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| - What: izakaya. I'm on a quest to eat at all the izakaya's since moving here from the Bay Area. However, the bar is high with my measuring stick being Tanto in Sunnyvale, CA. I wanted to start with Raku, but they were booked solid. Ichiza was ok, but no where near the awesomeness that is Tanto.
Food:
chicken ball skewer - tasty, but was a little lukewarm
pork and chiso skewer - meh, I would not reorder
buta kakuni - came with half an egg, nice size serving, very tasty/tender.
tuna tartar - this was tasty and nice combo of textures. i would reorder this.
tuna/tofu salad - tasty dressing! slices of avocado and cherry tomatoes. Refreshing.
grilled rice ball - this has nothing inside. my hubby liked it.
jellyfish - meh, won't reorder
agedashi tofu - good
chicken karaage - as expected, but I like the karaage better at Fukumimi Ramen
chu-toro sashimi - on the specials menu, my japanese mom thought the quality was really good and she's the expert on chu-toro
unagi tempura roll - this was large and awkward to eat, but
small unagi bowl - was a hit with my kid
tempura - authentically served with daikon and dipping sauce. This was large and had lots of veggies and 2 large shrimp
hot tea - maybe they don't have green tea? They gave me barley tea, so that was a disappointment.
Too full to try dessert!
Pet peeve: all the good stuff is written on the walls throughout the restaurant, like other Yelpers mentioned. This is REALLY annoying. What am I supposed to do - wander around and peer over other diners' tables to read the wall? Well, yes, that is exactly what I had to do because none of this is on the menu. Update your menu with the wall stuff people!! Sheesh!
Ambiance: small restaurant with tables, bar seating and japanese style seating where you take of your shoes and your feet dangle down under the table.
Service: efficient, but could be friendlier. They messed up the reservation and only had us down for 4 people, when it was 5, but they accommodated us at a small table and then moved us to a larger table when it freed up and before we ordered, so thank goodness!
Location: Chinatown on Spring Mountain. Easy parking in shared lot in a plaza. The line was out the door when we left!
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