Maru's distinct pan-Asian cuisine blends Japanese and Korean cuisine into tapas-style dining and elaborate sushi rolls. Amid deep crimson walls and rich mahogany woods, diners tuck into Korean short ribs or marinated bulgogi?thin-sliced rib-eye steak?as chopsticks conduct Japanese flavor symphonies of miso-marinated pork belly and char-broiled squid drizzled in sweet ginger sauce. Omakase-style dining gives culinary adventurers a chance to tour the chef's favorite new creations, sampling their way through an off-menu spread of sushi. Alternatively, guests can delight in the bistro's complex sushi mainstays, such as the Maru roll, stuffed with crab and cream cheese, topped with spicy tuna, and christened with crispy spires of sliced lotus root. The sushi bar also slices its own tapas dishes, slinging shareable plates of yellowtail with organic microgreens, jalapeño, and ponzu, or cuts of spicy tuna and avocado served on lotus-root chips.
A traditional Japanese art form, kabuki theater involves elaborate displays of song and dance. Living up to this tradition, Kabuki Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar puts on a show every day during lunch and dinner with an unlikely cast. Atop tableside grills, meats sizzle in song; flames dance into the air; and knives refuse to perform unless their name is first on the marquee. Hibachi chefs direct all of this action, and their skilled hands slice and cook meat entrees that range from sesame chicken to lobster to rib-eye steak. Complementing the grilled cuisine, sushi chefs prepare classic california rolls and specialty rolls such as the Krazy: avocado, crab, and cream cheese bundled beneath a cap of lobster salad.
With consummate showmanship, hibachi chefs grill lobster tails and shrimp in front of guests in Ginza Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar’s modern dining room. Flames from the hibachi grill gleam off black tabletops surrounded by chairs arranged in a U-shape. Behind the sushi bar, chefs prepare california rolls alongside specialties such as the Mayflower, whose spicy tuna and fish eggs evoke the sea life that pilgrims used to catch by hand and throw at trees they suspected of practicing witchcraft. In the kitchen, cooks craft more traditional dishes such as chicken and salmon glazed in teriyaki sauce or veggies and shrimp fried tempura-style.
Asuka's delightfully diverse menu rolls out sushi classics alongside juicy steaks, hearty pastas, and tender seafood brimming with Asian flavors. Dig into panko-breaded don katsu—chicken or pork cutlets deep-fried to juicy crispness ($15)—or put a pile of chopsticks on the table and play pick-up sticks to determine who gets the first slice of a dragon roll ($11.95) or a rainbow roll ($9.95). The garlic teriyaki tuna ($17.95) keeps senses floating on seaside flavor clouds, and the bulgogi don buoys a convoy of potato noodles, thin beef slices, mushrooms, and veggies in a sweet soy broth ($16).