Raku — Restaurant in Spring Valley

While researching places to eat for my vacation, I looked up the best sushi. Raku was #1. I saw they had a website and looked even further. What took me by surprise was they did omakase. I always wanted to do that so that was my plan for this trip. The reservation was for 6pm, when dinner starts there. I get there 5 minutes early cause I can't stand to be late. They must be sticklers for time cause the door was locked until 6. I feel slightly embarrassed trying to open a locked door. When they finally opened, the waitress staff greeted me in unison with a welcoming cheer. The sushi chef and the cooks in the back as well. I thought that was really cool as I heard it throughout my meal for every customer that came in. The waitress told me the specials they had for the night, but I already knew it was omakase for me. There were 2 options, $75 or $100. $100 meant you got more premium dishes. I definitely want that. Oh man, did they not disappoint. I can honestly say this was the first time I ate some of these dishes or had them the way they served it. I didn't take a pic of my first 2 dishes. One was a salad, as I have eaten it before & the other was a tofu dish. I should of taken a pic of the tofu. I rarely eat tofu, but I could've eaten there tofu forever. I won't go into specifics since I don't have a picture. Next was the sushi. The waitress told me what each piece was. Truth be told, I can't remember what each piece was. I was ready to eat. Next we're these tomatoes. Fire roasted I believe. They were so good. They were so juicy & delicious. The fire roasting enhances the flavor. I was wondering how is this possible? Next were these crab claws. They gave me a little fork or something like it. I couldn't use it. I had to go hands in. Very good. Next was wagyu beef with wasabi. This was my first time having this. I've watched food vlogs on wagyu but never had it. I was in awe of this dish. It was an eye opening dish. So tender. No teeth required. It broke apart by my lips. I can see why it cost as much as it does. Next was a pork version of the wagyu. I say that as they must have been cooked the same way. Tender, juicy & full of flavor. By this time, I look at the clock. It's been an hour. I'm thinking they pace your meal to give you time to enjoy your dishes. As my meal wasn't over yet & I was nowhere near feeling full. Out comes a dish I never thought I'd have. Foie gras over rice. Another dish I hear about on food vlogs or cooking shows, but I never knew what it was. I can honestly say it's hard for me to describe. I say that because a co-worker asked & I really couldn't. Lastly, was my desert. I can't remember what type of cake this is. All I know is it had an Oreo crust. I blank out when you say Oreo as that's my favorite cookie. It has a raspberry on top & I think a raspberry preserve on the side. Served with hot matcha green tea. This sounds weird to some, but I'm not a hot tea drinker. Never like it as a child. The only tea I drink is raspberry ice tea. I can drink tea if you cover the tea flavor. I drank this tea as I wanted the complete meal experience. It is probably the best hot tea I ever had. It went well with the cake. Well, that does it for my review of the...

Foodie-heaven. To be honest, I was a bit concerned that this was was going to be overhyped, but it lived up to its reputation. My interest was obviously piqued by Anthony Bourdain, and made a reservation to eat here for dinner (no lunch times available) via the phone (can’t make one online).

Raku is located in a nondescript strip mall with a small parking lot. It’s open for indoor dining during covid, which I felt a bit wary about since I would’ve preferred outdoor dining (not available), but there are a lot of private rooms so you can stay away from other parties. Food-wise, I know a lot of people opt for the Omakasse (cheapest one is $100/pp) but if you opt for about 4-5 dishes a person, I think you’ll be more than satisfied. The skewers come in one to a plate, so you can customize/add more as need be. Here’s a breakdown of what we ate:

Raku Tofu: Must-get. Very soft and one of my favorite dishes of the night. You eat the first bite with the green tea sea salt, and then the rest you add the fish flake/spring onion/ginger/soy sauce as you’d like.

Tsukune Chicken: Ground chicken that’s shaped like a real drumstick. Juicy and flavorful.

Poached Egg with Hokkaido Uni: I’m not the biggest fan of uni, but well worth it for those who love it (MP / $19 when we went). It tastes like you’re having a bowl of the ocean with an extra pop from the ikura (fish egg).

Kobe Beef Liver: Very tender and the sauce was good.

Pork Rib: tastes more like a Chinese style BBQ but very soft and good to share.

Oyako Bowl: chicken and egg with rice dish - another good option to split with the table. It was pretty filling.

Duck: I feel like I’m getting a bit repetitive now, but it’s quite tender.

Pork Intestine: flaky yet juicy, my dad ordered a second one after the first.

Iberico Pork: Sweet and nicely chewy, but not outstanding. I’d just stick with the pork cheek.

Pork Cheek: just the right amount of fat that pops in your mouth without being overly so.

Deep-fried chicken: Get two of these for the table and don’t forget to eat the spring greens underneath to ally your guilt about eating the fried skin!

Salmon: Standard fish - the skin was nicely fried and it was a good hunk of salmon.

Kobe Skirt with Garlic: Solid skewer

Inari: I personally love inari, and the rice inside came with mustard greens which was a nice touch. This was a good size and the skin was perfectly soaked in a sweet sauce.

Mushroom with Bacon: mushroom stuffed with more mushroom wrapped in bacon - it’s like a mushroom-ception! Came piping hot and I’d get it again.

Tldr; if you’re thinking about coming in, just do it. You’ll have...

Based on numerous positive reviews we made a reservation a week in advance and decided to try the $100 omakase tasting menu. Sadly the majority of the omakase was quite disappointing.

For the first course we were presented with home made tofu. The piece of tofu we received was broken which is disappointing because you should expect a perfectly sliced piece for the price you're paying. You can find softer tofu at your local grocery store.

For the second course we had amber jack and blue fin tuna sashimi. Not bad but a tuna was half the size of the amber jack.

The third course was enoki mushroom wrapped with bacon. It tasted fine but it was barely warm when it arrived at our table. You would expect a warm burst of enoki umami with the crunch of bacon but you actually get stringy strands of enoki mushrooms and cold chewy bacon.

The fourth course was the baby lobster which can hardly be called a lobster beacause of how small it is. They don't deshell it and they expect you to crack everything open and forge the carcas for tiny bits of meat. Again for the price, you should expect better service. This isn't a street vendor in Asia.

The fifth course was the Kobe beef filet with wasabi and egg yolk marinated daikon. This tasted good but again, the skewer barely came out warm which is quite disappointing.

Our sixth course was the kobe beef outside skirt with garlic chips. By the third skewer we already expected the food to be barely warm and our prediction was spot on. It's as if they sear a bunch of meat, leave it under a heat lamp then serve it to customer. Not sure why everything is barely warm.

The seventh course was a deep fried sea bream with daikon and oyster mushrooms. The deep flavor of unmai of the mushrooms combined with the subtle flavors of the fish were nice but everything was barely warm.

Our last course was the foie gras don which is basically a slice of foie gras on top of lettuce and unagi sauce mixed with rice. Foie gras is always delicious but this is far from a creative offering for a $100 omakase.

The best part of the meal came during dessert. Their creme brulee was delicious. The quality of food was good but the premium omakase is hardly worth the price. The waiters are nice but their service is mediocre. Sometimes meal the waiters would deliver the next course without removing the previous plates which was odd. I don't think I'll be coming back here nor can I recommend anyone else to...