Sushi Roku Makes Their Orange County Debut in Newport Beach

Sushi Roku, a contemporary sushi restaurant that is a part of the Innovative Dining Group made its’ debut in Newport Beach at the Fashion Island Shopping mall on Monday, June 1^st as the 6^th location, but is also the first to arrive in Orange County.  Other dining locations include Hollywood, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Las Vegas, NV, and Scottsdale, AZ. The menu has always been known to be diverse & offers a variety of Japanese cuisine combined with global flavors. 

On our recent visit to Sushi Roku I was extremely impressed.  I love sushi and before my Sushi Roku experience, I thought I had experienced the best of what sushi had to offer, but after dining here I found that I was quite mistaken!  Sushi Roku seems to cross boundaries by creating daring blends of flavors that I would normally question, but are actually quite appealing to the palate! We had the opportunity to try a variety of dishes that both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed!

To start off our meal we each selected a cocktail.  Our selections were The Lychee Imperial and the Far East Mule. The Lychee Imperial was perfect and not too sweet. The ingredients in this cocktail were Beluga Vodka, lychee fruit, & Kaffir lime. In my husband’s cocktail, the Far East Mule, there was a blend of Bombay East, House-Made ginger syrup, lime juice, cucumber slices, and thai basil.  We both enjoyed each of these cocktails and we were ready to eat!

For our first dish, we had the “Fluke Kumquat Sashimi” with yuzu vinaigrette along with a nice blend of Black truffle sea salt, kumquats, and uzu.  This dish melted in my mouth and we could have continued to eat this all day with more cocktails and be quite satisfied. 🙂

Tuna Beet Carpaccio soon arrived to our table with a beautiful blend of several different thinly sliced colored beets along with thinly sliced tuna with a tad of goat cheese.  There was truffle sauce served with this dish which was quite heavenly.

Next, we moved on to the “Blue crab Tartare” prepared with caviar and uni. (sea urchin) I am not a huge sea urchin fan, but the blend of these two items together was perfect.  Even without the sea urchin (and I can definitely vouch for that since I was a bit afraid to eat the uni at first) this blue crab was divine!  I tried to eat this dish as slowly as possible because I wanted to savor the flavor!

Prior to our next course, our wine sommelier recommended a white wine from Serbia that he explained would go quite well with our next two seafood dishes! I must say, we were both quite excited about this wine because we had never tried a wine from Serbia before and quite honestly, we did not even know Serbia was up and coming in the wine industry…When Chris approached our table with the bottle of Trijumf Gold, a white blend made up of 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Pinot Blanc, & 5% Riesling, we were unsure of what to expect.  This wine was perfectly well rounded and paired quite nicely with our 2 dishes to come!

Next, we enjoyed the “Tuna Tartare” prepared with Yuzu guacamole, and white soy truffle.  The soy truffle sauce in this dish was so delicious.  The manager had explained to us that there were a variety of different sauces the chefs prepare daily and that this was one of them.  After I tasted this sauce, I literally would have loved to purchase a bottle and have it my house to devour on a regular basis!  In one word…Delicious!!!

Next, we had the “Yellowtail Diced Chiles” that were prepared with diced jalapeños, green onion, olive oil and ponzu sauce with a bit of dikon.  I was worried this dish would be spicy considering it mentioned jalapenos, but I was personally quite relieved to find that all of the seeds were removed and what was left was a delicious peppery flavor that paired well with the yellowtail!

We then moved on to a dish that I have seen people eat, but I had never actually tried myself. This next dish was called, “Hanabi” which is a spicy tuna set on top of a bed of crispy rice.  Although there was a bit of spice to this one, it was nothing I couldn’t handle. This was yet another dish I tried my best to devour slowly because I did not want the burst of flavor in my mouth to ever end!

Prior to our next course, we told the sommelier to select the wine that he thought we would like best with the next menu selection we were about to enjoy.  He promptly came to our table with a glass of Penfold’s Shiraz and explained that the bold, yet smooth flavor of this Australian wine would pair perfectly with our entrée.  He truly matched this one just right!

We then moved on to “Filet, Foie & Asparagus.”  This dish was created with filet mignon, foie gras, and asparagus and it was wrapped in bacon.  There was a great flavor!

Arriving to our table as the next call of business was the  A-5 Japanese Wagyu Beef “Toban-Yaki” which was wagyu beef on a hot rock as can be seen here.:) 

Up next was the “Braised Short Ribs” which were full of flavor!

See in this next photo “Sea Bass Yakitori.”

A glass of Italian Prosecco was brought to our table next to enjoy with the last of our meal.  This Italian specialty brought back fond memories of my recent trip to Italy!

The last savory item of the evening was a Sushi Variety plate jam packed with toro sushi, king crab, albacore, salmon, baked crab and butter sauce.  This hit the spot and I would order this for dinner on any given night!

Lastly, after many delicious items that I must go back to enjoy again soon, we were served the “Banana Flambe” & the “Smores.”  Both of these were delectable goodies, but I would have to say the Smores was my favorite! 🙂

Sushi Roku truly uses the freshest fish that comes from around the globe.  All sushi is hand-selected at the fish market every morning. There are more than two dozen different types of fish with traditional favorites such as fresh toro, uni, and hamachi.  The restaurant also features a selection of signature rolls, which include Crunchy Spicy Tuna with avocado and Baked Lobster in creamy miso sauce, to a more intricate Katana Roll with spicy tuna and shrimp tempura topped with tuna and yellowtail. Sushi Roku’s fresh fish can also be enjoyed in a selection of both hand and cut rolls.

The execution of these dishes is fabulous as well! Not only did each item I eat at Sushi Roku taste amazing, they were all decorated just beautifully. The presentation was a sight for the eyes. In addition to sushi, there is also modern Japanese cuisine offered as well as a variety of hand crafted cocktails designed by mixologists, and certified sake and wine sommeliers to pair the perfect beverage with each dish.

“We’ve been looking forward to making our debut into Orange County’s vibrant dining scene for quite some time,” said Lee Maen, Partner at Innovative Dining Group, the parent company for Sushi Roku. “We are excited to share our modern approach to Japanese cuisine as well as Roku’s outstanding level of hospitality at this stunning location in Fashion Island.”

Last but not least, I must share that Sushi Roku’s happy hour menu is very impressive! The happy hour menu includes $3 to $6 bites, including edamame with truffle butter, seared Albacore sashimi with crispy onions, and pork kakuni sliders, all of which can be paired with a fine selection of $3 beers and $4 to $7 cocktails and wines!  Please share your thoughts below with me about your experience to Sushi Roku! I love this place and cannot wait to go back!

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