Michikusa Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Lexington

This was my first time here. I've been meaning to try this place out. I had: The grilled squid. The tempura. The tonkotsu ramen. Their miso soup. Their side salad. A few samples of nigiri.

Let's start with the miso, it's warm and flavorful, silky and just the right amount of tangy, delicious. The salad is simple... But the tricky ginger dressing is amazing, fresh, crisp, and with the perfect balance of sweet, sour and tangy, not overpowering like most other versions of this. I could seriously spoon this.

I don't particularly love squid, but whenever I try out a new Japanese restaurant, I pay attention to three things in particular, their rice, their tempura and their squid. Squid is tricky to cook... At Michikusa they got it right. The squid was well cooked, with the right amount of chew and snappy. The sauce was delicate with just a hint of spicy, perfect!

The tempura was tasty and crunchy, though a bit on the oily side, probably the oil wasn't hot enough!

The ramen was OK. With a few tweaks it could be vastly improved. The Ajitsuke Tamago (Egg) was just a hard boiled egg, and it didn't look like it had been marinated. The broth was smooth and tasty, but it lacked a bit in body and flavor, I'd have loved to try adding a bit of bacon fat... At first I was a bit annoyed about the soba noodles, I prefer springy noodles in my ramen but it works. The meat was cut a bit too thick, and it was not really tender, the flavor was lacking depth, just boring. I'd much rather have had a buttery smooth piece of chashu (go check out Mirin in Louisville, that's the best I've found!). Also, it made me happy that they had white pepper! If you have never had white pepper in your ramen, you've been doing it wrong all along! Trust me!

The sushi, the quality of the fish was amazing. Both the salmon and the tuna tasted great! Fresh, buttery smooth and flavorful. The rice however, left a lot to be desired. At first I thought the rice was undercooked, however, later on when I went to order a bit to go (for my wife), I was told that they were out of rice (yet they were nice enough to cook some for me, thank you!). So that tells me that the rice they may have used for my sushi may have been from the bottom of the pot. Which would explain why it was so heavy on the vinegar and "grainy".

Overall a great experience! It's a small, cozy place, it was lively and everybody, especially our server Jackie, was friendly and quick to serve!.

The pricing is on point, with the sushi being on the high side, considering that the bites are small.

I'll definitely come again, and hopefully I can add a star to my...

The entree was yummy and the sauce that they give with the gyoza I also had was delicious! I personally feel that the edamame could have had a little bit more salt but no biggie.

However... The waiter's customer service is atrocious and he definitely needs training! I travel every week so I was by myself and sitting at the sushi bar. The waiter took 10mins to get my drink order (water), by then I already knew what I wanted but he didn't come back around until only immediately after the chef noticed that I haven't been helped (approximately 15-20 additional mins from getting the water) and the chef personally took my order. I will say the restaurant became more busy and I will give the waiter credit that he was trying his best (I could feel the wind as he darted through the restaurant, so I know he was hustling in his own way.) However I don't think he has been a waiter for a long time, or knows how to be effective at all. I could tell the chef was seeing what was going on as he decided to give me both of my appetizers directly vs me waiting for the waiter, however when my entree arrived he waited for the waiter as I heard him ding the bell multiple times at separate times before the waiter went to grab the food. I could understand and was initially being patient with it all as I wasn't in a rush to be anywhere. However by the time a couple sat next to me to my right I was almost done with my meal and was ready for the check. I was observing the restaurant on occasion while I waited and it started to slow down and empty out. By this time I figured he would get my check soon. However after waiting almost an hour for the check, I saw he brought the check to the couple to the right of me unprompted. At that point I was baffled and completely done with the service. The next time he came around I asked for the check. I mean literally an hour as I noticed my meal was rang up at 7:12 but I didn't leave until 9:20.

I am assuming that this is a one off kind of night, but I witnessed similar service to the other patrons. The waiter clearly needs more training on how to effectively handle customers as I could have easily paid for my meal left and allowed another patron to sit down. I may think about coming back but only for a take out.

I write this in hopes that he'll be trained better and improve the experience for future customers. However, if it was not for the chef taking initiative to help me it would...

Michikusa Japanese Restaurant. This is my second time having lunch here and I’ve made up my mind: this is one of the most authentic Japanese restaurants in Lexington, KY.

The owner himself Hiroshi Aoyagi, who is also the chef, will fix your sushi and your perspective on sushi in general. I’ve been to Japanese restaurants that, within the first and second visit, the salmon sashimi cut got significantly smaller just like my paycheck after tax.

But not Michikusa, no sir. In my second visit, the salmon is just as plump fresh and juicy as the first one. As a Christian, my meal here even made me pray twice: one standard prayer for before meal, and one after meal to thank the Good Lord for salmons. I don’t know about you but I think that salmons are also wonderfully made.

I started with Agedashi Tofu and went with one of their lunch special options: Mini Salmon-don with half Udon/Soba. Udon and Soba are both noodles and due to my high blood pressure, I googled real quick which one is healthier then elegantly asked for Soba, please. I looked like I know what I’m doing, I wish my mom were here to see it 🥲

It’s worth noting that 18% gratuity (tip) is automatically added to your bill so when the bill arrives, what you pay is what you see. I like that. I always have a hard time counting tip and math. They are just not my love language.

I know I’ll be back and you should try it out, too! Aoyagi Hiroshi-san,...