Aozora Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Danville

It's been on my todo list to try Aozora, and I finally got around to it tonight. I'm glad I did. I started with an Old Fashioned made with a Japanese whiskey the waiter recommended, which was made perfectly. Then I had okonomiyaki, salmon sashimi, and a red dragon roll. I was intrigued by the okonomiyaki. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I discovered this dish on a trip to Tokyo a few years ago. It's very common there. There are two styles- Hiroshima style and Osaka style. Aozora has the Osaka style and my preference, from my limited experience in Tokyo, was the Hiroshima style. But not many restaurants in the US carry this dish, in either style. The few I have found in the Bay Area have not been that good. I will say it was DELICIOUS at Aozora and perfectly just like what I had in Tokyo. I don't know if a Hiroshima style would be any better, because this was so good (for anyone going to Tokyo- try "Tepan Baby" in Shinjuku!). Then the sashimi was just right- very fresh and expertly prepared. The red dragon roll was also very fresh and tasty. The staff was helpful, friendly and outgoing- even bringing me a free extra dish after my meal (jalapeno hamachi which was also very tasty). The staff really made me feel like a welcome guest there.

For years I've been going to another popular sushi place in Dublin. The food at Aozora is at least as good as this one, and the overall experience was much better. For sure this is going to be my new go-to sushi spot, and I"m looking forward to trying some more dishes and rolls with my family (I hope the beef is as good as everything else). Highly...

If you're looking for quality sashimi and sushi, I don't recommend Aozora. I came here for my birthday dinner on a weeknight with a reservation and we were still asked to wait 15 minutes for our table. I watched others with reservations get seated before us. That was just the start of our bad experience. We ordered the chef's choice sashimi platter and it arrived plated nicely, but upon eating, we found bones and scales in our fish... I have NEVER experienced this, even at a cheaper sushi restaurant. For the price I'm paying for the "chef's choice," I expect way better from trained sushi chefs. This was a joke. The server could not even tell us which fish were being served and had to go ask. We brought the bones and scales to the attention of our server who asked us "what do you want me to do about it?" in a condescending tone... which was really awkward and we didn't know what to say. He didn't talk to the chefs, but he did go speak to the manager who just looked at our table and did not come our way to apologize. The server also knew we were there for my birthday and did not apologize for the poor experience they provided us with. The restaurant is also super cramped and loud and not a peaceful environment. There are way better Asian-owned sushi restaurant out there, I would recommend checking...

My husband and I used to come here a few years back for dinner and decided to come for lunch hour for the first time. We were pretty sure the owners have changed since the last time we visited after noticing the presentation was a bit different. The miso soup came with a metal spoon.. As soon as we sat down they brought us water with a heaping scoop of ginger (when we didn’t even order sushi). When I asked the server (Breana) about why they put so much ginger on the plate she replied quite rudely that most customers like to have a lot of ginger. Ive worked in the restaurant industry myself and for a nicer, upscale environment (as the prices reflect) for this restaurant you would think they’d welcome any tips or at least try to respect the culture. Off course the one time I came here with my mom who happens to be Japanese (trying to give advice to not waste so much ginger) we felt that we our feelings weren’t welcomed. It’s too bad that their sister restaurant Kaori closed down because my mom and I actually went there a few times and it was definitely a more authentic Japanese bento meal. It’s too bad the chef/owner left. All in all we were quite disappointed. Food was just okay for Japanese food but maybe we’ll stick to dinner if we do ever go back. Just don’t expect an ‘authentic’...