When the sushi craving strikes there’s little else that will satisfy it. But getting your fresh fish fix can be tricky when you’re on a tight budget. To help you find the best value-for-money sushi in your area, we bring you The Sushi Index. Based on The Economist’s Big Mac Index, our guide takes its rating from the Big Mac of the sushi platter: the salmon California roll. Those little bite-sized pieces of heaven have just the right amount of fresh salmon, cucumber, avo and nori, encased in sticky sushi rice and sesame seeds. We’ve even done some maths for you, to calculate each restaurant’s PPCR (Price Per California Roll). Of course, price is not necessarily directly proportional to quality – but that’s a whole different article.

Johannesburg

Kung Fu Kitchen
R37 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 4.6

The Blackanese
R56 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 7

Just Sushi
R26 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 6.5

Best of Asia
R48 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 6

Chinese Wok & Sushi Bar
R40 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 5

Yamada Sushi
R19 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 4.75

Kiyota Sushi
R20 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 5

The Chinese Wok
R25 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 6.25

Goodwill
R25 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 6.25

Hokkaido
R36 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 4.5

Loveata
R36.50 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 9.13

Pretoria

Padbok Thai
R25 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 6.25

Kream
R59 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 7.38

Lotus Thai
R44 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 5.5

Zhong Nan
R20 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 5

Adega (Brooklyn)
R43 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 10.75

Cape Town Fish Market (Menlyn)
R35 for 4 pieces
PPCR: 8.75

Jimmy’s Killer Prawns (Brooklyn)
R32.80 for 4 pieces; R56 for 8 pieces
PPCR: 8.2; 7

Durban

Beluga (Gateway)
R70 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.75

Daruma
R48 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 12

Green Mango
R56 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 7

Sevruga (Gateway)
R70 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.75

So! Sushi
R36 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 9

Cape Town

1890 House Sushi and Grill
R24 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 6

Active Sushi
R38 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 4.75

Beluga
R70 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.75

Blowfish
R45 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 11.25

Haiku
R45 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 11.25

Hong Seafood Restaurant
R26 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 6.5

Nobu
R60 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 15

Nuri Sushi Factory
R42 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 5.25

Saigon
R60 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 7.5

Sake House Restaurant and Sushi Bar
R35 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 8.75

Salushi
R40 for 4 pieces. R20 on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
PPCR: 10

Sevruga
R70 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.75

Sushi Box
R29 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 7.25

Takumi
R45 for 6 pieces.
PPCR: 7.5

Tuscany Beach
R54 for 4 pieces.
PPCR: 13.5

Wakami
R62 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 7.75

Willoghby and Co.
R69 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.62

Xiang Yuan
R40 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 5

Winelands

Genki Sushi and Tapas Bar
R67 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.38

Hayashi Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
R68 for 8 pieces.
PPCR: 8.5

By Kelly Pluke and Kristia van Heerden

Note: prices are correct as of 1 October 2013.

Photographs: Rita Yang, William Cho, Chloester, Rita Yang, Mike Saechang and Jeremy Keith.