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| - In one word, ShinBay is AMAZING!!! Let me preface this review by saying that this is NOT a typical sushi bar, it is a gourmet Japanese restaurant, so if it's specialty sushi rolls that you're looking for, head to Geisha A Go Go or any of the other sushi spots that serve deep-fried, cream cheese laden, Americanized sushi as you will not find such fare here. Rather, what you will find are some of the highest quality and most unique dishes that I can honestly say I've ever had paired with exceptional service.
We decided to sit at the sushi bar, at which the manager had graciously reserved us prime seating. My husband and I opted for the seven course chef's tasting as we've found that this is usually the best way to get a feel for what a new restaurant has to offer. The courses that we had are summarized as follows:
1. Chilled asparagus soup - light and flavorful, left us looking forward to the courses ahead.
2. Scorpionfish carpaccio - the fish itself as well as the sauce it was served in had excellent flavor, I could have eaten a whole plate of this as an entree.
3. Sashimi sampler - a beautifully presented plate of six entirely different preparations of six different sashimis (including things we'd never had before such as giant clam and Japanese sea scallops), each having it's own unique flavors. We watched this dish being prepared while we were consuming the first two courses and it took over 15 minutes just to prepare this one course. The attention to detail and presentation was unbelievable!
4. Steamed manilla clams with 5 types of Japanese mushrooms, served in their own broth - this dish actually derives its incredible flavor simply from steaming the clams and mushrooms together. So delicious!
5. Foie gras wrapped in halibut - this Japanese "fondue-style" dish was incredible! Our waiter brought out bite sized pieces of foie gras wrapped in a thin piece of halibut and served on a pick with a variety of dipping sauces and then brought us each a wooden box which housed the flame that heated a paper-lined wire mesh basket containing sake and water in which we placed each skewer for approximately 30 seconds before eating. The foie gras absolutely melted in my mouth!
6. Nigiri sushi - two separate plates (perhaps even two courses) of the highest quality Nigiri that I've ever had. We inquired with the manager as to where the chef gets such high quality fish and were told that he has his fish flown in daily, which explains how such a small restaurant can have such amazingly fresh fish.
7. Japanese egg custard with fresh fruit - light, fluffy, and the perfect end to a perfect meal. We aren't typically "dessert people" and rarely order dessert at a restaurant, but this was delicious!
The chef's tasting that we had was $130 per person and without a doubt, was worth every penny. We typically don't splurge quite that much when dining out and it would certainly be possible to order items a la carte and keep the cost to $50-$70 per person.
If you've read any of my other Yelp reviews, I think it's apparent that I do not gush about mediocre restaurants and am probably a bit harsher in my reviews than most are, but I can honestly say that if it were possible to give ShinBay six stars, I would. We will be back soon and often. I'm so glad that we found this gem!
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