Saka Sushi, Hibachi and Mocktails in Hoboken, NJ

It’s funny how first impressions are not always the right one and you sometimes need to give a second chance to restaurants. This is what happened with Saka. When this place opened in Hoboken, replacing Myron Mixon's Pitmaster Barbeque, I was a bit skeptical: there are plenty of Japanese restaurants already in Hoboken, so, what would this one bring to the mile square dining scene? Two things caught my attention though: Hibachi and mocktails. The idea of mocktails is interesting because it takes a bit of craft to pass the line between a juice and a mocktail that mimics an alcoholic beverage. Their sangria is quite good and easily makes the trick; their virgin mojito also good, but my favorite is their Eye of Dragon that is made with Lychee and served in a martini glass. Less successful is their Tropic Breeze that is made with peach juice, Pina colada and strawnberry mix, a fairly sweet drink.

Then, I was looking forward to trying their Hibachi, but admit that I thought they would cook on an iron griddle in front of us, mistaking it for teppanyaki! No, they cooked it in the kitchen and brought a plate to our table: Jodi got the vegetable version, while I got the chicken with fried rice for me. The portions were quite generous, but I thought that it was lacking a bit of flavor. That’s when I was disappointed, although, when we came back recently, the table next to us had their steak hibachi that smelled fantastic and made me regret going for chicken…

The hibachi came with a clear soup that made it a complete meal.

In our subsequent visits, we decided to try more classic dishes, as well as some of their appetizers. They have a nice selection of vegetarian appetizers like their gyoza or age tofu that is soft and crispy. For non vegetarian, I thought the crispy calamari was a bit rubbery, but their crispy Thai coconut shrimp was superb!

For sushi, Jodi tried first their tofu skin avocado roll that was good, but now, each time we go, orders their evergreen roll that is made with avocado, cucumber, asparagus, tofu skin and seaweed salad. I admit that it is the first time I have seen a vegetarian roll besides the classic avocado roll and its spin off with asparagus or cucumber. This one has all of them! Their tamago is also quite good, not too watery.

On my side, I tried their Saka roll made with lobster salad, avocado, mango and tempura crunch wrapped in rice paper. This was delicious, with an explosion of flavors in my mouth, the mango adding some sweetness and the tempura crunch some texture. Their Washington roll was also succulent. Made with lobster salad, it is composed also of shrimp tempura, avocado, and topped with spicy Kani (crab) and tobiko. I definitely recommend this one.

The last entree I tried was their chicken Katsu that is fried breaded chicken. This was once again a generous portion. The pounded chicken was covered by a crunchy coating that was not greasy at all, served with a delicious fried rice and a duck sauce that is always a favorite and a homemade sauce that I found ok.

We never went for their desserts as we always left full, except once, where we decided to try their mochi ice cream that was nice.

So, as you can guess, we have become fans of Saka: I love their food that is a bit different from others, and I am seriously thinking about trying their steak hibachi the next time I go, accompanied with the Eye of Dragon mocktail!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Saka - 618 Washington St Hoboken, NJ 07030

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