Jesse Ito's sushi bar opens at Royal Sushi & Izakaya
It's all about the fish. Menu includes 35 fish/shellfish/roe options (most from Japan) including bluefin tuna, live scallop, geoduck, iwashi (Japanese sardine), Hokkaido uni, and smoked sturgeon. Don't go seeking sushi rolls.
It's refreshing when a son follows his father into a particular line of work.
And when the son adopts the old ways - becoming in some ways even more traditional and exacting than the father - the results can be spectacular. Happens these days in farming and craftsmanship, and now in sushi.
Jesse Ito, 27, who studied at the elbow of his father, Masaharu "Matt" Ito, at their decorated former restaurant, Fuji (first in Cinnaminson and then in Haddonfield), says he is taking "the next step in what I was doing." On Thursday, Dec. 22, he soft-opens the sushi bar in the back room of Royal Sushi & Izakaya at 780 S. Second St. in Queen Village.
Royal's izakaya, or bar, opened in September, serving umami-rich cooked and raw snacks backed by a huge list of sake, shochu, and beers.
You can dine a la carte, or - with a reservation - select an 18-piece nigirizushi omakase ($110 a person) or a 10-piece nigirizushi mini omakase ($55).
Right now, the reservation line (267-909-9002) is open from 3 to 5 p.m.