Ginza Japanese Restaurant

You know how, sometimes, you walk by a place a hundred times before deciding to finally give it a try? Well, it's easier to pull of when you're not talking sushi.

Sushi is, how to put this delicately, not a food group to take risks with. Yes, I know some people get off on eating blowfish. And some people don't really MIND eating raw fish on Sunday nights (when, presumably, the fish is already at least 2 days old). But me? I love sushi. I want to keep loving sushi. So I don't throw caution to the wind when it comes to trying new places.

Anyway. Back to Ginza. We walk by this place several times a week. We drive by it every day. But countless Google searches proved generally fruitless. Nothing on eGullet. Nothing on Craigslist FoodFo, nothing even on Chowhound! Then, one day, up popped one rave review. Then a couple of weeks later, another one.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was craving sushi but also feeling lazy, so I suggested to C that we walk on down there; if it was really scary, we could always head somewhere else. Imagine our surprise when we walked in, and saw one of our neighbors at the sushi bar. He told us that he eats there several times a month, and they always take great care of him, and introduced us to the sushi chef.

We ended up having a lovely meal, and decided to go back on our own this past Friday night. We allowed the chef to send us whatever was freshest, and also took an order of chicken karaage (which, for me, is a huge test of the kitchen's abilities).

Everything was wonderful. The fried chicken pieces were moist and tender, with a perfectly crisp and utterly ungreasy coating. The batter was light but flavorful, with some nice garlicky spice. It was served with tonkatsu sauce, but really, this chiken didn't even need a dipping sauce.

All diners at Ginzu get a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of edamame to share. The edamame were OK, having a slight freezerburned taste to them. But as with our last time, I was floored at the deliciousness of the miso soup. Wonderful depth, it is the essence of umami. One of the better miso soups I've had, honestly.

The nigiri flowed freely. We had:

• Maguro (C liked this more that I did -- it was a very dark red, and tasted strongly of iron)
• Sake (which I usually don't care for, but I did like this piece very much)
• Ika (above average)
• Hamachi (amazing)
• Mirugai (great flavor; I still can't get past the texture)
• Unagi (nice flavor, a bit bonier than I like)
• Hirame (very light and delicate)
• Uni (quite good for an "unknown" place)
• And, I always finish with an ume temaki. Both times, the handroll has been very delicious and expertly prepared (so that there is a bit of ume in every bite, and so the last bite isn't all rice!), but they've been pretty different from one another. I like that little bit of surprise

We were also sent a little plate of mussels with some kind of mayonnaisey sauce with some tobiko, which were really delicious. Wasabi is paste, and not fresh grated, but the ginger is the nice 'real' stuff as opposed to that awful pink-colored stuff. As is traditional, our meal ended with peeled orange wedges.

Prices here are incredibly reasonable; our dinner on Friday night was $50 (including tax, tip and a large Sapporo).

I think Ginza may be owned by a Korean family as there seem to be some Korean specialties posted throughout the restaurant (though not on the menu). There is a sizable selection of interesting-looking rolls, plenty of traditional Japanese cooked dishes (I'm looking forward to trying their tonkatsu)

Ginza Japanese Restaurant
303 Broadway Ave.
Oakland, CA 94607
510.451.2224

Comments

[shuna]

Isn't it funny how we all have our little "tests" for cuisines we eat over and over? I also will often test the waiters, asking them about something I know or have ordered before.
we should enjoy fish now, while it's still around.

[Melissa]

This is good to know, neighbor! :-)

[keiko]

Hi Fatemeh - I thought you went to Ginza just to eat sushi! Glad you had a good meal, your post made me homesick though...

[Dunkin'Donut]

Awesome! A real person with a real review of a place I know. I actually know the owner and the chef who cooks up all the fried food. I eat here maybe once a week. Definitely try the tonkatsu and all the other fried stuff, she does 'em up real good! The tempura has a good batter and is fried up just right! Please email suggestions for future visits. I'm sure the owners would love to know what customers think! I came across this just looking at your other reviews. I'll be sure to check them out too!! Thanks!!

[Fatemeh]

Aw, keiko... what about the post made you homesick??

Dunkin', I'm so glad to hear someone else's opinion of Ginza! I will definitely like their tonkatsu -- I loved their tonkatsu sauce!

Do you know if the owners are, in fact, Korean?

[Dunkin'Donut]

Yes, the owners are Korean! They also have good tempura fried octopus, but it's not on the menu! I think that's one of my favorites. I don't know if you're into the Donburi, but it has the fried katsus in it so maybe worth a try if you like that.

Also, if you get a chance please let me know what you think about the salad dressing. The salad is normal, but ppl really like the dressing. I know most times salad is disregarded, but I like the sauce and the recipe is a closely guarded secret. I'm trying to find out the secret ingredients!

It's good to know you eat uni and mirugai. I think that's how I gauge if someone is a sushi lover. Happy Eating!

[Rebecca]

Hi there! I just moved to West Oakland from Piedmont and was looking for a new local sushi joint to replace my beloved Geta Sushi off Piedmont Ave. They were so affordable and always delicious.

I googled Ginza after finding them on Google Local, and your blog came up at the top. Thanks for reviewing them- I went and ordered a Spider Roll and Maguro and Hamachi Nigiri. The Hamachi (yellowtail) was DIVINE. It practically melted in my mouth. Oh, just thinking about it, I want more!!!

I wish they'd post their menu online. Maybe I'll scan a copy.

[Glynnis]

when i was planning to move to the bay area i was excited to find great fresh sushi. I had tried quite a few places and once i found ginza i never want to take a chance at any other place. my boyfriend and his brother are also big sushi fans and we go there every weekend. We also anticipate the same meal every visit.we get the miso and salad which are always amazing and their gyoza as an appetizer which is hot and crunchy (sooooooo good!)i love avacado with sushi so i usually get the lambada roll, power, the crispy, or the crunch roll, and the dynamite roll which is flash tempura is delightful but not for the weak. Every dish that i have tried there is perfect and the same friendly faces greet us with "hello my friend!" and know what we want before we ask. The prices are perfect as well with free miso, salad, and green tea and huge rolls from 6 to 12 bucks.It may not look appealing from the outside but this is a great find!