BAKU — Restaurant in Charlotte

I haven't been this excited about a restaurant since the first time we checked out Chima in Uptown. The buildings unappealing exterior is is nowhere near as impressive as its interior decor. The menu features items sourced from local Carolina growers, Robata Meats, Seafood and Vegetables, Skewers, Tempura, Maki Rolls, Sushi/Sashimi, and Desserts. We were instructed to order between 3 - 4 plates each and try to sample various things from across the whole menu. We happily obliged and ordered the:

Kurobuta Pork and Sweet Onion Dumplings Assorted Fresh Vegetable Tempura with Tentsuyu Dipping Sauce Sake Glazed Chicken Wings with Lime and Sancho Salt Flake Marinated Lamb with Korean Chili and Garlic Spicy Filet of Beef with Black Pepper Sesame Sauce Beef Tenderloin and Asparagus Skewers Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Cinnamon Local Sweet Corn with Shiso Butter Baby Back Ribs with Star Anise, Cinnamon, Sweet Chili Glaze and Cashews Espresso Frangelico Truffles on Almond Florentine with Cinnamon Gingersnap Ice Cream and a Sour Cherry Sauce with Fresh Blackberries.

As a personal challenge to myself I decided I was going to eat everything we ordered with the chopsticks that were provided or my fingers when appropriate... that means absolutely no spoons, forks, or knives. Everything we ate fell in a range between simply delicious to truly mind blowing. The Kurobuta Pork and Sweet Onion Dumplings were soft, juicy, and an easy target for my chopsticks. The Assorted Fresh Vegetable Tempura with Tentsuyu Dipping Sauce was delicious, crunchy (especially the eggplant), and once again an easy target for my chopsticks. The Sake Glazed Chicken Wings with Lime and Sancho Salt Flake were the juiciest pieces of chicken I had ever sank my teeth into, they had a very faint grill flavor from the robata grill, and were an easy target for eating with my fingers. The Marinated Lamb with Korean Chili and Garlic was juicy and with its giant bone was easy to eat with my fingers.

The Spicy Filet of Beef with Black Pepper Sesame Sauce was the real robata star of the night. The beef was both tender and addictive, and gone in seconds via my chopsticks. The Beef Tenderloin and Asparagus Skewers were an unexpected surprise (we didn't order them) and we decided to eat them up before anyone realized the mistake :) The Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Cinnamon were incredibly soft with a faint hint of cinnamon and easy pickings for my chopsticks. My only complaint with the sweet potatoes were that they came with the skin on and when I tried to take a bite of them the skin came completely off and smacked me in the chin :( The Local Sweet Corn with Shiso Butter was crisp, sweet, lightly grilled, and my fingers made easy work of them. The Baby Back Ribs with Star Anise, Cinnamon, Sweet Chili Glaze and Cashews came out a little later than expected but well worth the wait.

For us the best part of the night is always dessert and for our dessert we had the Espresso Frangelico Truffles on Almond Florentine with Cinnamon Gingersnap Ice Cream and a Sour Cherry Sauce with Fresh Blackberries. The presentation was probably the most unique for a dessert we have ever come across. The ice cream was sitting on a block of ice, everything was resting in a bowl of ice, the espresso frangelico truffles were a dark chocolate lovers dream, the almond florentine was incredible, and I really wanted to drink the sour cherry sauce by itself. Dessert really put my chopstick skills to the test but I crushed it. The truffles were easy pickings, the almond florentine went down without a fight, and the ice cream proved to be a little difficult but with a steady hand I made it happen :)

Baku blew us away and is easily one of the best restaurants in Charlotte. The robata style cooking is unique, the menu is diverse, and the desserts are top notch. If you're bored with your normal Friday night restaurant check out Baku at Southpark and make sure you don't leave before...

I’m going to start this review by saying that I waited a while to be sure that our experience was as bad as I thought it had been. It truly was horrible. We were seated right away for our reservation. Our server asked us if we wanted to start with water. We did, and were given about a minute before she came back again to take the drink order. We weren’t ready, but asked to start with some hot green tea. I’ve never considered asking the price of hot green tea. I’ve been to some of the highest rated Japanese restaurants on both coasts. I have NEVER paid $5.00 for hot green tea - PER PERSON. If we’d known that was the case, we would have walked then and there.

She came back again after a few minutes. We ordered a Pom Kasai. This was a glorified Vodka Cran. We sent them back. No yuzu flavor, no heat from the single slices of serrano in each glass. She took them away and after about 10 minutes, we received our replacement drinks. They were much better (but how can you screw up an old fashioned?). Cocktails were also overpriced - minimum $12 up to $17. She pushed an appetizer special of Sea Urchin, Quail Egg, and Caviar to be taken like a shot. We ordered it along with two “Specialty Rolls.” The rolls came first. They were incredibly small - about the size of a spicy tuna roll at the grocery store. The uni shooters came next. She failed to mention that the black spoon they came on was drowning in soy sauce. Who in their right mind would drown sea urchin and quail egg with soy sauce? I would understand a few drops. There was also no caviar. We let them know it was one of the worst bites of food we’d ever eaten. The floor manager said that Charlotte isn’t cool enough for sea urchin and people are afraid to order it. And if we get the chance, we should try Japanese sea urchin. And that because we are “sushi eating professionals” - she seriously said that to us…. - we should try their Omakase nights. Not happening. If they destroy sea urchin, why would I trust them with more? Nothing was done to remedy the horrific experience of pure salt in our mouths - this was prior to our $55 sashimi bowl arriving. No apology. Imagine attempting to enjoy sushi grade fish with a mouthful of soy sauce lingering. Truly unpleasant. We obviously didn’t care about cost if we were ordering $55 Sashimi, but we expected high grade service, food, and atmosphere. It was extremely overpriced, uninnovative, created with little to no care, poor service and response and bottom line disappointing. I’m hoping that in the future, more people shine a light on this restaurant that shouldn’t be in business. For 2 green teas ($10), 2 cocktails ($30), 2 rolls ($32), 2 uni shooters ($36), 1 sashimi bowl ($55), we paid $200 after tip. Hand over fist, they’re raking it in. At least we can knock this one off our go to list and put at the top of...

My wife and I went for our anniversary dinner before a concert and there were highs as well as lows.

Let me start by saying that our server was absolutely phenomenal. He was personable, knowledgeable and attentive without being a nuisance. I can't remember his name but from observing the diners around us, his level of service seemed to be the standard. You couldn't ask for better service from the server.

The atmosphere is outstanding as well. They really went to great lengths to create a dining room that pays homage to Japanese design while obtaining a level of sophistication expected in the Southpark area. It's well suited to dinner with clients while also being romantic enough for an anniversary dinner such as ours.

Their wine list is extensive with options ranging from $30 - $2000+ and they have a full bar upstairs in case you want a cocktail. Their non-alcoholic beverage selection left something to be desired (No iced tea of any kind) with Coke products being served in small cocktail glasses that empty in no-time.

The food was VERY good in my opinion. Everything is served either tapas or family style so everyone can share which is a refreshing change every once-in-a-while. We started with the soft-shell crab roll which was excellent, after which we had their signature dumplings that were also very well done. While we waited for the duck breast we ordered their BB Noodles which left something to be desired in our opinion. After waiting for almost 45 minutes for the duck breast we finally had to ask for it to-go because we were going to be late to our concert. Our server was very professional about the wait, as was the manager and we were surprised when the check came and they had comped it. The table next to us (which was already enjoying an appetizer when we were seated) had just received their duck when our to-go bag arrived so we weren't the only ones who waited for it. Something like that is never as good at home so I can't really give an honest opinion about the dish as a whole but the breast itself was cooked to medium-rare (before microwaving, of course) and had a decent flavor. I'm sure when enjoyed there it's outstanding.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal despite the setbacks. The prices are reasonable for the level of service they provide, the atmosphere and where they are located. Would I drive an hour and a half to eat there again? Probably not. However, if I was already in the Southpark area I would certainly try them again in hopes the wrinkles would be ironed out. If you like sushi, I would absolutely give...