I went into this place skeptically, as when I had first moved into town two months ago I found the idea of a quality Japanese restaurant standing unassumingly in an old house off of Rt. 130 too good to be true . . . so I continued to pass it without trying. Then I received a recommendation from someone I met down the shore, saying that the fish was simply ""fantastic"" and the inside of the house was warm and inviting. She went on to say that the staff was Japanese and the chef knew what he was doing. PLUS, it's BYOB - so with all of that as a sales-pitch, I decided to give it a shot. And man, all I can say is I'm sure glad I did.
This place is so under the radar it's almost invisible, but the fish could not be any fresher. I even tried their oysters, which our server said was a special that night and that the chef was preparing them in his special sauce. Being new to the restaurant, I initially played it safe, ordering stand-by's like shumai and seaweed salad (both of where were tasty) and then had the yellowtail jalapeno (AWESOME), which led me to be adventurous and order the oysters. Again, WOW. Beautiful little kumamotos, which couldn't have been fresher, and a wonderfully subtle smokey sauce that perfectly complemented the flavor of the oyster; reminded me of a much more expensive dish I've had several times before at the likes of Morimoto or Nobu. If they're available the night you're there, GET THEM. I'm craving them now as I type.
The maki we sampled ranged from outstanding (pepper-seared tuna w/avocado) to standard fare (yellowtail scallion), but all were VERY fresh; my assessment of this place is that the fish is their strongpoint. This said, on my next visit I'll be ordering more sushi and sashimi. And I'm also going to be trying their lunch special, available five days a week; with my dinner experience being as good as it was, I'm hoping to find a great sushi lunch deal in the area.
Point is this: old Victorian house on Rt. 130 in Cinnaminson does NOT equal sub-par Japanese. In fact, I prefer it to the more well-known establishments in Haddonfield and Cherry Hill.
Just go and try it for yourself.
Pros: Fresh fish, wonderful service, and BYOB
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