Okura Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Hockessin, Delaware

My parents and I visited Okura on a Friday evening, made reservations ahead of time and sat down at 6:30 PM. The restaurant was not busy, however it took a good amount of time for our server to greet us. Roughly seven minutes after taking our drink water, he returned and mentioned that he forgot about us before running off to get our drinks, which took another five minutes. Upon his return we asked questions about the menu and received very vague answers (we talked this up to him being relatively new, something else that he mentioned). Myself and my mother ordered hot entrées and my father ordered a sushi entrée. A good bit of time pass before we received soup and about 15 minutes later we received the two hot entrées, but the server remarking that the sushi would be out momentarily. We thought he left it behind because he ran out of hands to carry everything, but it turned out that the sushi station was extremely backed up and it would be about 30 more minutes until my father received his sushi entrée. After about 20 minutes, upon which time both my mother and I were finished eating, we asked for the check and the manager. My father has worked in the industry for as long as I can remember and rarely says something unless there is a glaring red flag, but this time he felt it necessary. The owner, Amy, came to speak with us and provided a multitude of excuses as to why we received poor service and why there were such extreme delays. This used to be a fantastic restaurant for the locals, but we will never...

I don't know if I can recommend this restaurant yet.

They got our order wrong. We ordered salmon roe, but got salmon instead. Of course the roe cost more. I bet they were out of the salmon roe and just substituted, but of course I was not told and the roe I paid for cost more.

The sea urchin roe was almost tasteless. Not sure how that happened. Previously frozen maybe? I honestly dont know.

Apparently I am supposed to eat my miso soup with chop sticks some how because no spoon was included, but they did give us 2 sets of chop sticks.

They place was relatively slow this evening in my opinion, so I don't know what happened.

The gyoza were the smallest dumplings I have ever seen. They were a bit bland too, but at least they were not overpowered by onion like some other places.

The miso soup was a bit bland too. It had mushrooms in it, which is a bit unusual, but that didn't help the general wateriness it had in general.

However, everything else I did get was fresh and flavorful, so I had to give 2 stars overall.

I am not writing the place off all together and would like to try them again, but I will be thoroughly checking my order before I leave next time. I don't think I will be ordering the sea urchin roe or gyoza again though.

Finally, they don't have delivery. Google says that they do, but when I called, they said they do not. Not sure if this is a Google error or what, so I give...

I am SUCH a huge fan of Okura, it's hard to know where to start!

The sushi smells like the sea (as it's supposed to, people!), and is so buttery-soft in your mouth it makes it nearly impossible to stop eating even after you've had your fill.

Starting with the appetizers, I strongly recommend the Vegetable Gyoza - steamed! Be prepared though, there are a lot of them so save some stomach space for your entree. The Miso Soup has a thick broth with a delicate mouth-feel. Note that if you don't really like the taste of miso, you should not order this. But man-oh-man is it delicious! And lastly, I rarely go in and not order the Edamame. It's steamed to perfection!

The rolls are amazing, and there's something for everyone. Everyone! I'm having a love affair with the Dynamite roll at the moment, with it's caviar and spicy mayo, the Kamikaze roll, and the White Dragon - but the Kennett roll with it's special sauce shouldn't be overlooked.

In all the many years we've been eating at Okura, we've literally never had even a sub-par experience, let alone a poor one. If I have on criticism, it's that, though the wine selection is comprehensive, none are particularly good. I mean, unless you LIKE Kendall Jackson, in which case you'll love all their vineyard selections. My friends and I... not so much. Luckily there's the full bar option to keep us happy.

Pop in soon. You'll...