Boca’s Saiko-I Sushi & Hibachi Creating Buzz For Expansion
By Marci Shatzman
Saiko-I Sushi Lounge & Hibachi sits in the eastern corner of The Shoppes at Village Pointe, just west of Military Trail on 18th Street in suburban Boca.
The Japanese restaurant opened in 2018, with separate spaces for hibachi tables, and diners ordering off the regular dining-in sushi and entree menu. Three hibachi chefs were working at most of those tables during a recent visit. Our tasting seated us in an intimate and quiet booth, even though we could see the outdoor bartender shaking shakers for happy hour drinks.
The reason for the invitation was their expected opening sometime this month at another location with the same name at 5791 Coral Ridge Drive in Parkland. A 4,000 square-foot restaurant will seat 180. The Boca restaurant seats 228.
“We didn’t change it that much,” general manager Frank Gao said about the design for the new locale. Boca regulars will find an opening notice on their website soon.
For the tasting, the “we” always includes my husband, who’s partial to octopus and other dishes I don’t eat. I started the meal with their lychee martini, perfectly chilled and not too sweet. He doesn’t drink.
We’re both aficionados of bang bang shrimp, which we found tasty and crispy. Kim Herrera was our knowledgeable server who also recommended edamame with sea salt, and another appetizer…roast duck wrapped in an India pancake with spring mix, avocado and balsamic drizzle. I’m not a spring mix fan, but he liked the “subtle flavors.” He would order the spicy conch and octopus salad again, and he’s both a cook and hard to please.
For entrees, we tasted grilled salmon kha pow with basil, bell peppers and scallion in black bean sauce, moist and tasty and a good comparison since my “cook” makes salmon every week. Their other entrées are fish, duck, beef, chicken and seafood dishes. We’re partial to their Jasmine rice, but there’s a choice of brown rice. A frequent pad thai eater, he especially liked the texture of their version with crushed peanuts.
Their sushi menu is extensive and we were surprised with their choice, a lobster bomb roll with avocado and asparagus, beautifully presented with cooked pieces in a martini glass and a lobster tail shell as decoration.
We skipped soup and dessert this time, but enjoyed the green tea our server suggested.
The kids’ menu is a paper placemat with food and drink choices and games, and we saw several families having dinner. We were impressed with the service and constant butlering of utensils and plates.
The owners also have restaurants in Boca and Delray Beach under the names Yakitori, Coco Sushi Lounge & Bar and Koi Japanese Cuisine Sushi Lounge.
