Zake is my new favorite sushi place. I've eaten here a few times but there are other sushi places closer to me so I forget that Zake exists sometimes. My fiancee and I were in the neighborhood looking for a place to eat. I saw Zake and I thought he might like to try a different sushi place to compare with other sushi places we've been to (Uptown Sushi, Ra, and Miyako). Zake isn't has cheap as Miyako's sushi happy hours but I think the quality of the sushi is better. And Zake's atmosphere is much more laid-back but still cool and modern Asian compared to Uptown Sushi's uppity (snobby) "place to be seen" atmosphere.
Anyway, on to the food which is the more important part of a dining experience. The sushi was very fresh and nice portions of fish. The fresh salmon sushi melted in the mouth. We tried the Sky Diver roll which had soft-shelled crab and eel drizzled with a creamy spicy sauce and it was delicious. We also had the Sea Dragon roll which had lobster, shrimp, and avocado also drizzled with a creamy spicy sauce and it was delicious too although not as memorable as the Sky Diver roll. Our waiter (John I think) was awesome. He was very attentive and I could tell he genuinely cared that we were happy with our dining experience, always looking over to see if we needed anything and checking in with us to make sure everything was good. He made us a special sauce to dip our sushi in, made from ponzu sauce mixed with sriracha sauce. After we tasted it with our sushi, it was so yummy and tangy that the poor soy sauce got ignored. We finished all our sushi and left feeling very satisfied. I haven't had a bad experience at Zake so far but this last time has converted me to a Zake fan!
Pros: sushi quality & selection, service, ambience
Cons: not close enough to where I live
more