Kabooki Sushi rates somewhere between four and five stars for me, so Yelp's average rating is spot on: 4.4 stars with 1.1k reviews. The food, drink, and service were solid.
This review is for Kabooki Sushi's original location, East Colonial, in Northeast Orlando. It opened in April 2013. A second location opened in Sand Lake, closer to the resorts and theme parks, in May 2019. Shout-out to our friend and Orlando native Anand Deshpande for recommending Kabooki. He said both locations are good. He hosts the Kindred Kitchen show and knows a lot about food: https://www.instagram.com/kindredkitchenshow/
In 2024, Kabooki chef Henry Moso was a James Beard Chef Award semifinalist: https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2024-james-beard-awards-semifinalists
Reservations are recommended. We visited on an ordinary Monday night and the restaurant was fairly busy when we arrived at 7:45pm. Our original reservation was for 7:15pm. We got delayed, called the restaurant, and they were kind enough to accommodate us 30 minutes late.
Kabooki shares a building with Foxtail Coffee Co. There's free parking around the building.
During out visit at night, the dining room and bar had a somewhat trendy vibe. "Contemporary Japanese cuisine" is how the business is marketed, so it's got more Asian fusion and Westernized elements, as opposed to a traditional Japanese restaurant. The interior design is modern and stylish. You can dress up or down. I saw groups dressed both ways. This spot is ideal for a nice, romantic date night thanks to the dim ambient lighting. We had a party of five, sat at one of the round tables, and celebrated our friend's birthday.
In addition to nigiri, sashimi, and rolls, Kabooki offers omakase and moriwase (chef's choice meals; not necessarily sushi). They have a decent sushi selection and also offer several non-sushi Japanese dishes like tempura, karaage (Japanese deep-fried chicken), and udon noodles. They have a full bar with cocktails and a wide variety of sake.
Here's what my wife and I had:
Hot Sake and Cocktails
* Sho Chiku Bai "Classic" Junmai sake - large (9 oz) carafes x2 ($12 each)
* Green Goddess ($16) - Gin Lane 1751, cucumber watermelon mint infused, cucumber oleo, lemon, topped with Jozen sparkling sake
Chef's Daily Choices (Specials Menu) - Cold Tastings
* Bluefin Tasting ($50) - akami, chutoro, otoro, fresh-grated wasabi, housemade tosa soy
Cold Tastings
* Hamachi Carpaccio ($22) - Japanese yellowtail, yuzu tobiko, ponzu, kaffir lime oil, yuzu kosho, serrano peppers
* Leche de Tigre ($19) - torched salmon, truffle pate, kizami wasabi, aji amarillo, smoked trout roe, sunchoke chips
Hot Tastings
* One Up ($16) - butter-roasted local mushrooms, sunchoke puree, cured egg yolk, togarashi panko
* Pork Jowl Nabe ($21) - furikake rice, bonito flakes, shiitake garlic chips, egg yolk, soy dashi
Housemade Sweets
* Ube Cheesecake ($14) - Graham cracker crust, ube jam, topped with torched meringue, toasted coconut
A few of us shared a couple bottles of hot sake, the Sho Chiku Bai "Classic" Junmai listed above. It was cheap sake, but good enough. It served its purpose and I think everyone was satisfied with it. My wife ordered the Green Goddess cocktail and loved it. I had a couple sips and thought it was great. It was refreshing and tasty. My wife liked the presentation. The drink was served in a beer mug. Our friend got a Japanese Highball, which was served in a beer mug as well. It looked cool with long, clear, cocktail ice. She enjoyed her cocktail too. It's made with Suntory Whisky Toki.
In general, the food both looked and tasted terrific. Every dish was plated carefully and presented beautifully. The Nabe (Japanese-style hot pot) was finished at the table. Our table ordered two of those. Two servers came at the same time to crack eggs and mix all the ingredients together. The dish was very flavorful and satisfying, rich and full of umami. The crispy bits of rice on the surface of the hot pot reminded me of eating Korean stone bowl mixed rice (bibimbap); similar.
The Bluefin Tasting was excellent. We got three kinds of tuna sashimi: (1) akami, which is cut from the fish's upper back and spine and (2 and 3) chutoro and otoro, which are medium fatty and most fatty tuna belly, respectively. All slices were fresh, thick cut, and tasted amazing. The chutoro and otoro melted in our mouths, the otoro especially.
Both of the Cold Tastings, the Hamachi Carpaccio and the Leche de Tigre, were delicious. Both dishes were flavorful, but not overpowering. Again, they were plated carefully with a fine attention to detail. My wife and I love mushrooms, which is why we ordered the One Up. While it was good, it wasn't memorable.
Save room for dessert because I thought the Ube Cheesecake was fantastic. It was unique and sweet, but not too sweet.
Service was great. We noticed that our primary server was also one of the bartenders. He was friendly, polite, knowledgeable, and on top of things. read more