Review: Katsu-ya

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Marc and I recently got to go out to dinner and discovered a new favorite restaurant: Katsu-ya. My friend K. has raved about this place many times, but we already had a favorite sushi restaurant so whenever we got the chance, we always went there. Unfortunately, they've gone out of business, so when we wanted to go out for Japanese food, I remembered K.'s effusive praise and made reservations.

We ordered the omakase menu (Japanese version of prix fixe), and were absolutely delighted. Unfortunately, I only have a clear memory of the first and last courses. We started with scallops and cucumber in a sunomono (vinegar) style dressing. Very refreshing and delicious. The subsequent dishes included ahi sashimi (raw tuna) with crispy onions on top, and a different kind of fish in some sort of soy marinade. We finished with a dessert trio of green tea tiramisu, chocolate cake, and banana tempura. There were seven courses in all, so I'm obviously missing a few dishes due to a faulty memory, but I do recall that they were all very tasty.

At $48 per person, this meal is obviously for special occasions only. The rest of the menu, while not cheap, is perfectly affordable. If we hadn't gotten the omakase, I would have ordered the chirashi sushi, which is a bed of sushi rice topped with sashimi, roe, egg, and other delicious components. That would have been a very reasonable $12.50.

The verdict: Katsu-ya is our new favorite Japanese restaurant. And I can't wait to go back!