Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
- Admin
- Dec 4, 2017
- 3 min read
I was in attendance, along with hundred of other patrons, for the grand opening weekend of Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar. Granted, the restaurant had already endured a full week of being open, as they opened on the previous Monday, but the grand opening banner was still hanging outside so in my mind it counts. Initially, when I heard Port Huron was going to have a Japanese steakhouse I was excited but hesitant. My hesitation came from one thought, please go big or go home. I’m an avid fan of Japanese steakhouses and the entertainment value of a chef mastering a meal with every element of flare and comedy while his audience watches on with amazement. For this reason, I wanted it to be done right. You can’t go halfway on a Japanese steakhouse: You have it all, or you have nothing. I am pleased to report after my first meal at Tokyo, they have it all. Not only was it a phenomenal meal cooked by a masterful chef on the hibachi grill, but the sushi bar is of high quality and produces beautiful sushi dishes as a perfect compliment to the hibachi grill.
At this point I am going to give a standing ovation to the person in charge of purchasing for the restaurant. This is one of the most critical factors in any restaurant. Food is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. It was love at first sight when I spotted the beautiful filet the chef would be using for my meal, or the succulent salmon being used to craft my wife’s meal, or even the perfectly marbled N.Y. Strip that ended up on our table-mates plate. The quality of the ingredients was actually very impressive to me. Just ask my wife, I annoyed her by talking about it for half the night and the majority of the car ride home which, mercifully for her, wasn’t very long.
When our appetizer arrived at our table was when it hit me. This place is the real deal. We ordered an appetizer from the sushi bar, “Salmon Mango Tartare”. I had to take a picture of it, a practice I hate when I see other people doing it, but hey, I did it for you so be thankful. I became my worst nightmare for this photo.
The dish was plated with the finesse that is so stereotypical of Japanese cooking, in particular sushi. It had vibrant colors and a defined shape with a small amount of contrast to bring it together. The star of this dish was the salmon, which in a tartare is raw, it had an epicly fresh flavor and delicious texture, which is completely different from that of cooked salmon. The Salmon was mixed with mango and sat on a bed of slice avocado which added an element of fat to the dish which was really pleasing. Finally we come to the mango coulis, basically a rich mango sauce that is almost of gelatin consistency. The plate was covered in this holy nectar. And if describing it as holy nectar doesn’t paint enough of a picture for you of its flavor then I don’t know what will. It is sweet but not overly sweet, perfectly smooth in texture with a strong mango flavor. It complimented the raw salmon in a major way and really brought the dish together.
If you’ve ever eaten at a Japanese steakhouse, which I recommend every try at least once in their life, you will know most of what happened at our meal. It’s a form of entertainment as well as a supremely delicious meal. The flavors that come off a hibachi grill are hard to match and the chefs who do the cooking are true masters of the craft. So here are the highlights of the night. The chef threw an egg in my lap, it was fake don’t worry and it was a joke. There was the classic onion volcano, a bunch of twirling spatulas, there were giant flames and many many jokes by the chef. Like I said earlier, it’s not just a meal, it’s entertainment. And at Tokyo the entertainment value is on par with any Japanese steakhouse, the chefs are real pros and do a fantastic job. The decor is inviting and well themed, and the food is fresh and delicious. What more could you ask for? Oh, and the pricing surprised me as well. For a hibachi grill they are very competitively priced.
Do yourself a favor and pop in to Tokyo, it’s Port Huron’s newest rising star from the land of the rising sun.
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