temptation to put in more orders (yes, there was lots on the menu calling to us) was squashed as we really couldn't manage another bite.

Sazanami is certainly on a par with other sushi bars on the Island. The fish was fresh, skillfully prepared and beautifully presented while service was first rate.

(It's only a small detail, but Hack is always impressed to see a waiter go out of his way to ensure that the fairer sex is served a pre-dinner drink before her companion. Thanks Edgar).

On the downside, at more than $100, our meal was a little on the expensive side, but this is Bermuda, and we were at a resort right on the beach.

We also decided to spring for one of the more expensive menu items - with our six bits of lobster sushi alone setting us back $16. But hey, we had a great time - and for a bit of a week night splurge, it was worth every penny.

HACK'S RATINGS

Food: 4 out of 5.

Service: 5 out of 5. Faultless.

Ambience: 3 out of 5. While the setting is fine, we really could have done without the Calypso steel drum music in the background. No doubt the hotel manager wants to give his international visitors the full ‘Caribbean' experience.

Value for money: 3 out of 5

Child friendly: Yes.

Wheelchair access: Yes.