Mentai Udon
Shimbashi Izakaya

Shimbashi Izakaya

1555 Camino Del Mar Suite 201, Del Mar, United States Of America, DEL MAR

Wine • Sushi • Asian • Japanese


"Three generations celebrated my grandpa's 89th birthday here and it was amazing. Most of the time when a restaurant already has a great view, the food doesn't need to be that good. But after the first few appetizers one word kept coming from all of us: Authentic. For a table of 7 adults, we ordered the following. Everything was solid, but the items that were absolute hits with the entire group were ordered twice. It was a perfect late summer day out on the patio. Soft tofu x2 (grated fresh ginger and bonito brought this back to my childhood) Rainbow carpaccio x2 (came with a perfect watermelon radish garnish) Grilled beef tongue x2 Assorted sashimi platter x2 Assorted sushi platter x2 Tempura Cold soba x2 Stir fried shishitos Takowasabi (for the octopus fans) Tonkatsu (the authentic marker was the side of spicy Japanese mustard in addition to the traditional sauce and cabbage) Hamachi Kama they were out so we tried miso cod instead and this was also a crowd pleaser I ordered a Calpico and my husband ordered an iced green tea, but by the time we realized they hadn't come out dinner was almost over. Being pregnant I still wanted my drink but hubs was ok without anyways. For dessert, we split the following: Green ice cream x3 yes Green tea cake ice cream and the green tea cake was light and not too sweet, really nice. This place managed to exceed everyone's expectations. One of the perks for us is the patio is dog friendly. We're definitely coming back."

Hanon

Hanon

436 Union Ave, Brooklyn I-11211-8785, United States

Soup • Fish • Sushi • Japanese


"I thought this place was cute and the food was totally Instagrammable but I felt the restaurant was kinda small and the tables were cramped too close together. A friend took me here for my bday and it was very shocking that it was all mid 20's Asian females as the clientele, I would say at least 80%. Overall, I liked the place but I felt it was pricey for what it was, it was 2 apps, 2 entrees and a beer plus tip was over $110. Also, I can't be the only person who thought it was a Viet restaurant lol The food: Spicy Soy Karaage- Japanese fried chicken tossed in a spicy soy sauce. I thought this was really good. It was fried well, it was juicy and it was flavorful. I wouldn't exactly call it spicy to be honest but it was good none the less. Washugyu Menchi Katsu- Washugyu Japanese breaded and deep-fried ground meat patty. I thought this was fried perfectly, super crunchy and not oily at all but I felt this one came off rather bland even after adding the salt, mustard and tonkatsu sauce. Tantan Udon Garlic- Chopped braised pork and spicy sesame enriched soup with a soft boiled egg. This was really good, the depth of flavor in the broth was great, I really enjoyed the pork pieces and the noodles had a great texture. This was my fav thing I had that day. I really appreciated how they knew we were sharing and split the portion into two bowls for us so we didn't have to split it ourselves. Kamoten Seiro- Shrimp, fish and three vegetables tempura with sliced duck in hot dipping sauce. This was the main reason we went to this restaurant and honestly it was kinda a let down. The noodles were nice and chewy but I didn't feel the dip in the broth added much flavor. The duck wasn't really that exciting to be honest, it was kinda a lifeless flabby piece of duck. In terms of the tempura, the shrimp was easily the star of the show, the shrimp was excellent, followed by the pumpkin, then the fish then the eggplant. I actually had major issues with the eggplant because my fingers were covered in grease when I used my fingers to pickup the eggplant, it was so freakin oily. I did love how visually appealing the two different udons looked."