Thursday, May 26, 2016

Eating at Coach Sushi home of the Bottomless Saki


I have been wanting to post and share this experience you for a while. But it got kinda pushed back due to the small hiatus I took. I just wanted to make meantion, so you didn't think "Valentine's Day" why she so slow and wait so long to post. LOL

On Valentine's Day I ended up eating at Coach Sushi in Oakland. We were
driving by The Lake (Lake Merritt) looking for a cute place to eat and I remembered there was sushi restaurant near by that offered bottomless saki. I remembered it being a cool experience but couldn't remember the exact location. So when we drove by and saw the sign I took to the internet and when through the Yelp reviews to see if it was the right place. I quickly realized that it was the right place but I did also noticed some mixed reviews. Many reviews offered 5 stars raved about it being great and having great food and then there were some other 1 and 2 stars. As I read through them I realized that all of the bad reviews were about the service. Some stated that staff/manager were unwelcoming, slow and not generous with the saki re-fills. One review even stated that he didn't think Black or Latin people should go there cause they wouldn't be welcomed.  That was quite alarming but considering that even in the bad reviews not one complained about the food, I figured it was worth a try.

Surprisingly when we walked in it wasn't very full. It being Valentine's Day I thought it may be packed, but we also did go kind of early for dinner, seeing as we got there at about 5:30. In contrast to those bad reviews we actually had a really nice time. The staff was very pleasant and attentive. I ordered the bento box, where you can pick 3 items off a list. I picked chicken teriyaki, salmon teriyaki, and tempura. Daryl ordered the beef teriyaki entree. All of the entrees and the bento box come with miso soup, salad, and steamed rice, which is pretty standard for Sushi/Japanese restaurants. I  also order the masu saki, which is bottomless. To be able to order the masu saki, your meal has to be at least $15. The saki comes is a small wooden box, which is where the masu part of the masu saki come from, and a small plate of salt. Apparently you can decorate the box to personalize it for you next return(I didn't hear about that until after the visit) For your first drink they tell you to sprinkle a little salt on the edge of the box and drink the sake without your hands. You just kind of bend over and sip some out. After that you can pick the box and drink. The sake they serve is light and refreshing. Not too sweet or not too dry, probably falling around the mid rage on the sake value meter. I liked it even though I prefer mine on the sweeter side. I had absolutely no problem with getting refills. Pretty much as my box started getting low, the lady walking around giving refills would just fill my box before I even thought about it. I only had to ask her to refill me once and that was at end and she came over right away and filled it. By the time we left, the placehad pretty much filled up.

All and all I would definitely recommend it. The food wasn't the best I have ever tasted but it was good. And to be fair, there are some Yelpers who rave about how good the food is and we didn't get the Sushi, which is what they are known for. It isn't super expensive and the overall experience is fun. Definitely worth checking out.

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