Curtis Dreams of Sushi

BloFish serves world-class, Tokyo-style sushi in downtown Boulder

By Kate Jonuska

Being a chef and restauranteur was not the original plan for Curtis Gardner. Though he loved the cuisine, working at fine-dining sushi establishments along the Front Range was supposed to be a temporary means of support while he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. But of course, destiny has a way of upsetting even the best-engineered plans, and after getting a little life under his belt, Gardner found his true place in the universe was closer to where he started than expected: behind the counter of BloFish Sushi, his very own pocket-sized gem of a sushi restaurant founded in November 2020. 

“I decided if I was going to do this sushi thing, I was going to do it traditional. I don’t play games,” says Gardner, who like many sushi chefs worldwide, is inspired by the talented chef Jiro Ono, best known for the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” In fact, BloFish is a Tokyo-style sushi house that’s not only in the same mold of Jiro’s, but chef Curtis has also been trained by senseis who have been trained in a direct line back to Jiro himself. 

Based on the results of a recent visit, it’s safe to say that should Jiro ever make it to Boulder, he’d be incredibly proud of the quality of sushi served at BloFish, where Gardner offers one of the most diverse and unique selections of wild Japanese fish in the state, all prepared with precision. 

“What’s fun for me is the specials list,” says Gardner, who loves putting together custom omakase, or chef’s choice, plates based on each diner’s likes and dislikes, always hoping to offer something they’ve not yet tasted. “I think it’s one of the widest varieties of wild Japanese fish you’ll find in the Front Range. I love getting wild fish, trying new things and refining how I process.”

On a recent trip, his special board included Jiro’s personal favorite kohada, a shiny fish with a purity of flavor that promises to “squeak” in the mouth with freshness And it delivers. Few other places in Colorado could you find specials like hotaru-ika, which are tiny, bioluminescent squid, each the size of a candy and equally enticing, easy to keep eating were the quantities available not so limited. 

Indeed, while Gardner’s rolls are some of the best in the business—his real crab California rolls will knock you over and are only $12 during happy hour—his specialty is the nigiri and sashimi. Fresh as humanly possible, all BloFish’s seafood is sourced directly from markets in Japan. The chef is able to see photos of fish fresh from the net or line to choose his favorites, and those exact fish arrive fresh at his doorstep, three times a week. 

That doorstep is notably narrow. BloFish seats only 22 inside and 12 or so on the sidewalk patio, making reservations a good idea—and a necessity if you’d like to sit at the four-set counter behind which Gardner wields his knives. Despite its devotion to tradition in the food, the dining room is bright and modern, with surprisingly cheeky details like Japanese toys interspersed in the impressive saki and whiskey selections and a high-tech Japanese toilet in the restroom. 

That light-heartedness is perhaps the only place Gardner diverges from his idol Jiro, who is known for intensity and hovering over diners. 

“We are fine dining in terms of the menu, but I wanted people to have a more laid-back experience,” Gardner says. “And I like having a smaller intimate restaurant rather than a big, massive space. The size allows us to get this wide variety of fish because we can get what we feel comfortable that we’ll be able to sell.”

Being small allows for flexibility. For instance, nodoguro, a black-throated perch of similar richness to toro (fatty tuna) is unavailable in quantities suitable for larger restaurants. However, at BloFish, it beats standard toro in terms of decadence. Being small also allows for attention to detail, like the creation of a house nikiri (a richer, sushi-specific soy sauce blend) and pickling fresh wasabi into kizami as a unique kick atop BloFish’s popular Toro, Toro, Toro rolls. 

On nights you can’t snag a seat—or prefer your sofa—the restaurant’s to-go program is a well-oiled machine, partially as a side effect of launching in 2020. In fact, determined to carve out his path as a sushi chef, Gardner kept BloFish swimming not only through those pandemic closures but also after the restaurant was burglarized around Thanksgiving of 2024. All sushi lovers should hope that he continues to thrive in his niche on 14th Street for many years to come. 

BloFish Sushi
1932 14th Street
Boulder
blo.fish