Edoko Omakase — Restaurant in Irving

It's an insult that I can't give this place a higher score! What comes after "perfect"? If you want a taste of how Japanese food tastes in Japan, go here. Both the food and service were Japan level! Me and my friends each did the omakase (chef's choice, changes everytime you go) and an appetizer of karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and the smoked duck hotate (scallops). The omakase was 6 courses consisting of an appetizer, chawanmushi (steamed egg dish), sashimi, rice dish, nigiri sushi, dessert. Again, the chef makes up the courses based on what's in season, so I don't know if this is the pattern every time but these are the courses we got, and I believe there's always a sushi and shashimi course. By the end my smaller friend was stuffed, but me and her husband were contently full.

Appetizer course: chu-Toro tartare on a tenpura shiso leaf and a lobster fried rice ball topped with ikura (salmon eggs)

This was a great start! The tartare has almost like a taco set up with the tenpura shiso leaf, but it's not heavy and the shiso leaf adds a refreshing element to the dish. The rice ball was good, but I regret eating it in one bite. I feel like if I ate it in 2 I'd get more flavor and could enjoy the Wasabi mayo it came with more

Chawanmushi course: chawanmushi topped with crab

The moment the waiter lifted the lid, the look and smell brought me back to my life in Japan. My Japanese friend said it was a little over salted, which I disagree with so maybe it was just hers, but the one thing that the dish was missing was ingredients in the chawanmushi like mushrooms, seafood, or leafy greens, but since this was just one dish out of 6 maybe they did this so it wouldn't be as filling. Still an amazing dish and probably my favorite course, as a whole.

Shashimi course: aji (mackerel), maguro (tuna), ebi (shrimp), shake (salmon), hotate (scallop) and tako (octopus)

Disclaimer, I'm not a big shashimi fan. It's ok, just not my cup of tea. However, this was a good course, especially the scallop! It was sweet and had a nice texture. The rest was OK as well, tasty and fresh

Rice course: truffle uni (sea urchin) risotto

Just, wow. This is one of those dishes you purposely eat slow because you want to savor every bite. The uni comes on top so you can add a little to each spoonful, mix it into the risotto, or take it off and give it to your closest friend/lover/favorite family member (because giving someone uni is a symbol of pure love lol). I mixed mine together and loved it. The uni isn't overpowering and unlike some uni, this one was more savory than sweet. This course may actually tie with the chawanmushi course when looking at my favorite course as a whole, or be a very close 2nd

Sushi course: chu-toro (medium fatty tuna), Hamachi (yellow fin tuna), aji (mackerel), kinmedai (golden eye snapper), firefly squid, Japanese uni (sea urchin)

Although the chawanmushi and rice course were my favorite courses as a whole, my best bites of this entire 6 course meal were here. When you get this sushi course, you are suggested an order in which to eat the sushi, in this case start with the chu-toro and go left to the uni. The chu-toro was amazing, with a soft texture than and light umami taste. The Japanese uni sushi, unlike the uni in the risotto, was sweet and taste just like the sea. These two were my favorite bites of the whole night! The other sushi was good too! No complaints about the other 4, and out side of the chu-toro and uni, the kinmedai and squid were also really good!

Dessert course: yuzu cheese cake

From Start to Finish, all these courses were phenomenal and the dessert was no different sticking the landing and finishing the night off strong! Yuzu is a common citrus in Japan which can be best described as an incredible refreshing lemon flavor that is never over powering or too sour. The cheese cake was light and refreshing, the perfect end to an unforgettable parade of flavors.

I can't recommend this place enough! Probably going to be the best place I go to all year, and I went to Hell's...

My boyfriend and I dined in early on a Saturday evening. Typically at sushi restaurants, we like to order an assortment of sashimi, nigiri, and robata grilled meats/vegetables if available. This evening, we went on a whim went went for an omakase option.

Food and Drinks: 5/5 - My boyfriend ordered the Edoko Old Fashioned (a twist on a bourbon Old Fashioned with a blended Japanese whisky instead) and I ordered the Yuzu Chuhai (refreshing and citrusy). No complaints there!

The tasting menu was excellent in variety, quality, and pacing. My boyfriend and I agree that the highlight was the 6 piece premium nigiri (fish on rice) box. There was a recommended order to try each piece and every bite was delicious. I will also add that this place differentiates itself with house-made desserts. Definitely save room to finish strong with something sweet!

For those concerned about price point, we felt it was worth the price, especially if you consider quality over quantity. My boyfriend and I did initially have concerns around course 2 or 3 that we wouldn't be full made a back up plan to order extra food before dessert. However, when our nigiri boxes arrived (course 5 of 6), we changed our minds so we would have room for dessert.

Service: 5/5 - We were unsure if we wanted to get the nigiri omakase or the six course tasting menu. Our server Sophiya was very knowledgable and described both the Nigiri Omakase and the Six Course Tasting menu with great detail. After listening to her advice, we decided on the six course tasting menu for more variety. As each course came out, she described the ingredients with detail and even had some fun facts to share! Additionally, the chef and server accommodated food preferences and allergies without any trouble (I have a nut allergy and my boyfriend prefers no wasabi.)

Atmosphere: 5/5 - The decor was simple, beautiful, and clean. I used to be a bartender so I make a habit of checking out the bar area wherever I go. I look for an uncluttered and organized set up and was not disappointed. My boyfriend was amused when I told him I wanted a rose gold cobbler shaker just like the one I saw on the bar. I had my back to the sushi bar, but whenever I glanced back, everything looked beautifully...

It was not the omakase experience I had expected. It didn't seem special or intimate with the chef. The chef spent more time making other people's sushi than ours, nor was there a lot of interaction. But to be fair it was busy and its hard to entertain and vigorously pump out sushi. I was only excited by 2 or 3 nigiri's. I find the coldness of the fish to be much more pleasant and enjoyable experience over room temperature fish, some of which were on the edge of freshness. I also noted the use of the butane torch, which quite frankly i am not sure what the purpose is for at Edoko. Drying the flesh of the fish? I've only had 2 other omakase experiences, so i am by no means claiming to be a connoisseur. At both of these others they seared the mean to add crisp texture/browning, while at Edoko it seemed to not do or add anything of value, if i am wrong here, my apologies. I wanted to take my family to do an omakase experience that was supposed to be wide eye opening, because i know that they come from nothing and would never spend that much in their entire frugal life, but this experience was not it, especially for the final bill amount.

My other observations: Ambience wise it felt like a brand new car without AC. Everything was great to look, drive and feel, but it just felt mildly uncomfortable. From the noise inside (bad interior acoustics coupled with some loud guests made it hard to speak to family). The bathroom water faucet pressure was also just a dribble and the area looked unkept. The online website would succeed greatly from photos as well as slightly more description. I had no idea what a beef tataki was and i really expected something hot, it was not.

It felt like slightly edged up sushi that i could get else where, and after many rave reviews from friends i would rather go elsewhere. That said i enjoyed the small dishes i got and may possible go back.

Out of 5: poor/fair/good/very good/amazing

Overall: Fair Food: Good Service: Good Ambience/Design: Very Good Ambiance/Noise:...