OUT AND ABOUT: KATSUYA KO

Can I just tell you how excited I was to hear that katsuya was headed back to san diego. It’s been at least 10 years since it took up real estate in the andaz downtown. And 10 years since we regularly noshed on the original crispy rice spicy tuna bites. No shade to anyone hoping on the katsuya ko train… but how can you love restaurants and not know katsuya has been in san diego before. To be fair. Katsuya ko is a totally new concept for katsuya - it features standouts from the original menu alongside new dishes in a more casual concept.

The restaurant hasn’t been open for very long, so there are still a few front of the house kinks to work out, but we were so happy to see (and taste) our old favorites.

ko-ume plum margarita: plum wine sake, shiso, mint, lime

blue moon

They had a sparkling sake on the drink menu that I was excited to try. But alas, they were out of it. So the plum margarita it was. Very good taste, but I found myself wishing it was spicy. Perhaps next time.

It was a warm (very warm) day, with a lovely breeze outside and just the right temp for jamie to order a blue moon. Cheers.

the original crispy rice: grilled sushi rice, spicy tuna tartare, serrano

Cant go wrong with this ko signature original. And when i say og, i mean og. Katsuya is where this delectable little bite was started.

There is just something about this bite that hits different here. The rice is always perfectly crispy on the outside. Not tough on the inside. The tuna tartare is minced so finely it melts in your mouth. And the bite itself is perfectly proportioned and not too big (as many lesser crispy rice bites can be). I could eat multiple orders of this by myself. No sharing. Favorite bite (perhaps anywhere). Hard stop.

salmon carpaccio: shio kombu, red onion marmalade, fresno chile

How pretty is this plate? Nothing like we expected. I totally expected the presentation to be more like the crispy onion albacore or yellowtail jalapeño. And I definitely didn’t expect the marmalade to be on the warm side of things.

Unexpectedly delish, in the most unique way.

allagash white

moet brut

Jamie decided to switch up his beer option, and tried the other belgium. He found it rather amusing that the only two domestic beers on the menu were both belgium wheats.

I on the other hand switched to a glass of the sparkling brut rose - lucien albrecht which has long been a fav. They brought me the moet instead… but who’s complaining. Not me.

rock & roll: rock shrimp tempura, spicy aioli, spicy tuna roll

Katsuya, the original used to have a great warm app… crispy rock shrimp tempura, smothered with spicy aioli, and it was one of our favs. The thing to remember about rock shrimp tempura, is that it’s not the flattened shrimp tempura one you would see in a roll. These babies are allowed to curl up, and are smaller - but not bay shrimp size. Katsuya ko has the same app, and the original rock shrimp roll - which is why we had to go back to one of the most understated combos.

Who doesn’t love a classic spicy tuna roll? and the combo play of a shrimp tempura, not inside, but on top? Best of both worlds.