Azayaka Japanese Fusion — Restaurant in Rancho Cordova

I was browsing to look for any interesting new restaurants in Sac. This popped up and got my attention. I did my homework and read through many reviews. Couldn't help myself and felt compelled to try it out. I came around 2:45pm so should have been not too busy. However, there were 3 tables with large parties that just got there a little earlier and started ordering. Took 10 minutes before someone even came around to get me a menu, but yeah, they don't have many waiters. I saw their Azayaka Jubako for $60 between 12/19 and 1/8. Looked interesting. I may go back and try it.

One Yelp elite mentioned that the kaisen-don set, and I pretty much knew that's what I wanted. The kaisen-don is $28 and you can make it a set for $3. That extra $3 gets you a side salad (with grapes), chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), fried egg roll, somen (thin cold noodles), and miso soup. That's quite a good deal for $31 in this high-inflation time. The kaisen-don was pretty good - 13 pieces of sashimi over rice. The sashimi was above average. Yes, I would even order just the kaisen-don for $28. Having seedless grapes in the salad was a nice touch and I loved it. I've had chawanmushi several times and since this was part of the added set at $3, it was plain. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't have much in there. I wonder if ordering chawanmushi separately at $8 would be different. The fried egg roll was meh. I didn't care for it. The somen was a bit too salty from its sauce. The $3 "set" was indeed quite a bit of stuff, but the quality wasn't all there.

Since I sat at the bar, I heard the chefs speaking in Mandarin. I then asked one of the chefs a few questions. The chef said their uni (sea urchin) are delivered every 2 days. I would have ordered uni nigiri if I wasn't so full from the kaisen-don set. Also, they may have omakase (chef's special meal) with walk-ins, but they highly recommend customers make reservations for omakase, especial on weekends. Wish they had draft beer, but they didn't. I am a sucker for draft beer and almost can't resist one when consuming Japanese food. I want to come back and try some...

A cousins date- omakase reservation for 4 at the sushi bar for 5pm on a Friday night. It is either a 5pm or a 7pm reservation. 2 hours is plenty of time. Did not feel rushed. $123 per person before taxes and gratuity. The omakase reservations can be up to 10 people, as that is how many can fit at the sushi bar. There were 2 other tables when we walked in at 4:50pm.

We situated ourselves and decided to purchase the 500 ml bottle of Kinushiro Nigori for $26 between 3 of us. It was a very nice bottle to share with our Omakase meal. It came with 3 cold appetizers- jelly fish, raw squid and octopus. The raw squid was SO GOOD! It was mixed in with kizami I think. Kizami is chopped wasabi, much tastier in my opinion. The raw squid is a crunchy chewy texture. I was a bit afraid at first but we all loved it.

The chef was very nice and accommodating to my pregnant sister. He was able to swap out all the tuna to salmon for her.

We were honestly at first glance of the restaurant and area, not very impressed or even having high expectations. We wanted to go to the Roseville location at first, but they didn’t not have Friday bookings, as it was all blocked out. As if they did not do Friday omakase reservations at all.

We all left very impressed and amazed at the quality, presentation and service. Each fish and wagyu was very fresh, not fishy and prepared to perfection. Presentation was remarkable.

Otoro, A5 Wagyu and uni (sea urchin) melted in all of our mouth. Our eyes all widened when in our mouth just staring at each other with astonishment.

There is an option to lay an additional $20 for unlimited handrolls. Only one of us was able to do that, my cousin chose 3 more handrolls and all otoro. That itself is already well worth it! There is no sharing on the unlimited add on. The rest of us were too full to even want to share!

While eating, we saw other items going out to tables, sushi and fried squid, they all looked very good, well prepared and presented!!!

I would definitely bring other beloved friends and family to...

Stepping into Azayaka Japanese Fusion, you're immediately greeted by their beautiful interior, making for a refined, yet relaxed, environment. I'd say this would be an ideal spot to go for any occasion whether that's a date night or a weekend family dinner.

Their expansive menu offers something for everyone - a plethora of fresh fish options, artful bento sets, and appetizers of both the warm and cold variety. They also offer an omakase menu for those who want to be a little adventurous and leave their tastebuds up to the chef's expertise and skill.

We arrived around 7pm on a Sunday night; the restaurant was sparsely populated at this hour and so we were seated quickly without wait. We selected the mixed tempura (which consists of three shrimp and a five-piece vegetable variety), the sunshine roll, the hamachi kama, and the shiozake set.

I'm usually a roll person as I like the variety of flavors you get in each bite, and as much as I enjoyed the sunshine roll, I have to admit that the absolute showstopper of the meal was their set. The shiozake set (which is grilled salmon season with yuzu salt) also comes with chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), harumaki (vegetable egg roll), side salad, miso soup, somen and rice - a complete meal if I ever saw one. The set also comes beautifully plated, bringing new meaning to the adage "you eat with your eyes first". All components of the set were well prepared and flavorful, making for an enjoyable eating experience overall.

If you're a fan of beautiful Japanese cuisine, then I highly recommend giving...