Review: Robata of Tokyo

by theelvee_w2oe3m December 23, 2009

December 23, 2009

Robata of Tokyo is a fairly well-known Japanese sushi restaurant situated a stone’s throw from the iconic PP&L building in downtown Allentown. Not only does it provide for a nice, relaxed atmosphere, the food is prepared particularly well, however the atmosphere may be lacking a few qualities.

As I meandered around in the arctic temperatures looking for Robata’s storefront, I did notice that it is in close proximity to a parking garage, so
keep that in mind if you’re not from the area. Eventually I located the quaint storefront-style restaurant tucked neatly and quietly on 9th Street. Upon entering I was greeted and shown a seat as I waited for a friend. I was given a menu and asked if I wanted a drink while I waited, to which I declined, however the gesture was appreciated. I had looked at the menu online, so I had a fairly good idea of what I was going to get written down
before I even arrived.

After looking over the menu, I decided to have sake with my meal. I was unsure of whether or not I wanted it warm or chilled, as I had never had either. I wasn’t asked which I wanted, so when it arrived in the traditional sake choko and tokkuri bottle and cup, it was served warm. The menu is given to you with descriptions along with a checklist to basically check off what you want to make it easier for the staff since there are so many various options. I chose the edamame to start and a smathering of different sushi styles to check a variety of what they had to serve. I alerted the waitress to my shellfish allergy, and good thing, because her and the chef caught that sea urchin is something that could trigger a shellfish allergy which I was
extremely thankful for.

It didn’t take long at all for my edmame to be served, which was placed in a small basket with a lid to keep them steamy until delivery. The edmame was good and plentiful. The best I’ve ever had was served with sea salt across it (at Kome) rather than the table salt most places use. It was still delicious, and as mentioned, so much that I couldn’t finish all of it with the rest of my meal. As I was working on the edmame my sushi was served with a side of fresh ginger and wasabi, excellently presented. The raw fish was served over small balls of rice and everything looked absolutely wonderful. I had the following types of sushi: flying fish roe, toro, fresh water eel, tamago, red snapper, spanish mackeral, . The only one complaint that I have about the sushi is that the flying fish roe had what seemed to be a large wad of seaweed under the roe and rice which really didn’t sit well with my stomach. Otherwise, everything was fantastic. Some things weren’t to my taste, however that’s why I had a variety of different sushi as I was trying out some new things.

Service was sporadic, however my water was kept filled which is always a plus in my book. After the sushi was done I opted to get some dessert, in the form of the delicious-sound Raspberry Royale, consisting of ice cream, fresh raspberries, chambord, and whipped cream. The presentation of the ice cream was good, however I have a few nitpicks. The raspberries were not fresh as stated, as the middle of a few of them were still frozen and it also could’ve done with a bit more of the chambord drizzle. There was a healthy amount of ice cream and whipped cream, which definitely counted for something.