We arrived promptly at 6pm for our reservation and were seated right away. The ambiance and decor of the restaurant in unique and a little polarizing. Some people love the modern, minimalist decor with changing lights and strangely phallic shaped candles and others find it bothersome and even claustrophobic. The first picture below is the entrance and the second & third a look at the main dining room with it's color changing booths.
There were ten of us seated at a large rectangle table immediately in front of the sushi bar at the rear of the restaurant. For many of us, this was our second trip...we had gone as a group in 2002 when the restaurant was only a few months old. During the three hours we were there this time it became obvious looking around us that it remains very popular and apparently THE place to take a date. The restaurant filled up quickly and the staff bustled all evening.
It was also apparent that this was not going to be an evening of quite chatter. You really could only hear the person to your immediate side or across from you. It was so loud that trying to converse with the person kitty-corner or anyone further down the table was impossible. Nor could you hear the staff when they presented the courses unless they were standing next to you and you leaned in while attempting to lip read. Even then it was hit or miss. I'm happy to say when requested, they did furnish us with a copy of the evening's tasting menu when we were leaving...that helped significantly in clearing up some questions about a few of the courses.
Our table (with the exception of one vegetarian in our party) ordered the omokase, or chef's tasting menu. This is a traditional way to dine in Japan and you have no idea what courses will emerge from the kitchen until they are presented to you at the table. Our menu ended up consisting of eight courses. We paired the menu with four bottles of wine (a sauvignon blanc and three pinot noirs from Oregon and California) and there was more than one flight of sake making the rounds.
Unlike the high end French and American restaurants, this one jumped right into the first course - no amuse bouche to kick off the evening. It took a while longer than I thought appropriate for the first course to arrive. This was a glimpse into the service level that we'd experience through the night. While I do give leniency to a restaurant when they have to deal with a large group such as ours, I am not that forgiving of anything rated or regarded as high as this one is. But enough about that...on to the food!
First course: Toro tartare with fresh wasabi, osetra caviar and a Japanese peach.
Second course: Kumamoto oysters with a trio of sauces: Japanese orange salsa; citrus cilantro ceviche and a Thai fish sauce with fresh jalapeno.
The presentation on the second course was equally beautiful and showcased these small oysters on their bed of ice. The four of us on the my end of the table all ate them from left to right, in the order of the sauces listed above. The winner seemed to be the middle one with the citrus flavors and leaf of cilantro. So bright and crisp, it matched wonderfully with the chilled, freshness of the oyster. I personally really liked the Thai fish sauce on the third oyster. This was a very nice course overall.
Third course: Seared red snapper carpaccio with garlic, ginger, mitsuba & chives served with a yuzu citrus soy.
Four course: sashimi salad with mixed greens, yuzu vinaigrette and chive oil.
This dish resulted in mixed reviews. A tuna tataki, the fish itself was very nice with a clean, sea taste to it. And I liked the yuzu when tossed with my greens. But others thought the dish too dry and uninspired.
Intermezzo of raspberry & pomegranate soda (no picture). Useless course, no flavor detectable.
Fifth course: chef Morimoto's eight spice lobster epice with citrus creme fraiche and chives.
It wasn't hard to get excited about this next course! All the meat was in the tail section and the lobster with spices was fantastic! I would have ordered this as a whole meal if it was an option. The creme fraiche went really well for an overall well balanced dish. Yum!!
Sixth course: braised kobe short rib with wasabi furikake crust, wasabi greens, pickled carrot & turnip and a red wine reduction (no picture).
I did take a picture of this course (it was quite pretty) but it didn't come out well on my phone. The short rib was topped with a salty, spicy crust that I personally had to scrape off to keep it from overwhelming the rib. The meat was cooked nicely and super tender. But unlike other braised short ribs (Daniel, NYC comes to mind) where the flavor of the braising sauce is infused deeply into the meat, this one seemed to have not been cooked with anything other than a dry rub. The sauce on the plate was nice, but the dish lacked that level of deep warmth and succulence that others have achieved.
Seventh course: sushi (no picture).
Potentially the least inspired course of all it was a selection of five fishes served traditionally just like you can get at any local sushi bar. The fishes included maguro, tuna, yellowtail, octopus and striped bass.
Eighth course: (dessert) sweet potato cheesecake with miso caramel & black sesame.
The cheesecake to end the evening was pretty good...almost bland but with a creamy and yet airy texture. It was not polarizing or intriguing but just sweet enough to wrap up the dinner quietly.
All in all it was a nice dinner with some standout dishes. Can it take on the heavy hitters of NYC, Chicago and Northern California...no. Would I rank it at or above Nobu in NYC...no. And at this price point, it's also not special enough in this reviewers mind to do the tasting menu again. If you go, order off the menu, skip the sushi and stick with the specialty dishes and you'll have a really nice evening in a totally eclectic hot spot.
Jenn's Rating: 89
Zagat's Rating: 28-26-25
Great review, Jenn! Sounds like a mixed bag. It's always tough when you shell out that much money and are underwhelmed at parts. Then again, that lobster looked amazing! I think the recommendation to go a la carte is the way to go. Sarah and I certainly enjoyed the tasting menu when we went there with everyone in 2002, but that might be a nice change of pace to do some targeted menu browsing and ordering. I take it Morimoto was not there, right? Seeing him also was a 2002 highlight!
ReplyDeleteMorimoto wasn't there. One of the staff commented that he worked there six months before he ever saw Morimoto at the restaurant. He did follow that up by saying that lately he's been around more often, but we didn't see him.
ReplyDelete