I finally took advantage of Taste of the Gables to check out Kojin…read more
My sister and I arrived a little before 9 p.m. and waited to be seated. The dining room is charming but small, the tables are tiny and packed very close together. I also wasn't a huge fan of the lighting, though I loved the minimalist, Asian-inspired floral centerpieces.
They were out of the Albariño, so I asked our server to recommend something similar. He suggested a Riesling, but it just wasn't for me, so I switched to sake instead. In hindsight, I really wish he had mentioned it was $35 a glass. That was a pretty unpleasant surprise when the check arrived.
Anyways, my sister & I decided to share a bunch of different dishes.
To start, I ordered the Summer Salad and my sister got the Milk Bread. The salad was phenomenal, bright, fresh, and full of interesting flavors. The stracciatella added this creamy, comforting richness that tied everything together. The milk bread with miso butter? Absolutely insane. Easily one of the best bites of the night.
We also ordered the Crudo à la carte. The presentation was beautiful, with flavored shaved ice keeping the fish chilled, but unfortunately the fish itself tasted overly fishy. We only had a bite or two before telling our server. His response was basically a shrug. No concern, no follow-up, no offer to replace it.
For our mains, my sister ordered the Wagyu Striploin, which she really enjoyed. I went with the Maitake Donburi, and this was probably my biggest disappointment of the evening. I was expecting bold flavors, smoky mushrooms, and some contrast in texture. Instead, everything leaned overwhelmingly sweet. The mushrooms had no char, the rice itself tasted sweet, the egg was runny, and the entire bowl was covered in an almost sickly sweet sauce. It felt one-dimensional, and I ended up taking 2 bites before leaving most of it behind.
Again, our server noticed and didn't ask if anything was wrong or if there was something else I'd prefer. It felt very much like, "Oh well."
For dessert, we shared the Carrot Cake and the Chocolate Tart. Both were good, but neither really wowed me. My sister loved the chocolate tart, while I thought it was just ok.
Overall, Kojin wasn't quite the experience I was expecting. The service felt surprisingly indifferent, especially when two dishes were sent back almost untouched. That said, the Summer Salad and Milk Bread were so creative and genuinely delicious that they're reason enough for me to give Kojin another shot. Next time, though, I'll be ordering very differently.