![Students can now enjoy a sushi station in Cafe Nova!](https://villanovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-085808.png)
It happened so fast. I’m not even sure if we all remember, but last semester, there was a sushi pop-up in Café Nova (better known as “Cova”) for one… singular… day. Those who knew about it scrambled to get their hands on some delicious sushi. The GrubHub wait was comfortably more than an hour, and I guarantee the stress put on Cova workers was unprecedented. Everyone was so excited to try a new dish at Villanova. After all, most schools do not have the luxury of sushi, and I’m sure many students wanted to brag to their hometown friends about it. However, after all the chaos, the sushi was no longer available the next day. An unspoken devastation quickly spread across campus.
I was one of the unlucky ones who did not get to try the sushi that day. I had seen it on GrubHub before it even opened, but on the random day that it did open, I had, unwittingly, chosen to eat at Belle Air. I was heartbroken, and when a few of my friends told me they tried it, I was jealous of how much they enjoyed it.
However, at the beginning of Spring Semester, I was thrilled to hear that sushi would be permanently coming to Cova. I eat at Cova quite regularly for lunch, so for there to be another option added in the mix was especially exciting. This past Tuesday, when the sushi at Cova opened, I immediately opened GrubHub and ordered the California roll and the veggie roll. I was shocked at how quickly my order was ready and even more shocked at how good both rolls were. They remind me of sushi I would get at ShopRite – good quality, fresh nine-piece rolls. The veggie roll was perfectly crunchy, and the crab in the California roll was not too fishy. My expectations were certainly met, and I proceeded to order more sushi in the following days, including the flavorful spicy tuna. While I’ve heard some discourse about which rolls are better than others, I have genuinely enjoyed everything I’ve gotten. The new sushi is certainly one of the best things one can eat on campus.
Judging by the swarm of people crowding around the sushi section over the next few days, it’s easy to conclude that many students are also loving the sushi.
“I think the sushi was a great idea,” sophomore Sof Quaglia said. “Villanova needs to liven up the food options here, and I think the sushi was a great start.”
“I think that, overall, it’s good to have more diverse options for different dietary restrictions, such as being pescatarian or vegetarian,” student Caitlin Cason said.
“I think a lot of food vendors tend to have bad seafood, but this was very enjoyable,” sophomore Bella Ruzzo said. “I will be ordering again.”
Offering five different rolls seems to have been the perfect starting amount, and I applaud Villanova for being conscious of the fact that students enjoy variation in their food. Upon asking more students, it’s clear that everyone is loving the variety of rolls being offered, which speaks to the inherent quality of the rolls themselves.
“I’ve had the California, veggie, and spicy tuna rolls,” sophomore Luke Fabietti said. “I really like the veggie and spicy tuna.”
“I’ve had the shrimp tempura and salmon rolls,” sophomore Andrew Lis said. The salmon was so fresh.”
“The shrimp tempura and spicy tuna rolls are the best ones,” sophomore Matt Lis said.
While there is resounding positivity regarding the new sushi at Villanova, some students feel that certain aspects could be improved. In my opinion, Cova should figure out a better situation for students to pick up their sushi. The overwhelming crowd around the sushi stand is almost impossible to walk through, and in instances where the workers run out of a certain roll or GrubHub is not working properly, these crowds are anything but encouraging.
“The only problem is that I’m hungry afterward,” Matt Lis said.
It is worth noting that for many students, they do not feel comfortable spending two meals or one meal + nine dollars on getting two sushi rolls. For a lot of students (myself included), one roll of sushi is not enough. One meal swipe should get a person two rolls of sushi, and food points and Nova Bucks should be an option for those who may want one roll of sushi as a snack.
“Is the sushi perfect?” Quaglia asked. “No. But it’s a step in the right direction.”