Looking for a place to take an out of town guest from Japan, this place came up on yelp search. After reading several reviews, I realized they used to have a restaurant in Ahwatukee and I dined there 10 years ago. What I remember from 10 years ago was the chef would stay quite but be very observant to guests dining. Their facial expression as they have first bite, conversation and speed they eat and serve the next food.
The food they serve here is kaiseki style. Great place to entertain guests with Japanese omotenashi. Five course meals requires 24 hrs advanced notice. With the same day reservation, you have a choice of 3 or 4 course meals. I highly recommend the group to order the same amount of course meal to better enjoy the way they serve food.
The chef watched us eat the first course meal, and decided to use firefly baby squid for the second course meal. The hometown I grew up is famous for this squid and I was very happy to see them. This type of squid is only available from the end of April to early May. I never thought I would ever run into this firefly squid in Phoenix or even in U.S.! For the chef to choose this ingredients, it really shows he know the food.
He only uses high quality ingredients and serve food in a speed each guest eats. True kaiseki in a way served at a tea ceremony. Then why not five stars? It's rice. Rice used for sushi wasn't perfect. I am sure he made it that way for type of fish he used for the night, but it was not what I wanted.