a Japanese restaurant that deserves its' great reputation!
Written: Feb 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great food, sake selection and service
Cons: wait is often required, parking difficult
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| vickie's Full Review: Ginza - Brookline |
How can you beat fresh seafood, good service and 15 kinds of hot sake? I'm fresh out of ideas for ways that Ginza Japanese Restaurant could get a whole lot better!
The food:
I LOVE sushi and sashimi (like to eat it every week) and the quality of the fish here--freshness, preparation and presentation--is truly excellent. The sashimi deluxe includes salmon, tuna red clam, fluke and crab stick, all arranged on shaved daikon in a decorative table-top boat The cost is $24.15--including miso soup and salad (regular sashimi is $18.65). There are 12 additional entree choices from the sushi bar. The most intriguing one is the lobster and sashimi combo which features live lobster sashimi. It looks great and the presentation is really beautiful--but it remains a more "adventurous" choice than I am ready for!
The menu from the sushi bar is awesome in terms of its variety as well as freshness. There are 29 different a la carte sushi choices and 25 choices of makimono, rolled sushi. A la carte suchi prices range from 2.75 (egg omelette and crab stick) to $7.40 (sea urchin with quail egg--I pass on this one too!).
For those who like their food hot, the menu has no less variety. You can choose from 4 kinds of tempura ($11.25-18.95)and 5 kinds of agemono ($14.25-$16.25). Agemono is deep fried seafood or meat with a light bread crumb batter. Ginza offers 8 kinds of teriyaki, 5 choices of broiled fish and eel (I HAVE tried the froiled fesh water eel with sweetened soy sauce glaze and it's really good!). There are 3 choices of yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) and 4 choices of nabemono (a traditional hot pot). Noodle lovers are not left lacking--there are 4 choices of a la carte soba and tenzaru.
I should mention that the tofu used by Ginza is the country style tofu. It is more firm and dry than other types. For some, like my husband, this is "the best". For those who prefer the "silken" type of tofu, it's disappointing. The flavor is excellent however!
How can any restaurant maintain great quality with such a huge and varied menu? Traffic volume!! This restaurant is busy!! Be prepared for at least a 30 minute wait--reservations are not accepted.
The service:
To my surprise, customer service is also a strength of Ginza--in spite of the throngs of people waiting to get it. The wait help is extremely responsive. There is a lovely little bar for a sake while you wait. There are 5-6 sushi chefs working during peak hours and they seem to swing those knife blades faster than an electric fan. The wait for sushi and sashimi is only a few minutes--even on the busiest evening!
The bar choices:
I would be remiss if I did not mention the breadth of the bar choices at Ginza (perhaps this is one of the reasons you don't mind the wait!). In addition to the 15 different hot sakes, Ginza offers 3 kinds of cold sake by the glass and 5 kinds of cold sake by the carafe. If you've never tried cold sake, I highly recommend that you do! It's very refreshing. And for a real treat, ask for cold sake over ice with sliced cucumber in it. Leave the cucumber in the glass until you have finished the sake and eat it last. The sake adds a delicious flavor--very different from the cucumber you started with! For beer lovers there are 9 choices of Japanese beers and 1 American--Bud (you have to get a chuckle out of this one!)!
The ambiance:
This restaurant is decorated with blonde wood, focused beam track lighting around the bar and occasional hangings of Japanese fabric (over doorways). The room feels light and airy. It looks "alive" without being excessively bright. It is somewhat noisy, but not so much that it is a distraction. Booths are available for seating along one wall, otherwise it is table seating. I was extremely pleased to see that the number of tables for 2 people is very limited and the staff frequently place parties of 2 at tables for 4 (something I NEVER saw when I lived in NYC). The result is that you never feel like you are sitting on top of someone else when you dine here.
I highly recommend Ginza Japanese Restaurant in Brookline!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
vickie
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Location: Waltham, MA
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 113 members
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