ShinBay

I haven't had Japanese food this good since I was in San Francisco. Each aspect of this restaurant has been carefully thought out and crafted to perfection. From the relaxing, zen-like interior, to the fabulous food, you are guaranteed to have a great dining experience here.

The menu is prix-fixe, with options ranging from 3 course to 6 course. The 5 and 6 course meals have to be reserved 24 hours in advance, and the menu is strictly chef's choice (Aside from any dietary restrictions). We decided on the 4 course meal. For our four course meal, one of the courses had 2 different options to choose from, and we had the option of getting one of each and sharing it. Each course was exquisite, with a perfect blend of flavors. We started with a hirame dish, followed by a trio of marinated tuna, a perfect blue point oyster, and a lightly fried blue shrimp. We continued with a mixed mushroom and clam dish, a cook-your-own wagyu beef and vegetable dish, and ended the meal with a lovely nigiri sushi plate.

Dessert was complimentary and was a divine chawanmushi with fresh fruit.

Service was perfect.

Definitely a must-dine if you are in the Phoenix area!

Looking for a place to take an out of town guest from Japan, this place came up on yelp search. After reading several reviews, I realized they used to have a restaurant in Ahwatukee and I dined there 10 years ago. What I remember from 10 years ago was the chef would stay quite but be very observant to guests dining. Their facial expression as they have first bite, conversation and speed they eat and serve the next food.

The food they serve here is kaiseki style. Great place to entertain guests with Japanese omotenashi. Five course meals requires 24 hrs advanced notice. With the same day reservation, you have a choice of 3 or 4 course meals. I highly recommend the group to order the same amount of course meal to better enjoy the way they serve food.

The chef watched us eat the first course meal, and decided to use firefly baby squid for the second course meal. The hometown I grew up is famous for this squid and I was very happy to see them. This type of squid is only available from the end of April to early May. I never thought I would ever run into this firefly squid in Phoenix or even in U.S.! For the chef to choose this ingredients, it really shows he know the food.

He only uses high quality ingredients and serve food in a speed each guest eats. True kaiseki in a way served at a tea ceremony. Then why not five stars? It's rice. Rice used for sushi wasn't perfect. I am sure he made it that way for type of fish he used for the night, but it was not what I wanted.

Omakase...wagyu...intimate setting...outstanding service...creative plating...inventive perfectly crafted dishes...

Unforgettable meal!

I'm updating this review to reflect a premium omakase experience I had at ShinBay. I've struck up a good rapport with the GM who is very thoughtful and remembers all my preferences.

ShinBay has a super relaxed and very sophisticated vibe that belies its albeit fancy strip mall envisions. The itamae is Japanese and runs the show. Some of the servers are Japanese too. The authenticity of the Kaiseki experience runs the gamut from the fine woods at the bar to the beautiful pottery. I'll stop boring you with the superlative accoutrements and move to the food!

1) Hirame sashimi with five sauces - perfect light way to begin. The freshness of the fluke and the varied and thoughtful spices reminded me that I'm in for a treat!

2) Best salad ever - more specifically, bigeye tuna from Hawaii (now in season), with fresh greens, freshly grated wasabi root, and a homemade sesame dressing. Oh and okra! I'm a huge salad snob and this was the perfect match of greens, proteins, and a touch of savory/sweet goodness

3) Sashimi course - well cut and plated. Good mix of flavors and especially textures. Amberjack (meaty), Santa Barbara Uni (buttery), Amaebi (delicate), Mirugai (crunchy), and Toro (fatty!). Fresh wasabi made its appearance again and oh how I relished it

4) Six tastes - I took some close ups of these, as a distant picture doesn't do this course justice. This type of dish is a staple at two of the best Japanese restaurants in LA (Mori and Shunji), and Shinbay's holds its own. There was a) Toro, wasabi, pine nuts, avocado tartar with Japanese ginger, and a crisp wafer and lotus root for dipping, b) Ankimo with Japanese radish, c) Firefly squid with Japanese relish, d) Hokkaido scallop seared and topped with truffle and truffle oil (out of this world), e) Kumamoto Oyster with Santa Barbara Uni and Japanese jelly, and f) Marinated Spanish Octopus (Tako) with a touch of spice. I was in dreamland

5) Green Tea Soba with Sea Bass - Savory soup time, and wow was this outstanding. Having flown in from the East Coast I was still trying to shake the ice out of my hair, so this hit the spot. The green tea soba noodles were rich and yet refreshing, there was a good portion of sea bass to add flavor, and in addition, daikon radish, scallions, fresh wasabi, and even bamboo made an appearance. All were delicious. The kombu (kelp) at the bottom was great at the end, as it had soaked up all the flavors and become more pliable

6) Mushroom and clam soup - Another savory dish, and something that I have had before and they recalled I loved. It is served with five different types of mushrooms over about a half dozen clams and is topped with a shredded Japanese pepper

7) First sushi course - Some excellent sauces really brought these fish to life. a) Sayori was delicate and a nice way to start, b) Second Fish - ?, c) Odoro Ebi (tiny shrimp) has a nice bite to it and is a rarer find, d) I believe this was madai served with a special sauce that I was told has been used in Japan even prior to soy sauce (sweeter and I enjoyed it very much), e) then Aji which was beautifully fresh and well presented and garnished with grated ginger

8) Second sushi course - I took close ups of these, since this was so wonderful. a) Mirugai - started big with a crunchy bite, b) Ocean Trout - loved this with the garnishment, c) Kampachi belly - rich cut, d) Toro from Japan - sublime, e) Santa Barbara Uni - I loved ending on a sweeter note

The shari at Shinbay is good and served right about room temperature. Having been in LA recently, I was getting used to the warm-rice thing, but I think Shinbay's works well since there is more attention to the sauces and since they plate five pieces of nigiri at a time, too warm rice would affect the neta (fish) temperature

9) Dessert course - this is a consistent treat at Shinbay. Fresh berries with a light sauce over a slightly sweet egg custard

Tiny curtain's open, and we heard the tiny clap of little hands
A tiny man would tell a little joke, and get a tiny laugh from all the folks
Sitting, drifting around in bubbles, and thinking it was us that carried them
When we finally got it figured out, that we had truly missed the boat
- Modest Mouse


I was thoroughly impressed with Chef's tasting at ShinBay. Unfortunately, they shuttered their doors. Chef Shinji Kurita is meticulous about his offerings. He has a clear vision for each taste/item/course that he presents. He is strict and doesn't allow for common additions such as soy sauce or wasabi...items are to be enjoyed the way he intended them to be. That would turn some off, but I appreciated his precision and intent.

I only write this brief review to acknowledge the incredible meal we were privileged to partake in and to direct well deserved attention to Chef Shinji Kurita. Keep an eye out for any ventures he is a part off in the future.

Thoroughly impressed given that it is kaiseki in the very very land locked Phoenix after all...

It's Sunday night and we were the only people there at 7:30PM, then only 1 more couple joined the restaurant around 8PM. I was quite surprised by emptiness here, made me worry slightly for a quick second but that was quickly dissolved as the first dishes came out and can't said I minded too much. It's a nice respite from all the very loud restaurants in LA.

1. Sashimi: Fluke has a nice texture to it but I found it just a tinsy oily.

2. Tsukuri (6 tastes): Kanpachi, firefly squid, blue shrimp, Hokkaido scallp, oyster with uni, octopus. Everyone was very good. My favorite was probably the shrimp, it's deep fried after all =) And the oyster-uni combination. Least, though still good, was the squid, it had a slightly different taste to it that I can't quite describe.

3. Mushroom and clam soup: 5 different types of mushrooms which I loved, my friend is not a mushroom fan, so more for me! My bowl didn't have too much broth in it though.

4. Toubanyaki: Grade A3-A4 Washugu beef, very tender and tasty. I really enjoyed the accompanying salt and sauce as well. Maybe you do need to go up to A5 for it to be "melt in your mouth like butter" feel but this was still fantastic.

5. Sushi course: I honestly can't tell you what is what but every piece was very fresh. My favorite was by far the otoro, which was probably 1 of the best I've had to date. Now that is like butter.

6. Dessert: Chawanmushi (egg custard) with fruit. This was fantastic, tasted like a very light version of creme brulee without all the sweetness. Really nice with fresh fruit on top.

Overall: Fantastic dishes and honestly at $100 per person and considering the generous portion sizes, this is a great deal (at least by LA standards). Sake list is also very reasonable priced. While not every bite was my favorite ever, given the standards for location and value, this is a 5 star place!

Another place that I would go back in a heart beat, their tasting menu is a delight and an experience one must indulge in. (Unlike the tasting menu at Canlis in Seattle,WA - that place is only good for ambience, service and wine --food was a blah in all aspect)

The attention to details, presentation and most importantly the well balanced flavors..wow!!

Love this place, every time I go back to Phoenix, I would make reservation to this place and nobuo teeter house.

The other is right next to shinbay (roka akor), great but not as amazing (worthy of a 4 stars for sure)

My boyfriend recently had a big birthday, and I recently saw that as an excuse to go to ShinBay.

Seriously - if you're a foodie, you need to do this at least once.

Don't listen to the reviews about quantity. The food was plenty. We had the 6-course Omakase and were stuffed by course four. Do I regret the other two courses? NOPE. Because this was some of the most delicious and beautiful food I have ever eaten. Please refer to the photos for each course and get ready to salivate. They speak for themselves.

Service was impeccable, as expected. Our server was extremely attentive. Everyone greeted us by name. The staff even gave my boyfriend a birthday card!

Amazing experience, overall. Would definitely come again.

One of my favorite Japanese places is Wakuriya in the Bay Area. Each dish there is a work of art. However some are better tasting than others.

ShinBay is the opposite. The food here is all about quality and taste. Ask me what dish was my favorite. Very very tough. Ask me which one I disliked the most. I can't tell you.

Don't get me wrong, the presentation was excellent but the food was the star.

I don't think I've ever had a better meal in all of Arizona. If there were 10 stars, ShinBay would get them all. MMM.

We did the tasting menu. The starter was a halibut sashimi in a ponzu like sauce. Typically, you wouldn't think of halibut as being the go to sashimi, but it was prepared perfectly and can't think of a better sashimi dish. The next course was a bento box with different small apps. Each one was better than the last. We especially enjoyed the oyster and uni. The third dish was a mushroom soup. It was phenomenal! The fourth dish was a "cook your own" wagyu. At first we were hesitant to do this, but once we realized how amazing this meat was we couldn't get enough. The final dish (and surprisingly the best) was a plate of nigiri. Every piece was perfectly done and SO fresh. This was the best nigiri we have found anywhere in AZ. For desert we had a custard with fruit that was the perfect ending to the tasting.

Overall, the prices are very high, but extremely worth it. Alcohol prices are reasonable. This is a truly perfect spot for any special occasion!