My friend and I decided to go here a little last minute, but we were able to make a reservation on Sunday morning for 5:30 later that day. We had a fantastic time! Started off with a warm welcome from the staff into the restaurant. Decoration is on the simple side, but classy and welcoming.
To start, our waitress offered to bring us samples of any of the drinks if we wanted to try something without committing. We were both really intrigued by the orange wine on the drink list since neither of us had tried orange wine before, so we asked for samples of that. They actually brought us each two samples: the wine from the menu, and another orange wine that they'd just brought in and wasn't on the menu yet. The first tasted more conventional, the off-menu wine had a smoky taste yet went down easily. I was pretty into this one, but after two tastings I no longer felt the need for more alcohol, so I ended up ordering their Summer Soda instead, which was refreshing and only very mildly sweet.
Our waitress advised us that for 2 people, they recommend 4-6 dishes, so we ordered the Beets, Tofu, Shishito, and Dumplings, plus the Plum dessert. The plates are all portioned for 2 people to share and the portions with this number of dishes worked out well for us - it was a very satisfying meal but I wasn't overstuffed. I think you could split the dinner plates with up to 4 people and everyone would still get a decent taste, but the dessert would be hard to split more than 2 ways, maybe 3. The plates were brought out one at a time, and someone from the kitchen explained each as they brought it. A few comments on each dish (they were all fantastic, this is just to give more detail than what you see on the menu)
Beets: This was kind of like a tartare, and was served with crisps. I forget what they said the crisps were made of, but they were kind of different and very tasty, and also pretty light. I really liked the sweetness and floral notes in this one.
Tofu: If I had to pick a favourite, this would be it! It was actually chickpea tofu, not soy tofu, which has its own texture and flavour. The tofu itself was very very nice, but the sauce ALMOST stole the show (and the radish, chile, and greens it was garnished with complimented the dish perfectly). I could've eaten that sauce by the spoonful.
Shishito: This was relatively straightforward: shishito peppers, potatoes, and pickled onions in a simple soy-based sauce. What stood out was how everything was cooked to perfection and the quality ingredients. I'm not much of a potato person but I found myself enjoying the potatoes as much as the peppers here.
Dumplings: Vietnamese-style mushroom filled dumplings in a light ponzu sauce. The flavours worked very well and the cooking was again top-notch.
Plum: Fermented plum cake/tart with miso and citrus infusion, with cream and a crumble topping on the side! I loved that this included some unique flavours, yet even though the ingredients sound a little "out there", it wasn't one of those things where you eat it and it's overwhelming or strange at first, it was really very easy on the palate.
Bonus Caramels: Not a proper dish we ordered off the menu, but they brought us each a caramel coated with nori flakes with our bills. I saved mine for the next day. The nori with the caramel was definitely a slightly funky combination, but I ultimately decided I was into it and it left me curious about other ways to incorporate nori in sweets, so this was a fun way to end the experience.
Besides the great food, the staff was really amazing. Everyone was polite and passionate about the restaurant, and it was especially nice to be able to learn about the food directly from the chefs. This place could not have done anything better. read more