Brandon B.
Yelp
Ohaiyo gozaimasu! It's time for some fish on rice action, babygirls and babyguys...whatever, uh. It's time for some handrolls from Kei Concepts. Rol in Irvine is wrapping up some major delish fish as a dish, and it's probably what you wish!
Walking into the place, you're greeted with a nice, chill, dark restaurant with good lighting. The entire place is bar-seating only, so be prepared to get cozy up to a stranger while you dine! The reason it's bar seating is because they serve you these handrolls extra extra fresh, and the fastest way to do that is from hand to plate, as soon as it's rolled. I think it's a wonderful concept, and it's something novel that a lot of people haven't experienced.
We each got a 5-set to start, which we added to based on our preferences. This comes with a salmon, spicy tuna crunch, scallop, yellowtail, and an albacore roll. Kinda hard to show in video or pictures, but these things are filled with sushi rice and the aforementioned fish, and then they're wrapped in roasted seaweed. You're supposed to eat it as soon as it gets on your serving plate, so bottoms up! Give your soy sauce a pour, stick some wasabi on your roll, and get to chomping! The first thing you notice is that lovely crispy crunch of the still-dry seaweed, before the bite changes into that warm embrace of rice with the seasoned fish. Wow. Utterly scrumptious. Can't really beat it as an experience all on its own separate from a standard sushi restaurant. Of course, you don't have to order off the set menu, so go wild with whatever you like! They have quite a few menu options, so you'll find something you're gonna enjoy!
If fresh fish and Japanese is your goal, be sure to wheel yourself over to Rol!