Jewel Bako was one of the Michelin list spots for which I had high expectations. Since I first heard of this place sometime in 2002, I really wanted to go there. As I’m sure you all know, there is nothing more disappointing then looking forward to dining at a restaurant for a long time and then being let down when you finally get a chance to go there. In this case, part of me wonders if Jewel Bako is past its heyday. I’ve heard from people I trust undoubtedly with restaurant opinions that they love this place but haven’t been in a while. Or perhaps Susan is right that no other sushi restaurant will ever compare with Masa. Regardless of the reason, Jewel Bako served just okay food the night I was there. And, in a city that has an ever increasing number of sushi spots both high and low end, a sushi restaurant that earns a coveted spot on the Michelin list should be something extra-special.
Susan and I ordered the chef’s omakase, which I believe is the correct choice at well-respected sushi restaurants because it allows one to relax and not worry about picking a medley of regular dishes as well as sushi and sashimi. The most remarkable part of our meal was what we ordered to drink. When I perused the beer list, I noticed it included a sweet potato fermented beer. We both ordered this beer and found that it was amazing and went incredibly well with every course.
The chef’s omakase at Jewel Bako includes a series of small plates, a sushi course, a sashimi course, a main course, and dessert. In other words, it is more than enough food. Overall, the plate presentations were beautiful, but the flavors were nothing that would inspire me to return there anytime soon.
The amuse bouche the evening we were there was a piece of tuna atop a mini ball of fried rice. This was absolutely fabulous. I loved the texture of the fried rice ball combined with the buttery piece of tuna. It was a very impressive start to the meal and one that I thought promised more than what was ultimately delivered. The next item brought to the table was a wonderful bowl of perfectly cooked and salted edamame.
The first course was a microgreen salad with seared salmon skin. I didn’t love this, as I thought the salmon skin overwhelmed the greens with too fishy a flavor. The next plate was a trio of small bites: monkfish liver with a soy dipping sauce, an oyster, and yellowtail tartare with spicy mayo in a tortilla shell round. None of these were wows. The monkfish liver has a bit too much of a foie gras flavor and texture for me, so I didn’t care for it at all. The oyster was average with nothing special to embellish the flavor and no sense of insane freshness that let it speak for itself. The yellowtail tartare was delicious, but I’m a bit suspect that I loved it mostly for the spicy mayo.
The next course was a gorgeous array of sashimi that included mackerel, shrimp, blue tuna, salmon, and a few other fish. These were all very good pieces of sashimi but nothing that blew me out of the water. This was followed by a platter of sushi of about 8 pieces that included tuna, salmon, shrimp, scallop, toro, shiso leaf sushi, mackerel, and jack fish. Most of these pieces of sushi were delightful, but the toro had a bit of a funky taste to it that neither Sue nor I was happy with at all. Honestly, I found this funkiness rather unforgiveable.
For the main course, there are two choices, salmon with miso or scorpion fish. We had one of each and split them. Both entrees were passable, but not extraordinary. In fact, the miso flavor on the salmon was a bit weak, and the scorpion fish was just a plain piece of well cooked fish. Just rather forgettable dishes.
The dessert at least ended the meal on a very positive note. Green tea ice cream sandwiches with chocolate wafer cookies. A very delicious dessert.
For me, Jewel Bako was okay but certainly not worthy of a Michelin star.
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