Dec 14

Dec 14 Izakaya Akatora Grand Opening

Today was the official grand opening of Izakaya Akatora in Downtown Alhambra. Of course I was on-hand to check it out. Akatora's original location is actually in Manhattan Beach. They have skewers, fusion items like a Japanese spring roll with tuna that is reminiscent of a Vietnamese spring roll, and omakase! It's always nice to welcome a new business to the San Gabriel Valley!The skewers were tasty. You can never go wrong with skewers! Since we were in Alhambra, we decided to order this special Alhambra sushi roll! I liked how the sushi were made of smaller bites. I hate when eateries try to stuff you full by putting lots of rice and drenching sushi with sauces to cover up the taste of the fish. Each piece of the assorted sushi was extremely fresh and chosen by the Chef. A stand-out was definitely the last piece, which was a Japanese Barracuda. Very unique! Perhaps the dish I was the most skeptical of was the Japanese spring roll. The manager had recommended this dish saying it was a Japanese Vietnamese fusion of flavors. I have to admit. I wasn't thrilled at the thought of having tuna sashimi bits wrapped inside a Vietnamese rice paper. It was surprisedly very tasty. I definitely would eat this right away though. Being familiar with the texture of the the rice rolls, I know if you left it out for long it would get soggy. Overall, the staff is still getting the kinks all worked out. Not bad for Day #1. It can only get better from here. For 3 people, our bill came out to $107. Definitely on the pricey side, but the fish quality and the location also should be taken into consideration.