Mijori is a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar just north of 580 on Grand Avenue. There’s actually a whole strip of good stuff right there on Grand that I’ve really never explored but looks fun. And, I don’t entirely fear for my safety right there, so that’s always good.
We hit up Mijori with friends on a Friday night at about 8pm. We found ourselves fighting through a mass of people just to get within arms reach of the tiny whiteboard posted just inside the front door where we could write our names on the wait list. This place has some serious followers, and we waited with them for the better part of an hour to get our chance at a table.
Inside Mijori
The facility is small yet nice, and bustling almost to the point of bursting. When we sat down at our table of four, however, the atmosphere was intimate enough that we were able to hold pleasant conversation without yelling and weren’t being disturbed in any way at all, really, by the other patrons. Busy but not riot-busy; I like.
The menu is extensive and includes all the Japanese standard items, including appetizers, udon noodles, dinner combos, sashimi, sushi rolls and specialty rolls, among probably more meat-centric dishes that I happily ignored. At our table there was: a veggie gyoza appetizer, sushi/sashimi dinner combo, vegetarian roll, asparagus roll, sashimi deluxe combination and a bowl of tempura udon.
Salad from Mijori
Rave reviews came in for every morsel of food, which I suppose isn’t surprising based on the sheer number of humans attempting to simultaneously enter this restaurant. Still, sometimes a large volume of people are just crazy (like Scientologists, for example), so it’s always best to check it out for yourself.
Veggie gyoza from Mijori
The gyozas ($5) were delicious. Crisp on the outside, yummy nondescript mush on the inside with tasty vinegar-based dipping sauce. I love dipping sauce, by the way, just fyi. All four of us were also, notably, served miso soup before we even ordered which made me extremely happy. The soup was fabulous.
Sushi/sashimi combo from Mijori
My sushi/sashimi combo dinner ($17) came with rice and salad and was awesome. I think I could drink that sweet salad dressing from a glass: SO good. A six-piece California roll, six generous slices of tuna sashimi, and five pieces of assorted sushi came on my plate and filled me up before I even touched the rice. Delish.
Veggie sushi roll and asparagus roll from Mijori
Tempura udon from Mijori
The veggie rolls ($4 and $5) were gone in a flash; the sashimi deluxe platter for two ($27) was easily consumed by a single very happy man, and the tempura udon ($10)—besides a bout battling the extremely high temperature of the broth—was deliciously satisfying. Mijori was a success; I see why it’s so popular.
Sashimi Deluxe platter from Mijori
My only complaint was that the service wasn’t completely top-notch. We received everything we needed but didn’t get refills on our waters throughout the meal. I love water refills, it makes me think they’re on top of everything. And it would have especially helped when boyfriend was being burned to death from the inside out by his molten noodle dish. But, the place was packed so I forgive. I’ll still certainly come back.
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