Ukiyo Bar and Restaurant

Price for two: €€€
Portion: Moderate
Overall experience: 4.5/5
Website: https://www.ukiyobar.com/

Japanese cuisine is influenced by its long history and rich culture. Japanese people respect nature, so their food tends to be fresh and organic, featuring ingredients like seaweed, tofu, mushrooms and fish. Here is a tasty and authentic Japanese restaurant displaying cosy interiors in Dublin called Ukiyo.

With a variety of options in terms of starters and dishes that are served all day long, we decided to focus more on Sushi. Sushi is a Japanese delicacy made with vinegared rice, fish, and vegetables. There are also vegan sushi options nowadays, so I am sure all would love this versatile dish.

My husband and I visited this restaurant for our first wedding anniversary, and since it was a surprise, I have to say that I was very impressed by his choice of the venue. Not only did the restaurant have a fantastic bar, but the cosy interiors with some great lighting created a lovely vibe for our candle-lit dinner. In addition, the restaurant is located at an ideal location right by George street near the city centre and can easily be reached through public transport.

After relishing the vibe visually, we decided to savour our taste through their comprehensive menu of drinks. First, I chose a drink that had a fascinating name called Izzy's Bramble. This cocktail comprised Kinsale gin, berrisimo, lemon, sugar and grapefruit bitters. This drink had a lovely taste and a slight kick, making me enjoy the evening more than usual.

My husband went for a drink called Zombie, which came in the least expecting form ever. It came with a fire flame on the glass, burning till he ended up putting it off himself. Both cocktails exceeded our expectations and were a must-try.

For starters, we ordered sushi called Torpedo roll, accompanied by soya sauce and wasabi. There were 8 pieces of sushi in the torpedo roll comprising tempura prawn, cucumber, masago and wasabi aioli. It was pretty tasty, but someone having sushi for the first time must know that most non-veg sushi has an aftertaste of raw fish.

Next, we tried kimchi, a dish I have always enjoyed having in India, but I must say the authentic Japanese version was very different from what I had before. Kimchi typically is housemade fermented spicy cabbage (non-veg). It was a spicy dish, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as I generally love spicy food. ‌‌

Since we enjoyed our first round of sushi a lot, we ordered another round, but this time we went for a fried version. We called for The Bomb, made of crab and crayfish roll, deep fried in tempura batter, coriander salsa verde. This was slightly different from the previous one as it is fried and does not leave you with an aftertaste of raw fish.

Having relished our starters and drinks, we decided to move towards our main course. I chose the Katsu curry for the main course since it was the only chicken option on the menu. Having had this dish in other restaurants, I knew what to expect and needless to say; I was pleased with what I was provided. The dish consists of buttermilk marinated chicken breast in panko mild golden curry sauce. Vegetables, rice and pickle, accompanied it. You can choose the vegetarian version of this dish and opt for fried crispy tofu instead of chicken. The dish is quite filling, and considering we had eaten three starters; so I was stuffed.

My husband chose the Bulgogi Beef for his main course. The plate is made of stir-fried marinated Irish sirloin steak served with Korean-style rice, baby gem lettuce, kimchi and gochujang. The dish was extremely flavourful and very filling as well.

As much as I love eating desserts, we had no room to have one that day. However, I am looking forward to trying a dessert called Mochi the next time I visit. Our bill at this restaurant was a little over €€.

The next time you consider trying out your skills of holding chopsticks, visit this authentic Japanese restaurant right here in Dublin; you will surely fall in love with this unique cuisine.