Came in for a Bday get-together so we kinda splurged. We all tried one of their 'tasting menus' which they have several levels, depending on how many courses you wanna go through. We chose the 8-course meal for $120 per person.
First off, this isn't really my type of resto to do this type of tasting menu. The space is really tiny and the menu is huge, with a huge emphasis on 'fusion'. So technically this isn't really a Japanese restaurant, but you are able to get some Japanese style food here. I think this space is better suited for just a regular meal, something like casual sushi or bento meal.
To me, the price tag that we paid, just didn't match the overall experience one would come to expect from this level of dining. For example the tables are so packed together that when dropping off our courses, they couldn't reach certain corners. We also used regular paper napkins, which isn't a big deal at all, but most meals $100+ per person, you just often get much more of a refined experience. None of us complained or even talked about it, just an observation that hit me whilst I was brainstorming for this review.
Started off with a monster bottle of sake, probably one of the largest sized bottles of sake I've ever seen. Seemed like magnum status in terms of bottle size. I didn't take notes nor took pics of this so I can't add much here. Except that it was a very decent version.
The Food Ride:
We actually started with their Tempura'd Portobello Mushrooms ($15/4.5*) This was not part of the tasting menu, we just wanted to try it. Perfectly light and crisp batter, where you could totally see through it. Super meaty mushrooms were so satisfying and juicy and only made better with a slight dip in one of their 3 sauces. Anytime I come back here, I will always start with these.
Toro Tartare (4.5*) Very creative dish/bite and how they take fusion and make it theirs. Tuna tartare pretty basic and suffice, super soft but with a few strands of sinew. Topped with a little masago and atop a base of a tempura fried basil leaf. So great textures and flavors that you just don't see anywhere else.
Hamachi Carpaccio (4*) Pretty basic but good quality fish. A light ponzu sauce and a slice of fresh jalapeno. The cool thing was the owner/our host directed us to eat each slice a little differently. One was as is, another with a sip of sake before eating a slice. And the final was with a drop of soy sauce and a sip of sake. It did get better with each bite and was a great lesson in the physiology of taste.
Oyster Trio (4*) These were the tiny variety but forgot to ask what type. 2 raw with garnishings and one grilled. The grilled was actually the most impressive as it had texture and the grilling made the oyster more intense. The one with a small piece of uni and a quails yolk, of course just hits.
Fried Scallop (4*) One tempura fried scallop with fried asparagus. Basically a mixed tempura fry. Very decent.
Sunomono Salad (4.5*) Very unique sunomono salad. It's seaweed and cucs marinated in a very balanced sweet vinaigrette. The kicker is it laid in a base of tiny cubes of raw fish, so this was quite substantial. Another example when fusion wins here.
Tataki Trio (4*) 3 different fishes, all belly cuts. Salmon, Hamachi and Blue Fin all torched on the exterior. Not a torch fan, but I did appreciate the effort. Each fish was garnished with its own accent, from dots of green onion, lemon slice, even shred of basil. So each bite being unique and different.
Miso Roasted Black Cod (4*) Very nicely marinated and roasted with that sweet miso combo. The Gindara wasn't as smooth and buttery as I come to expect from this fish, but it was still decent. Lots of garnishes from squirts of sauce to even halved cherry tomato. A little too busy for me.
Mango Cheesecake (3.5*) Just a regular cheesecake with little bits of mango throughout the bites. Not bad but not brow raising. Still had some frozen texture to it too. Served with a sauce with a wasabi background but definitely sweet. Very interesting but didn't really do anything for me. Again their fusion creativity up front and center.
We all had a nice time and the owner is quite passionate about his business. If in the area, I totally would use them as an option. I would just have more of a casual meal that's all. read more