Japanese restaurants Archives

Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen Brings Sushi Back to the Tower District

May 17, 2021 by Natali Carrera Leave a Comment

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Natali Carrera is a devoted coffee addict who also loves her teenage son, her husband of 19 years and shopping small & local. She is the founder & CEO of parent support non-profit Success Together, Inc. and has been a freelance content creator for FresYes.com for 7 years. Natali is an unrelenting cheerleader for and lifelong resident of Fresno, as well as a Fresno State grad.

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Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen brings sushi back to the tower district — A variety of mouthwatering rolls and appetizers available at Banzai (image credit: Banzai)

This weekend, I was excited to enjoy my first indoor dining experience since Covid at a brand-new, locally-owned restaurant in the Tower District. Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen opened in the former Casa de Tamales location on N. Olive between Palm & Fulton just a couple doors down from the Lincoln Pub & Grub. The Lincoln Pub made a name for itself by offering craft cocktails and tasty appetizers, like their signature Tempura Green Beans with Spicy Aioli dipping sauce for just $5. Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen Brings Sushi Back to the Tower District

You may be wondering why the Lincoln Pub is so relevant to the opening of a new sushi and Japanese restaurant. The exciting thing about both businesses is that they share common co-owners in David Rasavong and his wife, Anna Nguyen. I can’t help but proudly cheer for local business owners who have found a way to make it through the extreme challenges of owning an eatery through a pandemic including shifting their business model to include offering affordable and tasty family-style dinners by co-owner Chef Andy, and cocktails to-go. I also proudly cheer for the fact that they kept going, kept prices affordable and then went on the bring even more options to Fresno restaurant-goers by opening a second business and a totally different cuisine.

Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen is a table service restaurant that offers a wide variety of sushi rolls and other Japanese specialties like a fresh seafood salad, spicy garlic edamame, teriyaki beef, katsu pork, and crispy tofu bento box meals for those who aren’t big sushi fans. Their menu also includes fusion dishes like their new Sumo Fries (which are fries topped with steak, spicy masago, and avocado), their crispy, giant breaded and stuffed Mushroom Bombs, and fan-favorite Poke Nachos.

Sumo Fries at Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen — Banzai’s new Sumo Fries (image credit: Banzai)

Banzai’s interior has undergone a complete makeover since Rasavong took over and the interior of the restaurant now features an open floor plan with a u-shaped, blue-light lit bar centered in the dining area. Murals by local artists make for great dining and Instagram backdrops. The full bar offers a wide variety of cocktails including specialty drinks featuring Japanese whiskies, and if you like pineapple I highly recommend the Tokyo-lada.

My friends and I visited for a birthday on a busy Saturday evening and were able to be seated quickly, the service was friendly, efficient, and attentive despite the restaurant being busy. Tables are spaced for distancing between parties and condiments, menus, and other items were thoughtfully prepared to be single-use to reduce risk as we wane out the later end of the pandemic.

If you’re ready to head to the restaurants whether you eat indoors or out, I would definitely recommend adding Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen to your list of places to visit very soon. I think you’ll really enjoy it!

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Banzai Japanese Bar & Kitchen Brings Sushi Back to the Tower District

Hungry for something new? Try Namikaze for a fresh take on Japanese food

September 10, 2018 by JoAnn Hallum Leave a Comment

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JoAnn Hallum

Houseplant killing optimist- freelance writer -kid herder

Delicious sushi rolls are popular items

My neighbor recommended Namikaze to me as a great place for really good sushi. Once I tried it, I wasn’t disappointed. The Katana roll I ordered was topped with amazingly fresh salmon. It was stuffed with shrimp tempura, crab, and avocado, and topped with the salmon, sliced onion, spicy may, sriracha, tobiko, and scallions.

Apparently I’m not the only one who loves Namikaze’s Katana roll—according to co-owner James Edwards, the Katana, Maiko, and Kimon rolls are some of the restaurant’s most popular sushi offerings.

Katana roll at Namikaze

More than sushi

If sushi isn’t your thing, there’s still a lot to choose from. My husband ordered the Honey Chili Seafood Mix. This is an entrée, so it came with a side of rice, green salad, and miso soup.

The main dish is a sautéed variety of scallops, shrimp, and calamari tossed in a honey glaze on top of sautéed vegetables. There was so much food, my husband wasn’t able to finish it all.

Honey Chili Seafood Mix at Namikaze

The restaurant offers a daily Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m., where you can sample the popular Namikaze Nachos and raw oysters. There’s also a $12 lunch combo served daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

According to Mr. Edwards, the restaurant’s goal is to serve delicious, healthy, and contemporary Japanese cuisine in a modern, casual setting. In that vein, you’ll find unique offerings like Tofu Steak, Miso Cioppino with fresh crab legs, calamari and more in a tomato miso broth, and even Uni Pasta. It’s pasta that’s tossed in an uni garlic cream sauce, topped with roe and daikon sprouts.

On my next visit, I’m excited to try the ramen. You can order Spicy Miso Ramen with a vegetarian stock and gluten-free option, or my favorite, the Tonkotsu Ramen, which is breaded pork loin.

The Uni Pasta. (Photo courtesy of Namikaze.)

Visit Namikaze today

The vibe inside the restaurant is casual and clean, with white chairs and calming blue wave patterns on the wall. It’s a great place to take a lunch break or grab a bite and watch the game with friends and family. Not only is the food fresh and tasty, the business is owned by locals who have been in the Fresno restaurant business for 20 years.

Namikaze is located at Champlain and Perrin, at 1134 E. Champlain #108. Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the restaurant offers catering services, as well. You can find out more about their menu and hours by visiting their website here, or following them on Facebook.

Have you tried Namikaze yet?

Tamari Robatayaki and Whisky Bar brings a new style of Japanese cooking to Fresno

January 17, 2018 by Natali Carrera Leave a Comment

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Natali Carrera

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As someone who tries to keep an ear out for local restaurants and businesses opening, whenever I hear of a new place to eat that offers something different from anything I’ve tried before, I get excited.

Recently, I heard about the opening of Tamari Robatayaki & Whisky Bar on “Restaurant Row” in the North Pointe Center on Palm and Herndon, and my interest was piqued. What is “Robatayaki”? I had to find out.

Robatayaki skewers are grilled in front of you in the main dining area at Tamari, at temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees

Fireside cooking seals in flavor

According to the restaurant’s website, “Tamari” comes from the Japanese word for gathering place, and “robatayaki” is a term that comes from the word “robota” meaning “fireside or hearth, the center of the home.” Robatayaki essentially means “fireside cooking.”

Intrigued, my husband and I ventured out to give Tamari a try. With its prime location, sandwiched between well-known restaurant heavy-hitters Parma and Cracked Pepper, our expectations were high.

When we arrived, a friendly hostess opened the door for us and, despite there being a sizeable Saturday night crowd, she sat us immediately. (She did ask whether we had a reservation, which we didn’t, though it’s good to know the restaurant does accept them.) We were seated at a table and our server, Sandy, greeted us promptly and was warm and friendly.

Sandy asked if we’d had robatayaki before (we hadn’t), and proceeded to explain that robatayaki is a type of grilling in which fresh meats and produce are skewered then heated over a super-hot grill burning a specialized charcoal called Binchō-tan. Binchō-tan charcoals provide a cooking temperature as high as 1,000 degrees, allowing food to cook extremely quickly while simultaneously sealing the natural flavors of the food, rather than them being cooked out over time.

Tamari’s extensive bar selection is displayed in warm light on modern-looking, natural wood shelving

Extensive menu offerings, including a large selection of whisky

In addition to the robatayaki menu options, which consist of a wide variety of meats including pork belly, lollipop lamb chops, prawns, rib eye, and more, as well as vegetables such as corn with Shiso butter, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and Brussels sprouts, Tamari also offers a wide range of Asian fusion menu items such as sushi, customizable ramen bowls, and yakisoba noodles.

Beyond the numerous food options, and as is stated in its name, Tamari is also a whisky bar offering an extensive selection of whiskies from around the world, as well as a full bar with signature cocktails, craft beer, and wine.

Trying out the food

In order to sample something from many menu categories, my husband and I tried the following:

Blossom-tini and Bow and Blade Whisky

The Three Wishes Roll featuring salmon, tuna, yellowtail, cucumber, crab, masagoes, green onion, spicy aioli, unagi sauce, and wasabi aioli

Chicken Yakisoba with Steamed Rice

Kohitsuji (Lollipop Lamb Chops) and Mekyabetsu (Brussels Sprouts)

Tomoroskoshi (Corn with Shiso butter)

Our overall opinion of the food was that everything tasted very fresh. The lamb was tender and flavorful and the sauces and Shiso butter added a lot to each dish. My Blossom-tini was tart and refreshing instead of sweet and cloying like too many pink drinks in martini glasses can be, and my husband enjoyed carefully choosing the whiskies he wanted to try from such an extensive selection, many of which he’d never heard of before.

The robatayaki dishes were extremely hot (though not burned or singed) and heated all the way through, and we both agreed you really could taste the natural flavors of the food well. I can’t imagine how amazing Fresno State corn could be with the Shiso butter (like a mild, sweet garlic butter) when it’s in season, if Tamari sources it.

Though you can definitely watch your food being cooked robatayaki-style, it’s a more passive and less-engaged experience than, say, eating at a sushi bar or Teppanyaki restaurant. That being said, Tamari’s food is quite tasty and unique, and if you’re a whisky drinker, you’re sure to be delighted by all the options presented to you.

So, what do you think readers? Will you be putting a robatayaki experience on your must-try list?