The opening night for a Japanese restaurant's new venue was a roaring success for those who love plentiful portions of sushi. Izakaya opened their second venue in Clifton last weekend and was full to the brim of people craving fresh Japanese cuisine.
Having enjoyed an evening at Izakaya's first venue on Park Street on Valentine's Day, I was thrilled to hear they were opening a second restaurant on Apsley Road in Clifton.
I attended the restaurant with my boyfriend, who is an avid fan of sushi, on their opening night last Saturday (April 1) and was pleased to see the restaurant was packed full of hungry customers.
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The exterior of the restaurant looked cosy and inviting with tiny lanterns illuminating the interior of the busy venue. Stepping inside, the restaurant was full of excitable chatter with plenty of tables situated around the top section for parties of all sizes.
We were seated immediately by our friendly host on a table in the left hand corner of the restaurant in front of a wall covered in colourful and vibrant Japanese posters that made for a fantastic backdrop for photos.
To our left, we could see the fully stocked bar on the lower section of the restaurant that featured a ceiling covered in beautiful fake Japanese blossom with fairy lights woven in between.
The new venue for Izakaya had been described as more of a cocktail bar with tapas with less of a focus on the main meals, and the bar boasted plenty of Japanese liquors that I'd never heard of before, including fukuoka amaou - a strawberry liqueur - and kyoto yuzu - a citrus liqueur.
A spokesperson for Izakaya said: "It's going to be more drinks oriented rather than food. It will still have the Japanese izakaya feel with the tapas and small plates, and less on the larger main meals."
With this in mind, I decided to try a cocktail but was unsure what to go for, being a cocktail novice myself. I ended up going for a Kamikaze which contained vodka, triple sec and lime juice and had absolutely no regrets.
It tasted like an alcoholic Tango Orange and warmed my chest instantly, the sweet orange flavour of the triple sec complimented perfectly by the slight kick of lime juice. Sadly, my boyfriend was not a fan as he claimed it was too strong, but I loved every sip.
Of course, when it came time to eat, I returned to my old faithful choice of Asahi, as I can't imagine going for sushi and not enjoying the Japanese lager. My boyfriend opted for a watermelon iced tea that was packed full of fruit and would be perfect to quench your thirst with on a hot summer day.
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The wait to order was a little longer than I would have liked as it took the waitress a good 25 minutes to come and collect our tick-box menu, where we had selected a huge assortment of food, but the restaurant was very busy for their opening night, otherwise I'm sure service would have been quicker.
The food arrived in quick succession, with our small plate of harumaki spring rolls from the tapas section of the menu landing on our table first. The spring rolls were crispy, not at all greasy and packed full of fresh fragrant vegetables.
The accompanying sweet chilli dipping sauce was incredibly juicy with the tiniest spice kick and complimented the spring rolls beautifully. Had we not had so much more food coming, I would have probably ordered more.
Next came the assorted uramaki set, made up of izakaya signature uramaki, California uramaki and ebi prawn and avocado uramaki. The sushi rice was soft and sticky and expertly held together the delicious fillings, not falling apart at all when we took to them with our chopsticks.
My favourite of the assorted uramaki would probably have to be the ebi prawn and avocado uramaki where the ingredients blended together wonderfully and tasted sensational. There was a generous amount of avocado which tasted incredibly creamy against the prawns.
The salmon hosomaki arrived as we were still working our way through the assorted uramaki set and I wasn't extremely blown away by them. Although the salmon tasted nice and fresh, there didn't seem to be much flavour to them and served more as a palate cleanser in between our different dishes.
'Showstopper'
I was thrilled when the showstopper of the night appeared before us - the deep fried pork gyozas. These were absolutely delicious, and with five gyozas on the plate, my boyfriend and I were forced to split the last between us because neither of us wanted to give up the final piece.
The gyozas held together strong when dipped in the accompanying soy sauce but fell apart instantly in our mouths. The pork had been cooked so delicately and the flavour of the meat combined with the sweet tangy Japanese mayonnaise that had been drizzled on top was pure perfection.
Just when I didn't think I could eat any more, our final dish of the night turned up - the chicken katsu curry. Despite already feeling full, we absolutely wolfed it down, loving every mouthful of the crispy succulent chicken that had been smothered in a slightly spicy and incredibly thick peanut sauce.
The assortment of vegetables hidden by the sauce were so tenderly cooked that they dissolved instantly in our mouths, but the shock of a bite of pure ginger root left my boyfriend a bit dazed, having not spotted it in amongst the dish.
We valiantly finished every plate, mopping up the final bits of sushi in the delicious dipping sauces, and had to sit for a while before leaving the restaurant due to our stomachs being so full.
We left fat and happy and already planning to revisit the cosy restaurant where staff had been so friendly and attentive. If you're looking for a romantic date night or a catch up with friends over a table that is piled high with an assortment of delicious dishes and tasty cocktails, then Izakaya is your place to go.
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