Sushi By Simon

The class was super fun! Simon is engaging and approachable, and he will definitely make you feel like making sushi is a piece of cake after the experience.
The class is definitely tailored towards practicality. Simon used knives commonly found in anybody’s kitchen and ingredients that are accessible at Whole Foods. If you’ve made sushi before, the class will feel very elementary, perhaps even a bit slow, but nonetheless I definitely left with some great tips!
This is no place to get trained to become the next Jiro, but it is a place to have a fun night with a group of friends. You get to make some simple sushi and eat it afterwards, it was best way to spend what would have been a boring weekday night!

Simon is a great instructor and provides a good deal of information about sushi including where to purchase your own fish, how to make your own rice and what to look for when buying a knife. The sushi you make in class is really good and everyone left with a full belly. It’s a good class to bring a significant other, friend or family member to.

I’m full! And I had a lot of fun and also learned a lot about sushi at the same time. Great activity for couples. Simon’s enthusiasm for sushi was apparent and made for a really fun class. Very reasonable pricing for the class, which came with a lot of food and 4 drinks between the couple. Definitely recommend doing this sometime as a fun/​unique date or as an activity with your significant other, especially if you both like sushi.

We loved the experience! Would highly recommend the evening of fun and good food
It was a gift from my husband. A nice and wide ranging group who attended.

The owner is an unorganized mess. Doesn’t answer emails or questions effectively. I spent several weeks trying to plan something out to no avail and his responses were rude, catty and acted as if I was dumb for not understanding him.

I really liked the course but it should be named Sushi by Simon «for couples». I should’ve done my research. I was the only solo person which was pretty awkward. There were at least 6 couples and ME. The instructor made it however as least awkward as possible for me. I’d recommend it for couples or groups.

Great job Alexandra keeping us all moving in the right direction. Went with spouse and friend and we had fun & have repeatedly made sushi since. Only thing keeping it from 5 stars is the cruddy back room we were in; no place for your excellent class and great food.

Got a groupon for my husband and I to experience this 2 hour culinary package … Simon himself taught, which does not sound like it’s always the case according to other reviews. That being said, I do feel like we were taught by the best — Simon has a great attitude about it which is direct, fun, and informative.
He engages while teaching, and there’s plenty of food to go around. Service was also good, as drinks were regularly refilled. Learned how to make several kinds of rolls, handle the various fish, and the proper terminology while having a lot of fun (classes were well-​sized at about 16 in the room).
Would totally recommend!

such an informative and fun class! Alexandra was über passionate and knowledgable about the art of making sushi. my date and I had so much fun!
how the class works is Alexandra takes you step-​by-​step for making 2 types of rolls: the traditional Japanese roll (seaweed on the outside) and the American inside out roll. then you have the remainder of the time to practice making a few rolls on ur own.
all ingredients and 2 drinks per person are included.

Alexandra is a great teacher. She keeps the class interesting with historical facts about sushi. She is very helpful and makes sushi making very easy!

Super fun instructor. Materials and food included. Super clean locale. What more can you ask for!

I hired Simon to teach a class in my home to myself and friends for my birthday. Simon arrived at my apartment with all the necessary tools and ingredients to teach us how to make our own sushi. He was extremely knowledgeable and made the lesson a lot of fun. Simon was patient, friendly and very organized. He made an effort to learn everyone’s name and even brought some extra ingredients for my friend who is a vegetarian. The whole experience felt personalized and everyone had a wonderful time. I would highly recommend Sushi by Simon!

I purchased a deal on Gilt City (sushi class with 4 drinks for two people $ 100). We attended the session last night, it was in the private room of a bar. We had an amazing time! I originally tried making sushi on my own and it was a huge disaster. The instructor was very clear with her instructions and me and my boyfriend were both able to make successful rolls! Also, the instructor was very upbeat and funny and made the class super enjoyable. I would definitely recommend to anyone to buy a ticket to this and I would definitely consider going to other classes they offer!

This class was so fun. We bought a deal on Gilt City not knowing what we were going to get into and were very pleasantly surprised. Simon was personable and energetic, and you could really tell he was excited to be there. We learned how to make different types of rolls while learning about sushi itself along the way. You eat and create the entire time — a very «hands-​on» process. The 2.5 hours flew by and I was stuffed with delicious, handmade sushi by the end. We are already looking into other classes because it was such a blast.
I was slightly turned off by the location choice — a union square bar — but he really made the setup work. We have a private room in back, and everything appeared to be very clean and sushi making ready when we got there.
Overall a great experience and something fun and different to do as a couple.

My boyfriend and I went to a Sushi by Simon class over the weekend and it was so much fun! The 2.5 hour class flew by. Simon was fantastic, and a great teacher. The class wasn’t too crowded and the whole feel of the class was relaxed but still professional and informative. Definitely a fun activity!

My partner and I took this class last night, and we had a great time! Our first attempt at making sushi (well before we took this class) was a total disaster! With Simon we learned techniques, tricks and the basics to make our next sushi venture a heck of a lot more successful.
Simon is knowledgeable, patient, encouraging, friendly and makes the class fun. He also answers any questions you have, no matter how ridiculous they may be (such as me wondering how sushi would taste if using quinoa instead of rice. I’m sure other sushi chefs would have asked me to leave class for suggesting such a thing.)
I’d recommend it to friends, and I’d take the class again.
The only suggestion I have: more napkins, please.

This was a ton of fun! It was booked by my wife for a fun night out to celebrate our 12^th wedding anniversary. The whole family loves sushi, so what better idea than to learn how to make it!!! The host was awesome and he was very detailed in telling you how to make it, why you did it that way, and what will happen if you did it differently. You even got a history lesson about the origins of Sushi. Some people say $ 150? Yes, totally worth the money. You get 2 drinks for each person and you get to eat all the sushi you make… granted you’re not making anything fancy, but you do get to eat. I really enjoyed myself and would highly recommend that you give it a shot! It was fantastic!

I will start by saying that this was a great deal from Living Social ($ 100 for 2 people, including 2 drinks each and a sushi mat – only one mat per «couple») and that I can now make my own sushi at home.
HOWEVER… this place was pretty poorly organized and was not set up properly to teach cooking. I think our teacher, Jenny, was very knowledgeable, but she should drop the overly-​animated «acting» performance and just teach. She was a bit annoying.
The class was jam-​packed, with 44 people. We were stuffed in there like sardines. It was hard to get up and get stuff from the front of the class. We had to ask a bunch of people to get up so we could get out of our seats.
I think each person should have their own sushi mat, instead of having to share with your partner. There were only 2 small cutting boards and 2 knives for the entire class. I was glad I read the reviews beforehand and brought my own cutting board and knife (although it was annoying to have to carry it into the city with me from Long Island). They gave us a paper plate for our first roll (cucumber and Japanese basil), but then the plates were dirty and they did not have any more plates. Napkins were limited too.
In the second half of the class, it was time to make rolls with fish and other items. We were told to go up and get our nori and rice and everything we would put into our rolls (in the first half of the class, they handed out the nori and rice and fillings). They did not have forks for us to take the fish, etc. So everyone was sticking their fingers in the food to assemble their sushi. Mind you, there is a restaurant/​bar downstairs. They couldn’t get a few forks? Very unsanitary. So glad I was FIRST on line!
So although I LOVED learning how to make sushi, I would recommend doing it elsewhere. I’d give it less than 3 stars, if not for the fact that I now know how to make sushi and that it was still a fun experience, regardless of the unprofessional and disorganized class.

Scoreeee! Thank you BuyWithMe for the $ 54 all you can make sushi making class + 2 free cocktails! Sushi by Simon is awesome. It’s very beginner level which is great. He goes over everything from making the maki rolls, what goes into them (details about the rice and nori) and then also talks about some of this history behind sushi and etiquette.
Such a great class, and I now can say I know how to make sushi. Jenny, Simon’s helper was also very helpful. We learned about to make three different rolls and then after that it was AYCE! yahooo, can’t beat that esp when it comes to sushi.
See a little more detailed write up and some pictures from my sushi making class!

Saw a KGB deal for a «Sushi by Simon» class offered for $ 40 (originally a $ 100 value), so I purchased the deal with 3 of my other girlfriends. For $ 40, it was DEFINITELY worth it. We got to enjoy about 4 – 5 rolls each, we learned how to make/​roll sushi and we got to order 2 drinks/​person. It was about a 2 – 3 hour event and it was just a lot of fun. Our instructor was knowledgeable and helpful… I’ll be honest though. I was a bit bummed when I found out Simon wouldn’t be teaching our class because he was at another event. Another bit of irony: our instructor was NOT Asian (and neither is Simon). And here we were: 3 of my Asian gfs and I trying to learn how to make sushi from a non-​Asian. Still, our instructor was great and our rolls did mimic restaurant-​quality rolls.
All in all, I would recommend signing up for his classes with a few friends… it’s a great group activity and you’ll definitely have left feeling like you’ve gotten something out of the whole experience.