Kabuki

Kabuki is a Japanese Restaurant chain, located throughout California. I had always wanted to try the place, so I went with a friend to the location in Old Town Pasadena. Because of its location on Colorado, I was a bit apprehensive, at first, because I try to avoid that street. It's close to football bowl season and the annual Tournament Of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl will bring a ridiculous amount of people here.

The locals try to avoid this area, during this time, because of the traffic congestion and glut of people camping out for the premium spot along the parade route. The weather was amazing and it ended up being a great patio night for dinner. The temperature was in the mid-70s and there wasn't much of a breeze, so we opted for the patio seating. Our first introduction to the cuisine was a bowl of edamame, served cold. While we snacked on that and chatted, the garlic edamame arrived. The garlic was not overbearing and provided some added zing to the dish.

I've been eating sushi for about 10 years and must admit that, for this occasion, I was not very adventurous. I took the simplistic approach and stuck to ordering 2 rolls. The Alaskan Roll was my first victim. There's not much fancy about this roll, as it's baked salmon, on top of a California Roll. The sauce they used for this roll was nice and tangy with only a mild sweetness. The flavor from the fish was nice.

(Alaskan Roll)

My second roll was a Smoky Philadelphia Roll. What can I say? I dig salmon. Unfortunately, this roll wasn't very good. It's pretty hard to mess up a Philly Roll because it just features salmon, cucumber and cream cheese. The problem with this roll was that there was more cream cheese than fish or cucumber.

(Smoked Philadelphia Roll)

Cleanliness : C
The patio area seemed fairly clean, the problem was that there wasn't enough room between chairs and our table was wobbly. A two-top table is already small. The area that has been set up for patio dining would work well, if there were fewer tables. The scenario plays out like they are strictly after a money grab and everything about the patio was uncomfortable. The chairs were hard and not conducive to a decent arrangement. The space was limited. The furniture was not functional. The weather was nice, which helped, but that's not something Kabuki can control.

Food Quality : C+
Both types of edamame were decent, but the Smoked Philly Roll was just not prepared well. The Alaska Roll was pretty solid. For the amount of money they charge, I expected a better experience. Friendliness : B+ Anthony was our server and while he was accomodating and friendly, he took the birthday voucher and didn't apply the reduction to the overall bill. Another server closed out our tab, but he should have made the arrangement.

Atmosphere : Dressy
Because this location is on Colorado, your customer base is predominantly shoppers, daters and people out and about for the evening. I did not see kids inside, so it's probably not an ideal situation for them. This is definitely a date night destination. Validation : NO There are 2 giant parking garages that are only a few blocks away, as well as parking meters in certain spots, throughout Old Town.

Affordability : Specialty Rolls = $8-$15 / Regular Rolls = $5-$10
All of the more interesting rolls and sashimi are north of $12, unfortunately. The amount of fish they use in the rolls is minimal for the amount of money they charge. I would have given their Sashimi a try, had I known the portions were light. If you go with a salad or non-sushi item, you can get your overall price down a bit, but if sushi is what you're after, expect to spend $20-$30 each.

Overall, the dining experience at Kabuki was less than enjoyable. There are Japanese restaurants on every corner here and while their decor, signage and aesthetic look nice, they've done nothing to stand out and be a spot that I would frequent again. In a never-ending sea of sushi, this restaurant was pedestrian, at best.