Japanica Grill

1 Reviews on “Japanica Grill”

• Roger K

  Simple, compact and minimal quarters.. The new location for Japanica Grill is nothing like its former location in Troy. You should probably plug the address into your GPS if you dont already know where La Mexicana Grocery is located (across the street). Next, dont bother to pull into the main parking lot for Bayberry Plaza, but drive into the lot on the West side of the building which seems like the back of the building. Thats where youll find the entrance.As I walked inside, I was reminded of the very first place I ever tried sushi. That was in a tiny shop in Tokyo. In fact, Japanica Grill is about the size of my family room at home and if I were to replace my furniture with their tables and chairs I could manage to seat about 15 people also.The owner, Toshi, is a certified sushi chef that I first met when he owned a restaurant on North Allen Street in Albany. After there, he operated another restaurant in Guilderland, and most recently in Troy. I have continued to follow him from location to location because he could always be relied upon to serve the highest quality sushi available. On this first visit to the new location for lunch I decided to try a Fish Fry since there was a banner displayed outside offering a special.The Fish Fry Platter ($6.50) is served on an eight inch sub roll with fries and the standard Japanese salad with a house-made ginger dressing. The fish was flavorful, had a nice crisp panko coating, the roll was fresh and soft, the ketchup was spicy, and the house-made tartar sauce was very tasty (I normally dont enjoy tartar sauce).Currently, they do not have a beer and wine license. For a beverage, I decided to try an Almond Bubble Tea ($4 medium/ $4.75 large). Im hearing a lot of people talking about where to get the best bubble tea. This is the first Ive had, so I cant compare it with anywhere else. But I enjoyed it enough that Ill be trying it again whenever I have the opportunity. I previously understood that the pearls at the bottom of these drinks are balls of tapioca. But I never realized that they would be chewy.Its a good thing that Japanica is as small as it is, because right now it is primarily a one person operation so no seating is offered at what has the potential to be the sushi bar. And sushi is definitely what Im planning on returning for. A final note: Japanica can also be found at the Troy Farmers Market on Saturdays, and at the Saratoga Springs Farmers Market on Sundays.

  August 20, 2015, 3:55 am

  Log in to Reply