The Gastronomical Quandry of Katsuya

We had a set spending limit of $225. Of course I went for the decadent and high end items I would normally not be able to afford. Unfortunately, Katsuya really did not deliver, or at least in the way I was hoping. Instead it delivered exactly as promised by the previous reviews I had seen online. The ingredients are fancy and trendy while the execution kills them with sauces and spices. Maybe I'm being picky, but unless you are ordering the foie gras just for the appearance of refinement or on the principles of conspicuous consumption, you probably actually want to taste it, not have it be almost completely drown out in sauce. That being said, it was a nice establishment, the presentation was great, and the service was excellent. Considering location and ingredients the prices were reasonable, too. The food was just merely adequate considering what they were working with.

Between five people we ordered the super toro sashimi, a sunset roll, spicy albacore sashimi with crispy onion, sea urchin sashimi, the Katsuya ceviche, Kobe beef fillet with foie gras, a lobster dynamite roll, a spicy tuna roll, salmon sashimi, a rock shrimp tempura roll, and to start a bowl of edamame and miso soup for everyone. My favorite was the sea urchin, best with just a couple drops of lemon on top, and I most loathed the spicy albacore, which was basically poor cuts of albacore that were spiced and served with homemade French's onions on top. The ceviche was pretty good as well, slightly sweet and tangy. Everything else was a let down, either badly prepared or just mediocre. I guess I feel like I might have been expecting too much, and everything but the taste of the food itself (and occasionally the music selection) was great, but I would rather go to a restaurant that is filthy, staffed by syphilitics, and plays nothing but a cappella Creed covers if the food is outstanding. Priorities, I guess.


tldr: ok food, poorly used ingredients, written while drunk.