Shiki

Elite '08

10

73

Chris N.

Burlington, MA

I see some service complaints here.  Hmm.  We didn't experience that and waited on just the right amount of time.  Not overbearing, but not waiting around as well.  No issues there.

The sake bar is impressive and the tapas style was interesting.  It allowed us to try numerous tempura dishes...I just have never been to a Japanese tapas of this style.  I for one prefer sushi.  Nothing here turned me off and I would go back.

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1

38

B C.

Brookline, MA

I will be brief since I have only been here once for lunch recently.  My friend and I both had the Chirashi.  This is what I will almost always get at a Japanese place I visit for the first time.  It really gives me an idea about the quality of the fish and its relative portions.  

Compared to the other two local establishments, Ginza and Fugakyu, I would say its much better than Ginza and probably a little better than Fugakyu.  I will be more definitive with these comparisons after a few more visits to Shiki.  What was pretty amazing was the price and portions.  At around $13, the portions were close to dinner size.

I will report back after I patronize this place for dinner.

One small pet peeve, they are not open for lunch till 12pm.  For people like me who like to beat the lunch rush, a 11:30am opening would be much appreciated.

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Elite '08

20

58

Mai O.

Cambridge, MA

Me and my da' went to Shiki last Saturday for lunch.  

We were sat down right away by a waiter who looks like the Emperor in the Last Samurai (movie).  And who do I see working there on the floor, it's the same woman from Toraya (see my review on Toraya, Arlington) who was a bit strange.  I was like uh-oh...

Anyways, we both ordered Tsubaki Lunch ($16).
It had, tempura, sashimi, chawan-mushi, nikogori, grilled fish, tamago-yaki, etc.  Except for tempura and appetizer salad, it all came in one large plate.  Many small things, but plenty (I was so full at the end, although the looks is deceiving, it didn't look like it was a lot!  + rice and miso soup.)
I thought it was kinda weird how the big plate came out first then it took a while until we were served rice, miso soup, kozara (small plate for soy sauce)... but other wise, the food and service was pretty good.  The woman who used to be at Toraya was quite polite this time.  So it all went pretty well.

Sake selection looked pretty wide also.  I didn't try any since I am pregnant, but I will go there again after the labor, perhaps this time in the evening to give it a fair judgment.

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Elite '08

59

169

Sean M.

Westborough, MA

First of all this is not "Maki-Heaven" and while the fish is not cheap it not terribly expensive compared to Fugakyu, Oga, or Oya, the other top sushi dining experiences around. Don't give me that shite about Oishi either, the fish is good but the room sucks, so best for takeout, maybe.
(I have not been to the Oishi SE location.)

Shiki is a high concept Japanese Sushi dining experience and I think they pull it off nicely.  If you want cheap sushi to gob your wasabi and soy sauce into a thick mud go have cheap Korean or Chinese or Thai or Cambodian raw fish but don't call it sushi, and don't come here. Most of what I ate here did not require soy or wasabi.

I went for lunch:

1. Saki tasting flight, 4 premiums for $15
2. Halibut Carpacio
3. Scallop  Tartar
4. Lunch combo. (Wasarami(e) ? sp)

The service was not bad, the place was not full when I arrived but was when I left. Raw fish quality was as good or better than any on the top places in Boston. The Halibut Carpacio was very Seviche-like but so delicious, it came with a nice arugula salad. The Scallop Tartar was actually rolled in a fairly large thin slice of Salmon. Both these hit the Sushi Tapas mark, tasty, creative raw fish served with a flair.

I love bamboo, and you can have bamboo rice instead of white rice with the lunch special. I highly recommend it. The combos are a mix or cooked and raw vegetable and fish. There is a completely vegetarian combo as well. The lunch combos range from $10-16. The Tempura was average, the yam was my favorite, but you know I ate the shrimp first. If I wanted to eat less, I didn't because I had fasted for 20 hours before my doctor's appointment earlier, the combo would have been sufficiently enough food. The miso soup here is a standout it had tofu, bits of fish and seaweed in it. Not the brown water you get at some places. Overall a superior choice for Japanese Sushi that will require you to recalibrate your definitions of this cuisine.

* SWPL #79: I quipped about it in talk but it was true; for a large part of lunch I was the only white person and more than half the people were Japanese. I think they have a strong ex-pat following.
* If you are a cold saki aficionado they have an excellent selection.
* for dinner I would strongly suggest reservations.
* I know I came off militant here but I don't really consider eating  maki
having sushi. I eat more sashimi than anything else when I go. I like to taste the raw fish, I enjoy the texture. I especially like Uni, that is a real sushi experience. That and my last apartment in Brookline was about 500 yards from here...I do miss living in the city, not having great places like this in the burbs is my biggest regret about moving out.

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Elite '08

8

100

Allison H.

Boston, MA

after visiting pretty much every maki-centric restaurant in coolidge corner, i figured shiki would be a good place to branch out into the world of japanese tapas.  now that i have, i think i'll just stick to my faithful sushi + sashimi.

first, the positives.  the restaurant was cute, nice ambience, etc.  the service was pleasant (though i agree that it's on the slow side).  the prices were comparable to other restaurants in the area.

now, the negatives.  the avocado salad with a smidge too mayonnaise-y, the tuna tartare was underwhelming, and the sashimi was sliced very small/thin compared to other places nearby (see picture).  the naruto maki, while an interesting idea (a makeshift maki with snowcrab and wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber instead of rice) was drenched in some sauce i didn't particularly like.

all in all, i thought it was just okay.  definitely not good enough for me to choose it over fugakyu or any other brookline favorite.

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0

1

Elizabeth B.

Brookline, MA

Just fantastic!

Shiki will oblige you with good sushi, but where this restaurant seeks to excel is as a sophisticated and authentic Japanese restaurant, where comfort food doesn't mean simple food. The small to medium-sized dishes (Japanese tapas, or izakaya) are creative, unique, filling, and are relatively inexpensive. Tonight, my husband and I spent $65 and ate a huge meal.

The food tastes absolutely amazing!!! This was my second visit for dinner, and tonight my favorites were the squid, the rice balls in seaweed, and the raw fish wrapped in daikon. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Tonight was a Saturday, but there was no difficulty with wait time and service was prompt. The food came quickly (maybe 10 minutes after ordering). The decor is simple and the focus is on the food. It actually feels authentic, unlike Fugaku.  

I had previously always equated Japanese food with sushi or basic cooked dishes, but this restaurant opens up a whole other type of creative modern Japanese cuisine which I had never eaten in Boston. Shiki is not yet another one of the countless and almost interchangeable sushi restaurants in Boston and Brookline -- it is unique and fantastic. Definitely worth checking out.

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Elite '08

8

56

Daigo F.

Watertown, MA

All the service complaints you read here are true. And its price is definitely high. We went on Monday night, and still have to wait for our drink and check for a quite bit. I can only imagine what it is like on Friday/Saturday nights... Advise: If you are hungry and spend lots of money and stay there for a while, there are many so-so Japanese restaurant sin the area like Takeshima, Mr. Sushi and Fugakyu alike.Despite all this and the slow service, I am giving 5 stars.

It is authentic. 'Japanese Tapas' is a strange way to put it, but for those who know Japanese food, what Shiki really is is a high-end Izakaya. I don' think there is a izakaya style restaurant in Boston area other than this one, which automatically is lots of star for me. All the waiters/waitress speak Japanese and owner used own Roka in Cambridge. This is his only restaurant, so he is there lots of time, and that mens you can count on the quality (That is a common problem for those successful Japanese restaurants in the area, imo)

Here is my strategy when I go to those izakaya restaurant. First plan to stay a while, like few hours. So don't go there is you are starving. It won't be fun waiting for an hour for your one thing that your ordered (See other options I gave above). I usually order few fried things and counter with same amount of non-oily things (sappari). So every Katsu, or Karaage, or Kaki Fry (fried oysters, yum), or Ebi-Mayo (drool), order seaweed salad, or sashimi, or sunomono. Get plenty of drinks ahead to go with the meal, so that you don't have to wait for it, it is worst when you run out of drinks...

If you are still hungry at the end, order Onigiri (rice ball) or Ochazuke. It will fill you up! I love this place and I hope not many people find out about it so that I don't have to wait in line to get in! :)

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0

12

Lucia M.

Brighton, MA

Yuuuuuuuuuum. Great ambiance, I love that word, ambiance, this place perfectly embodies great ambiance. Try their avocado salad, looks tiny, but fills you up and tastes delish. Any sushi will do, all savory and rolled to perfection. Yeahhh the service is kind of slow, but the place is tiny, wave your arms around enough and one of the two servers will make their way over. Definitely give this place a try, great date place too.

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3

10

Alvin T.

Cambridge, MA

After reading the Boston Globe's positive review about this place, I decided to give it a try on a Saturday night.  BIG mistake.  Allow me to elaborate.

My gf and I stopped in around 9pm and the place was about 80% full, which kind of surprised me.  I thought it would be kind of quiet at that hour, but I viewed it as a good omen that we were in for a good meal.  After sitting down, things went nowhere but downhill.  I'll spare the painstaking details, but our meal took nearly 2 hours even though we ordered only 6 items from their "tapas" style menu.  The service was sooo slooow that each item was brought out in 10-15 min increments, leaving us with 5-10 mins of downtime before our next dish.  Remember, we started at 9pm so it was close to 11pm when all 6 dishes were complete.  I don't mind a small wait here or there, but this was simply ridiculous.  The servers were nice and apologetic, but the foul was a little too egregious for me to forgive and forget.

As for the food, I'd rate it just above average.  Not bad, but certainly not fantastic.  There's good variety on the menu and the sake list is extensive, but all I keep thinking about is our 2 hour dinner and how unacceptable it was.  With that said, try this place on a slower night where the kitchen has no chance of being overwhelmed.  You might then have a positive experience.  But my first impression being what it was, I don't think I could ever go back to this place, at least not anytime in the near future.

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0

1

Erin M.

Somerville, MA

This place is small and seating is limited.  You can't make reservations for less than 6 people, which i thought was super wierd, however, you can stop in and wait for a table.  I went there on a friday night with a friend, we walked in to a small, packed, limited waiting area restaurant. and put our name in for 2, the wait was 45 min.  We decided to go for a walk and ran into Fudagyu, where we would have eaten ha the wait been shorter.  The end result was, we had a drink at fudagyu's bar and ran back to shiki where they had our table for 2 waiting.  

The atmosphere was fun, however if you're in rush this is probably not the place to go.  I was thinking it's an ideal place for a 2nd date.  It's tapas style eating, where you get about 4-6 plates for 2.  I was a little diappointed that everything didn't come out at once, they came out 1 or 2 at a time. However, if you have the time, this place is a yummy place to eat and either catch up with old friends or get to know someone.  

Hope you guys enjoy it!

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3

22

Kenneth B.

Brookline, MA

From friends/family/colleagues who've gone, I've heard nothing but
raves regarding the quality of food; and, yet, early on, I heard
disappointment at the speed of service.

I've been a couple times and had no problems with service. And each
time I have been nothing short of wow-ed by the food. This place is
GREAT! For the quality of food, the care in presentation, the unique
(for Japanese restaurants in Boston) menu...I hope this place
survives and thrives, because it deserves to. But anyone who goes,
just do keep in mind it is possible you could be in for a leisurely
meal.

This is not a Disney-fied Fugakyu sort of restaurant..this is what I
would find in Tokyo; a restaurant serving Japanese food, and not
feeling the need to make an effort to "seem" Japanese.

The prices are not high. Each dish (they tend to be "tapas-like" in size,
and are meant, as tapas, to be shared) tends to be in the $6-$8 range,
generally. I was last there a couple of Fridays ago and spent only
about $50 for a fantastic, filling dinner for two.

I highly highly recommend Shiki. Delicious.

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32

33

patty b.

Somerville, MA

Shiki's chef is one of the best Japanese chefs in the Boston area- the dishes are all subtle, harmonious, lovely and delicious.  The only reason I could only give them 4 stars was because the service was so awe inspiringly incompetent.  They were slow, disorganized (my miso soup came 2 1/2 hours after our initial order...bizarrely, my dining companions clam soup came mid-meal...).  The restaurant is so nice and the folks so pleasant that even the frustration over a meal where each dish came 20 minutes apart didn't totally ruin my desire to return.  I'm hoping others won't be turned against this very lovely addition to Boston's Japanese dining options.
PS- I'd almost give that 5th star to them just for their extensive sake bar: *wow*.
**UPDATE:
I've been back a couple more times- both at lunchtime and late in the evening.  The service was _much_ better both times, though it was not very crowded either time.  I love this place so much now, I'm gonna have to give that 5th star.

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Elite '08

16

140

ann c.

Boston, MA

a "japanese tapas" restaurant that recently just opened.

how do i know that it's a new restaurant? they use nice handsoap, nice hand lotion, and nice tp- fast forward 6-10 months and theyll put out sand paper as tp and those horrific pink hand lotion. and i also asked if the restaurant just opened and they said "yes."

overall, it's just ok. prices were on the high side- however- presentation was nice. they have a crap load of sake which i thought all tasted the same.

service...stunk! she tossed our sake menu and if the place were busy-i'd totally be ok and understanding with it but we were the only ones there!!!! what was the rush lady!?! we asked for recommendations and she just looked at us like "wtf?" and then she told us that they all taste good. thanks lady!

NOT WORTH GOING BACK.

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0

4

Adam A.

Brookline, MA

I think this place is the one bright spot of hope in an other bleak Japanese food scene in the Boston area.  First off, it's pretty much the only izakaya-style place around, which already makes them of interest.  (They do have a sushi menu as well, but I have never really looked at it...)
They have many popular izakaya dishes, such as tororo, yamakake, shiokara, broiled fishes, kara age, and fried things.  They also have some "western" (yoshoku) style dishes, such as tonkatsu; our favorite is the scallop tartar (scallops mixed with shiso, wrapped in smoked salmon).  The sea eel millefeuille and sauteed sardine were also great.  And if you drink too much sake, you can get a cod roe ochazuke to refresh yourself :)  The dishes are small, but quite a reasonable price for izakaya style (generally between $4 and $7)   The bill can definitely add up with a lot of sake or cocktails, but I guess that's true anywhere.
I have to say, this is one of the very few places in the Boston area that I will gladly go back to any time, and where I don't feel ripped off for the price:tastiness ratio.
(The service can indeed be a bit slow when they're busy, but it has gradually been getting better since they opened, I think)

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