Rakuza forgoes the old-fashioned woodwork, floral prints and a menu sporting the obligatory sashimi, tempura, donburi sections. These guys are inventive, in both the decor and gastronomic departments, despite some slight misfires in the latter. Flanked by glass walls, the dark furnishings here make for a very contemporary and romantic ambience. There’s a definite buzz on weekends, as people sweep in at dinnertime, which, it is worth noting, never keeps the staff from tending to your needs. The menu sports several imaginative touches, in addition to various types of fish (especially tuna), regularly imported from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, served without any frills, seared or as sushi or sashimi. On our last visit, we got the super fatty otoro sashimi and were delighted by the portion—three large, thick slices, served cool, but not fridge-cold, with scallion chiffonade. The meat was fatty as promised and had great body. Still, we measure a kitchen’s skill by their preparations. We like the the Tokyo-style tapas section of the menu that lets the handsome, young chef’s brain shine, even though some things could be fine-tuned. The dengaku (eggplant with sweet miso, B120), for example, is generous and evenly-baked, but the sweet miso, while a delicious complement to the bitter meatiness of the eggplant, could be used a tad more sparingly. Same goes for the seaweed salad —six different kinds of seaweed, which ends up being soggy instead of crunchy due to too much dressing. We do, however, unequivocally love the zukeyaki (lamb rack steak with green chilli sauce, B290), grilled to medium, juicy perfection the Thai-style lime-heavy nam jim cuts through the meat very nicely. All in all, Rakuza has a lot of things going for it, and we must admit that the prices are reasonably friendly, given the competition, the location, the high quality of their imports and the fact that they’re going for an elevated hipness factor. So the next time you’d like to have a cool, casual dinner that’s delicious and a bit different, try this handsome little spot.
Rakuza
