Tokyo Table, the first restaurant of many at the new Diamond Jamboree in Irvine, will have its grand opening tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17, at 5 P.M.
The restaurant's already got two outlets in L.A. County (Beverly Hills and Arcadia).
Other than the usual roster of rolls, teriyaki and tempura, this is a Japanese restaurant that looks like it wants to do EVERYTHING. The menu is as voluminous as those at Jerry's Deli — but hopefully, better with the execution.
A few things on it caught my eye. Sushi Pizza is described to have “baked sushi rice with salmon, scallops, crabmeat and onion, cut into bite-sized pieces and topped with sliced Jalapeno”. The menu has a picture of it being served on a wooden pizza paddle, though the thing looks like what a Little Caesars pizza cook would slap together when given sushi ingredients.
Then there's the ishiyaki section of the menu, where dishes are “served on sizzling stone bowls and plates heated to at least 500 degree Fahrenheit”. Along with potential third degree burns, you'll be able to enjoy sizzling garlic tuna (pictured) and “sukiyaki bibimbap rice”.
But the one thing I'm looking forward to is their homemade tofu. It will be served simply, in a basket with a garnish of green onion, sea salt, nori and soy dashi broth. If the price on the online menu is correct ($6.95), it will be outrageously expensive (for tofu), but hopefully, also outrageously good.
UPDATE: I've been informed that from Wed., Sept. 17th through Fri., Sept. 19th, anyone who dines at Tokyo Table will receive a gift certificate for 100% of your total check to use on a future visit.
Click HERE for details.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.