Hokido Japanese Restaurant - Review - Smyrna - Atlanta - The Infatuation

"If you’re in Smyrna and need sushi, there are admittedly better spots to get it than here. But their sushi menu has some winners and their dining room has a fancy-chill aesthetic that works great for dates, so there are enough reasons to keep Hokido in your sushi playbook. Tucked away in an unassuming shopping plaza next to a Five Guys, this Japanese restaurant has a crisp, white-walled dining room with a sushi counter where you can watch chefs slicing up your sashimi appetizer right in front of you. It’s easy to fit in with the Smyrna locals taking a long lunch or couples looking for a quick dinner-and-drinks escape. The menu has standards like a few bowls of just-OK ramen and proteins drizzled in teriyaki. But every table has sushi on it for a reason (it’s what they do best). So snag a few rolls. And just make sure one of them is the Hokido Dynamite—our favorite thanks to the sweet and spicy sauces that brighten up the flash fried salmon. Food Rundown Gyoza These aren’t very consistent. Sometimes they work. Sometimes there’s barely a hint of a sear on these pan-fried gyoza. It’s safer to just skip. Hokido Dynamite Roll It comes flash fried with a little bit of salmon and crab and a sprig of asparagus inside. A hefty drizzle of eel sauce and spicy mayo keep things tangy and play along nicely with the fried exterior. photo credit: Juli Horsford Crispy Spicy Tuna Skip this. The rice comes out a little too crispy, and the spicy tuna mash on top doesn’t taste as fresh as we would like. Wagyu Surf And Turf Roll You get slivers of A5 Miyazaki wagyu beef on top and shrimp tempura and crab salad inside this roll. The beef has a nice char, but other than that, the whole thing is underwhelming, especially for the $29 price tag. Tonkotsu Ramen Even if you opt for the spicy route, don't expect much flavor in this broth. The pork belly helps things out with a nice smoky taste. And the noodles have that chewy texture we love, so it’s suitable if you really want a bowl of ramen with your sushi, but you’re not here for this. photo credit: Juli Horsford Beef Teriyaki The beef is chewy and overcooked. Not even the decent teriyaki glaze can save it." - Juli Horsford