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| - We finally made it to Yasu and it is now at the top of our list for sushi restaurants. It's a little far from home, so it won't be a regular stop, but when we're planning to be in the Paradise Valley area, we will certainly make reservations to dine here. Who would have thought, in the dead of summer, at 5:30 pm they would have no inside table available? Okay, granted it is a small restaurant, but like a previous reviewer, I found the ambiance and decor inside lovely. They also have fantastic background music, at least on this night . . . a nice mix of jazz (Diana Krall) and standards.
Because they had no available tables inside so we opted to sit outside on this sultry evening. There are no misters on the patio, but the little discomfort did not take anything away from the fabulous meal we ordered.
They have a great tapas menu which gives diners and newbies like us a chance to taste a multitude of items at what I would consider very reasonable prices. (There has to be another word in Japanese instead of the Spanish tapas to use instead.) They also had "happy hour" drinks for $5, so we each had a Shochu cocktail - his with cranberry, mine a mix of cranberry and grapefruit. Refreshing!
We started with the Red Snapper sushi - OMG, it melted in my mouth. It was so fresh. I could have ordered more and just made this my meal . . . the best red snapper I have tasted bar none . . . including Tokyo!
A total hit was the Bistro Green Beans which were flash-fried (no breading) and had a melding of incredible flavors. The beans were so fresh and cooked to perfection with a little snap in each bite. I have had this dish, or similar ones, at other Asian restaurants, and what set Yasu's apart was that it was not oily or greasy.
The shrimp noodle skewers were more a novelty than a great choice. Minced shrimp, skewered and then encircled with an abundance of noodles wrapped around them was the only disappointing item we had. Too much noodle to get to the shrimp. I deconstructed the noodle on my plate to get to a bite of shrimp.
The Snake Shiitake was delicious! It was actually fun to eat as well. It has nothing to do with snake . . . the shiitake is cut up into long pieces which resemble snakes. Very creative naming . . .
One of my other favorites is the shrimp stuffed Japanese eggplant. (I am an eggplant lover.) The slightly sweet miso sauce was yummy, and the eggplant tender.
I was full at that point, but my dear hubby had to order one more item, the special roll of the day . . . spicy yellowtail. Beautiful! The yellowtail was so fresh, and the spice just gave it flavor but did not overpower the fish at all. Some sushi places forget that the real star of the roll is the fish and put the emphasis on the spice. Not Yasu!
A comment on the service . . . our server Liz was top-notch. She answered all our menu questions and made excellent recommendations. She was friendly and attentive. When we go back, we will undoubtedly ask to be seated at her table.
One more thing . . . there are lots of veggies on the menu so if you are a die-hard vegetarian like so many of my friends, you will be able to have a great meal here, too.
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