Sake Kawa

One of the really cool things about the Astoria neighborhood that is different than Manhattan and maybe Brooklyn, is that Japanese food is reasonably priced compared to the other boroughs. I am thinking part of the cause is because of the density of the Asian demographics in the area and having to be competitive with other neighborhood restaurants. This particular restaurant was just a few blocks north of Suzuki Shokudo.

Ambiance

The restaurant follows COVID protocols in that the tables are spaced decently apart. The interior was basically a typical Japanese neighborhood restaurant, so not too much into decor or anything. There was some light music playing in the background, and the foot traffic was fairly light on a Sunday evening.

The service was attentive and great. The waitress was quite friendly with us and made good recommendations for us.

Food

The ramune is a common Japanese carbonated soft drink. You press down the top of the bottle, and it pops a marble into the neck. The flavor is probably similar to a 7-up or Sprite.

The scallop carpaccio was off the special menu and was thinly sliced scallop with ponzu sauce, jalapeño, and tobiko. The jalapeño didn’t have much bite to it, and the tobiko didn’t really give it that salty pop either since it was drenched in ponzu. Regardless, the scallop was pretty fresh.

The kumamoto oysters was another item off their special menu and were simply 6 freshly shucked kumamotos with ponzu and some tiny fish roe. Kumamoto oysters are commonly found in the Pacific Northwest and are the signature west coast oyster demonstrating the sweet and cucumber crisp of the ocean. Again like the scallop, this was also dunked in ponzu which kind of takes away the flavor of the kumamoto. Some might think this is to mask the flavor of the oysters because they might not be fresh, but I do think they were very fresh. I poured out some of the ponzu, and definitely tasted the crisp and subtle brine of the kumamoto oyster.

The negimaki was broiled thin strips of beef wrapped around scallion stalks. The meat was quite tender and pretty good. The scallions inside were super soft. The teriyaki sauce was a little odd to me, but fortunately it wasn’t overly sweet.

The pepper tuna tataki was simply sashimi grade tuna with a heavy pepper crust and lightly seared on the outside. It sat in ponzu and on top of thinly sliced cucumber strips. The fish was fresh, and it tasted pretty much how it looks.

The hwy 17 roll was a deep fried roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese, crab meat, chili sauce, kapayaki, and sweet chili sauce. Sometimes, my guilty pleasure is ordering these American-ish rolls because they just taste good, and this is no different. The combination of all these ingredients creates a very nice symphony on your tastebuds. Soy sauce is not needed.

The salad here was included as part of the sushi and sashimi combo. It was just simply lettuce with the typical Japanese dressing.

The sushi and sashimi combo included 5 pieces of sushi, 11 pieces of sashimi, and a spicy tuna roll. I won’t go over the things here, but all the fish tasted very fresh. The slices were surprisingly thick. The spicy tuna roll was actually pretty good because it actually had a significant kick to it. I would love to see a spicy tuna rice bowl.

Final Verdict

For a neighborhood Japanese restaurant, the seafood is fresh and delicious. There might be some questionable seasoning such as the overuse of ponzu, but the food is a win win if you crave for the typical Japanese sushi restaurant items.

Yelp Jabs

I took off 0.5 stars because the ambiance was lacking a bit and the interior were pretty no-frills

I suppose it’s fair for an elitist to dock half a point for the interior. I really think this restaurant does well in what it’s aiming to do.

We ordered the omakase. 1 hour into our waiting we got served miso soup and edamame. Getting excited cause we thought our sushi was coming! But we got nothing. As time pasted I started to notice they were backed up…at this point 3 out of 9 got served. There were also grubhub and ubereats drivers waiting for pick up. Most of them waited 30-40 minutes….the phones were ringing non-stop.

Keep in mind that the situation probably could have been better handled by the restaurant, but going to a small neighborhood restaurant on Valentine’s Day has rarely seemed like a great idea. Larger restaurants with large kitches can handle this easy. Small mom and pops not so much.