Sasa Awards

Sasa Restaurant Review:

Occupying a 19th-century brick building that once housed a meat market but is now outfitted with shiny copper counters and floor-to-ceiling water features, Sasa embodies East/West/Past/Future fusion, serving artistic manifestations of Japanese izakaya pub grub. Traditionally shared alongside after-work drinks, these substantial small plates include grilled and fried items, sashimi, sushi and noodles. Flatiron steak slices sizzle right before your eyes atop smooth, superheated river stones, the meat scented with cinnamon and star anise. Oysters on the half-shell with saké mignonette shimmer on sea-salt slopes. Seafood is delivered daily from Oahu's auction block and Tokyo's famous Tsukiji fish market; skilled staff transforms it into dozens of varieties of sushi and sashimi as well as raw and cooked sides such as an ahi parfait. Grilled ox tongue, braised duck gizzards, edamame hummus and sizzling pig jowls are available as well. Accompanying all of this are cocktails, international wines and popular saké flights, featuring such engaging varieties as "Demon Slayer" and "Cabin in the Snow."