Joe S.
Yelp
I've passed by this place many times while shopping at the mall and finally decided to give it a shot since I am a huge fan of hand rolls. It was a pleasant, though hot, day and we found a lovely shaded spot at the bar. After receiving some recommendations from the server, we both settled on the Combo 4 which included four hand rolls (Signature, Albacore, Salmon, Bay Scallop). We also ordered seaweed salad, some shishito peppers and a cut roll.
Our order arrived in these long, rectangular bento-style boxes. I was surprised that all four hand rolls came out at one time because the seaweed quickly gets soft & chewy if not consumed quickly. Opening the boxes revealed each hand roll in its own compartment, though they were not "rolled up" but rather "ready to roll up". Each compartment held a sheet of seaweed topped with a block of rice upon which a slice or block of protein was placed. Our server said that the seaweed will stay crispy until you fold the flaps over and start eating. That is partially true, though the bottom of the seaweed where the block of rice sits quickly became chewy like a rubber band.
The fish seemed pre-cut and the blocks of protein (bay scallops & signature, which is their spicy tuna) were almost certainly pre-formed. Overall, they were tasty, but they were nothing like the handrails you get at places like Seaweed Hand Roll Bar. HRB provides soy sauce in tiny medicine bottles with eye droppers, which is a nice touch for hand rolls because you can strategically place a few drop of soy as needed without having to dunk it in a small dish.
The seaweed salad was outstanding though I doubt it was made in-house. The shishito peppers were perfectly charred and tossed in a nice ponzu sauce. As with most shishito peppers, there is always one HOT one and yours truly managed to fry the inside of my mouth. LOL
The cut roll was superior to the hand rolls, but at $24 for 8 small pieces, it was way overpriced. Overall, I give 3 stars to the quality of the fish, 4 stars to the seaweed salad and shishito peppers, and 5 stars for the excellent service we received from the staff at the bar.