When to the not too recently opened Kinoya Sushi & Izakaya near Dry Creek and I-25, in South…read moreDenver, at the former Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q location.
The interior wass decorated in a modern Japanese izakaya style, featuring light-colored natural wood, slatted wooded ceiling, and walls lined with shoji-style panels to create a traditional Japanese ambiance. Combined with traditional Japanese decorative elements such as the woven lanterns, cherry blossoms and Japanese landscape paintings, it did have the feel of an upscaled izakaya.
For $38.99 you can select from the classic menu featuring traditional selections similar to those found at typical Japanese AYCE in town. For $14 more, at $52.99, you can also choose from the premium menu of higher-end dishes that are usually à la carte at most Japanese restaurants. After glancing at the menu, I didn't even have to hesitate to go for the $52.99 option for the following reason.
What special dishes did that get me? Plenty, here were some of them,
Sashimi included tuna, salmon, yellowtail, albacore tuna, smoked salmon, white tuna, freshwater eel, shrimp, tilapia, octopus, mackerel, egg custard
Nigiri included salmon roe, Wagyu beef, sweet shrimp, young yellowtail, scallops, king salmon, toro, and sea bream
Sashimi platters included yellowtail jalapeño, orange salmon, yuzu tuna avocado, pepper tuna tataki and truffle scallop crudo
For $5 more per plate, there were also the eveb more premium Wagyu beef tartare, truffle toro carpaccio, fresh oyster topped with uni, ikura and quail egg, Japanese Uni Nigiri and Wagyu beef nigiri
Specialty rolls which caught my attention were the Supreme Lobster Roll and the Kobe Beef Roll,
Appetizers that caught my attentions were Japanese-style fried squid, Japanese-style grilled chicken skewers, crab meat chawanmushi and miso-butter mussels
The classic menu offered even more options, including appetizers, soups, salads, ramen, nigiri, tempura, sushi rolls, and maki. Besides these, they also had Chinese style dim sum such as soup dumplings, pork belly buns, custard buns, shrimp dumplings, shumai, and Chinese BBQ buns, as well as desserts such as chocolate wonton, mochi ice cream, ice cream, and fried banana ice cream
Overall, everything, from the flavor, texture, presentation to service, was above my expectation, making it a cut above most Japanese AYCE restaurants I have frequented in the town.
Please note It got quite crowded during peak dining hours, so I recommend avoiding those times if possible. Not only the food will be served more quickly, the service will also be more attentive, making the overall dining experience even more pleasant.