Ozumo: Serving fusion well
Happy hour at Ozumo is no small occasion. Walk in after 5 p.m. and you’ll see where the downtown Oakland business crowd has flocked – to the restaurant’s 360-degree sushi bar, where sleek wooden benches replace barstools and a D.J. spins his musical tales.
The “partysphere” can feel a bit overstimulating – at first. But you’ll soon learn that Ozumo is more than just a trendy place to mingle. It’s a new kind of space, where every element of fine dining comes together to create a harmonious balance.
Up front, friends and strangers share the counter while enjoying some of the East Bay’s best sushi with their cocktails. Further in, table seating fills the dining area, where traditional hospitality is fused with innovative design details, like high ceilings, wall-sized contemporary art, and open views of the chefs behind the renowned Robata Grill. In other pockets, you’ll find a private dining room and sake lounge housing one of the largest collections in the country. Bottles of sake line the walls here, attesting to the size and scope of the impressive rice wine selection.
The overall feel is spacious, modern, and creative. But the creativity goes beyond ambience to cuisine. The Edamame has a spicy kick; the sushi rolls include flavorful glazes like yuzo aioli, peanut sauce and spicy unagi sauce; the fondue includes kiwi and lychee for dipping; and the Robata Grill skewers bring a whole new element of traditional Japanese dining to the Western table.
Ozumo sashimi gets honorable mention – it melts in your mouth and includes such offerings as Spanish mackerel, scallop, monkfish liver, and other savory bites you don’t see on the typical sashimi menu. And when your server explains why the tuna belly and the tuna side have different colors and textures, varying in richness and flavor, you know this restaurant knows its culinary stuff.
Ozumo’s signature dish is the Gindara, a grilled black cod marinated in saikyo miso and sake kasu, cooked to perfect tenderness inside and nicely blackened on the outside, complementing the lightly sweet glaze. Very savory.
We haven’t even gotten to the cocktail menu, itself a collection of original creations you’ll return to just because you can’t get them anywhere else. Offerings like the Giddy Geisha combine vodka with exotic fruit without being too sweet.
Ozumo has a large selection of everything on the menu, from sushi to spirits, and seems to have gotten it all right.
Ozumo has a second location in San Francisco.
Posted by Renee Rutledge
