Arigato Restaurant
Martinez CA
When we took a Napa Valley California trip, one of my side aims was to eat at an authentic Japanese restaurant. San Francisco is known for its oriental food and Japanese food seemed a good match. After buying quite a bit of motorcycling gear at a Martinez cycle shop, we asked the owner if he knew of any good Japanese restaurants in the area. He pointed us at Arigato, a few blocks down and run by a 'mom and pop' team.
Down the street we went. The restaurant was tucked into a row of storefronts in the 'old town' section of Martinez. Relatively small, maybe 15 tables inside. Sure enough, the "mom" was taking care of everyone as the waitress, while her husband did all the cooking in the back. The place was very clean and nicely done in traditional Japanese decor. We ordered one of just about everything on their menu. The menu isn't huge - the only sushi is a tuna sashimi and californian roll - but there was a good selection of items.
First came the miso soup, plus soy bean pods and a carrot-cabbage salad with vinegar, all in very nice plateware. The soup was GREAT, rich, spicy, delicious. I popped a pea pod whole into my mouth before realizing that it probably wasn't supposed to be eaten this way. VERY spiky. I tried to mush it for about 5 minutes in my mouth before giving up and quietly putting it into my napkin :)
Now came the boxed presentation of each of our meals, with little areas for each part of the meal. Very nicely done. Between us we had teriyaki beef (fresh and tasty), tempura (VERY light and flaky, not oily at all), tuna sashimi (thick cuts, very nice), Californian Rolls (fresh and crisp), and a salad with a Russian style dressing. The salad was probably the only thing I wasn't very fond of - not quite a traditional dish. We also had an appetizer of gyoza which was fine, but a bit mushier than I tend to like them. I had a large sake with it which was the perfect complement to the meal.
The prices were incredibly reasonable, service was quite fast and everything came out at the perfect pace so you weren't waiting but you weren't being hurried along. We would definitely go back here again!
Address:
Martinez CA
in the old town district
Japanese Restaurant Reviews - Main Listing| Lisa's Japanese Pages
Lisa's Japanese homepage
| Follow @LisaSheaAuthor | Tweet |
You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What's Online at Swagbucks.com