Type of Restaurant: Sushi, Izakaya Style

If you are looking for a dinner or late night spot for some good sushi, look no further! Izakaya is a term in Japanese that means drinking establishment. The restaurant is often called Torae Torae by some to shorten the length of the name and because there are so many Izakaya restaurants in Hawaii.

The owner is a Korean woman that was raised and lived in Japan. She decided to open this restaurant after one of her other restaurants closed. The team that is behind creating the dishes is lead by Chef Yoshimoto.

If you take a look at the style of the restaurant, it is a fusion between Asian, American, and Spanish.

First Impression:

Upon arrival, the waitresses were very enthusiastic and polite and led us to our table immediately. Also, the sushi chefs behind the counter shouted the traditional saying for anyone entering a Japanese establishment. “Irasshaimase!”

The tables were all set up with dishes, napkins, chopsticks, and a shoyu dish. The menus were very neat and divided into appetizers, grill, fryer, rice/soup, and dessert. There was also a drink menu that was available as well as a happy hour menu, since we arrived there after 10pm.

We decided what we wanted to order and the waitress promptly made her way to our table with waters in hand. We made our order and she asked us if we had any questions about any of the items on the menu.

While we were waiting for our food, I observed the atmosphere and interactions that were being made. The walls of the restaurant are adorned with local art from an artist by the name of Chanel Tanaka. The music that filled the restaurant was not what you would expect from a normal sushi restaurant. The sushi chef, Yoshimoto, prefers rock music and it is blasted throughout the restaurant for the customers to enjoy as well as the staff in the kitchen.

The dishes took about 15 minutes to come out and they looked unbelievable. Pictured is the Spicy Tuna Tartare, which is a fusion between Spanish and Asian. The “chips” are made of seaweed and wonton wrappers. The meat is tuna tartare that was mixed in with a spicy tuna sauce and underneath the tuna mixture is an avocado mixture that resembles guacamole, but the avocado underneath does not have the traditional garlic, lemon juice, tomatoes, or onions in it. It is just a avocado, salt, and pepper mixture. On top of the avocado and tuna is a quail egg and strips of nori, seaweed, and a drizzle of unagi sauce.

The spicy tuna tartare was an amazing starter that had a good blend of Asian and Spanish influences. The avocado was not seasoned too much so that the ahi tartare, with the powerful seasoning, could complement and and not be too overpowering. The “chips” were very crispy and seasoned with a light touch of salt.

Next, the Bara Chirashi Don is pictured. The bowl is called a don and features ahi, hamachi, and salmon over a bed of rice that has been seasoned with rice vinegar. On top are ikura eggs, green onions, nori flakes, and a side of ginger.

I really enjoyed the bite sized shapes of sashimi that was in my don. If the sashimi was kept in the original size, it would have been a bit difficult to eat because of the fish to rice ratio, being that the fish would have been twice the size of the serving of rice per scoop. All of the ingredients were fresh and seasoned to perfection.

Lastly,  we had the ahi carpaccio. This dish features hand cut slices of ahi with a bed of shiso leaves underneath. On top it has uni, sweet shrimp, sliced green onions, sesame seeds, ikura, and a housemade yuzu dressing.

The combination of sweet, savory, salty, sour was a very umami experience. The local sweet shrimp that was included in this dish was so enjoyable. Although i'm not a big shiso fan, I didn't mind having it included at all.

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Lasting Impressions:

All of the cuts of fish were fresh and every dish was made with care and perfection. There was nothing that I did not like and everything was seasoned terrifically. If you are an Izakaya or sushi fan make sure to visit this establishment to continue supporting local businesses!