Scoring a date night thanks to a birthday party, Jenny and I went to have Japanese tapas in Mountain View last Friday. I visited the other restaurant in this chain back in 2008 and I remembered the rice cakes to be wonderfully crunchy. So, this time, we went with the rice cakes with salmon and salmon mayo. They were good, but the salmon was essentially there just for flavoring.
The pork rice pot was probably the best dish of the night. A runny egg was thrown in for some flavor. and our server mixed it at the table. It was a tad heavy but scrumptious and, again, had that delicious crunchy burnt rice.
The tomatoes with scallops looked good--the dish was a work of art. The tomatoes were super-juicy, too. However, the concoction was difficult to handle with chopsticks.
The cod, which was tender, could have been served on a smaller platter. What intrigued us most was the flavor. I thought it was from lemon or other citrus, though Jenny thought it was the plum soy sauce.
At $67 (including tax) with the above dishes plus a beer, we thought dinner was a bit expensive. But, the service was friendly and prompt. So much, so, in fact we got got a free bowl of edamame because we were told the food would take longer than expected. In fact, it came in less than 15 minutes. If only other restaurants could hold themselves to such a high standard of service. The restaurant opens at 6:00. At 6:30 there was plenty of seating. At 7:00, though, the restaurant was full.
Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas
1036 Castro St.
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 965-8301
www.gochifusiontapas.com
