Tiny interior but with some cute touches!
Located across the road from the fire station in a sea of pseudo-Chinese establishments the takeaway is tiny but cute. There's a small bench were you could conceivably eat your food, but without any comfort! I enjoyed some green tea while I waited for our order and then raced home as fast as speed limits would allow to get our food plated up while it was still hot!
One thing we didn't need to rush home to eat while it was still warm was the delicious tuna sashimi. Next time I pass Okayu I'll be popping in for some of this!
We ordered a whole range of stuff so we could all try something different, among the dishes we had were ebi nigiri, maguro sashimi, a chicken teriyaki bento box, menchi katsu, tempura moriawase, beef korokke, chicken gyoza and okonomi yaki... phew... what a mouthful!
Tempura moriawase on the left, still in it's container. Top right is a plate containing the gyoza, korokke and some yakatori. Bottom right is the menchi katsu.
Overall there were highs and lows. I was disappointed with the menchi katsu, for all intents and purposes, it was a breaded beef burger. The beef korokke, which is a ball of mince and potato mixed and deep fired, contained far too much potato. On the other end of the spectrum the sashimi was sublime. It's among the freshest tuna I've tasted in Dublin, really melt in the mouth. The ebi nigiri scored well too. These were two cold dishes and so therefore did not suffer from being transported!
Okonomi yaki. Who ever said that Japanese food was healthy?
The one thing which the jury is still out about is the okonomi yaki or Japanese pizza! It was just weird! The bonito flakes were really really pungent and repeated on me for the rest of the evening. There was a good helping of mayonnaise and other dressings which gave it a very oily and unpleasant texture. Out of all the dishes this one seemed to cool the quickest. I've the feeling it's the kind of dish which divides people and leaves no middle ground!
The bento box didn't require much plating up!
Overall we all agreed that we ate well, the problem was we didn't eat pretty! In a rush to tuck in before it went cold we'd strewn wrappers and foil dishes all over the place. Some of us ate out of containers others piled their starters and main courses into a mound all on one plate. A bit of a disaster really! We concluded that the cost saving of ordering in didn't make up for the slight loss of quality and the complete lack of ambiance!
With somewhere as wonderful as Musashi just two minutes around the corner from my home we wont be getting takeaway again anytime soon! That's not to say it's a complete write off. If you're desperate for some sushi and can't get a babysitter or your agoraphobia kicks in then Okayu would be perfect. It's a great diversion from the regulars of the North Strand and judging by the busy trade they were doing last Saturday night it's a very welcome addition.
Okayu
71 North Strand Road
Dublin 1
01 819 4741
They don't have a website but you can check the menu here
