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Quiet and quaint this little sushi joint has carved a niche for itself. It is a not big, flamboyant, trendy, coolest, latest, hippest place to be seen, with prices that can fly one to Japan and back. All it takes is one visit and the staff, let me rephrase that, the family takes over and extends that gracious hospitality it takes to separate a good restaurant from a great restaurant. They are not razzle, dazzle, click your heels and bow, with the efficiency of a five star professional operation. However, they extend warm, genuine, sincere, gracious hospitality in every step of service.
Inside of the restaurant presents a clean, cozy, comforting, warm space. With hanging lights, soft woods, easy colors, a fish tank, tables, sushi bar, banquets, and booths. The booths offer semi privacy while the tables create a stage to showcase the wonders of these very precise and thoughtful chefs.
Tuna Tartare--cubed tuna mixed with avocado, spicy sauce, topped with masago, black tobiko, and scallions; surrounded with a garlic ponzu sauce, and sesame oil. (description different from menu)
To enjoy this beauty, mix it all up or nibble one morsel at a time. I prefer the whole experience so I mix it all together and then drink the sauce. No I don't. But I would like to. Perfect balance of citrus, sweet, tangy, spiciness. The silky texture of the avocado adds a whole different flavor profile to the raw tuna. Excellent combination.
Duck Roll--duck strips, cucumber, scallions, wrapped in a thin pancake; served with hoisin sauce.
Nice spin on the traditional peking duck. Thin strips of duck eaten with a bun, dipped in hoisin sauce. Surprising how duck and vegetables wrapped in pancake can work so well. Great roll. Nice textures all working in harmony.
BBQ Whole Squid--grilled whole squid with chef's special sauce.
Very few, if any, restaurants in Orlando serves this dish. The squid tastes like it was just plucked from the ocean, skinned, dipped in soy sauce, grilled, cut and served. It is fresh, crunchy, chewy, and full of flavor. The dipping sauce of sweet soy and citrus adds just enough moisture to make the pieces succulent without drowning the squid flavor.
No Name Special Roll--tuna, salmon, yellow tail, mango, avocado, wrapped with soy paper; topped with escolar, tuna, salmon, masago, black tobiko; in a kimchee ponzu sauce.
No name, because this is what happens when one lets the chefs use their creative talents. Pad dow! Amazing...Fresh, clean, light flavors all combine to make a wow summer mouth party. The use of kimchee to add another dimension to ponzu sauce was brilliant.
Their maki menu is not very basic and neither over the top. It is a good combination. Far too many restaurants use California Roll as a base and just top with several different combinations to create more rolls. That is a very lazy and dull way to build a menu. Then there are those who go so over the top that the flavors just don't work and the rolls looks like a pile of crap. Sushi like everything Japanese is about the subtleness of balanced flavors. Mikado has achieved this balance on their rolls.
Trio Sashimi--5 pieces of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail sashimi. I changed up this combination to include mackerel.
The sake selection is lacking in variety and scale. There are basic wine varieties and selections that rounds out the menu. This is still a simple restaurant that focuses on the food and service.
The Orlando location has built a reputation of consistent, friendly, genuine service, and superb food quality. The feeling one gets here is like going to someone's home and being fed and treated like a family member. When a restaurant has achieved this level of humbleness it deserves to be frequented.
