Researching Fukuoka, I learnt about this restaurant through a youtuber channel called Strictly Dumpling. As I have experienced in the past, these youtubers tend to be over-enthusiastic about the venues they visit. You will find here a more down-to-earth review with and at the end I will share a “ordering” strategy to enjoy this restaurant without breaking the bank.
The visit
I went there one afternoon to make a reservation. They have a reception where reservations are accepted throughout the day even if the restaurant is open only for dinner on weekdays. The reservation was not really necessary though, there were a lot of seats available at the counter on that evening.
The restaurant main dining room on the ground floor is truly beautiful with tanks filled with live seafood in the middle and two long ginkgo counters on the sides. Further tables are available behind the counters.
I was given a seat at the counter.
The horseradish (wasabi) was grated at the table. This was very classy, it is usually done in high-end omakase sushi restaurant. This kind of fresh wasabi is not so spicy as the one “in tubes”.
Two types of soy sauce were provided.
My first order was amadai fillet, a seasonal fish (more common in Kansai though). It was not so great and it was a micro-portion.
Then I wanted to try a Fukuoka quintessential dish, the local mackerel in sesame sauce. It was quite good, but again it was a micro-portion and I am pretty sure you can find better and cheaper options elsewhere. But I did not have a long time in Fukuoka to I took the plunge (it was not listed on the menu by the way, but they of course knew the dish).
Then I had two very interesting mentaiko dishes (they have a full page on the menu dedicated to mentaiko). The first was a kind of dumpling filled with mentaiko and with squid pulp all around. It was really good.
The second dish was nothing short of spectacular! It was a sardine neatly filled with mentaiko. The flavors were speaking the language of the sea. I understand it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
By the way, the company owning the restaurant is also a producer of seafood delicacies sold throughout Japan. The dumplings and some other mentaiko dishes are part of their offering. They have a retail shop close by the restaurant.
The restaurant is famous for their live seafood dishes (ikizukuri style). These dishes consist of sashimi and the rest of the fish is deep-fried (tempura or karaage style) or salt-grilled. The fish is prepared live.
Most of the fishes were very expensive. I decided to try the most accessible, the squid (ika) that is particularly renown for its tenderness in this region of Japan. The sashimi was brought to my table with a part of the squid still moving. Then I was left the sashimi and the rest was taken away to be deep-fried.
The result was some nice and tender fried squid. It was a portion for one person.
The check
All in all I spent 9,260 yen (86.5 USD). What to say? The level of service, quality of the seafood, and the decor commanded a premium price of course. The mentaiko dishes were very reasonably priced (less than 10 USD, maybe because part of the company’s retail offering), the live squid was ok (around 25 USD, for two would be 40). The amadai and mackerel dishes in terms of value for money were disappointing.
While keeping in mind the price tag, I would recommend the restaurant to try 1) one or two mentaiko dishes as I did, 2) maybe a marinated fish (I did not try them but there were some interesting options), 3) the live squid. This should keep your check under control (50-60 USD). If you start ordering sashimi or exotic fish, the check will soon skyrocket.
Finally, above you can see a picture of some of the company’s product on display in the retail store a few meters down the road.
Where in Fukuoka:
2-2-17, Daimyo, Chuo-ku.
In Japanese: 福岡市中央区大名2-2-17.
Website: chikae.co.jp/foreign/en/