Sometimes, when a new restaurant takes over a space, particularly one with a similar cuisine, not a lot changes. A color scheme, maybe. But when owners of the sushi and hibachi restaurant Koma took over the old Sakura Garden in West Hartford’s Bishops Corner, they went for a total transformation.
Black walls, black ceilings and frequent pops of red and yellow make up Koma, along with strategic use of backlit cutaways and uplighting. From the line of Buddha statues flanking the entryway to the centrally located bar, it’s all the metropolitan atmosphere of a casino club sushi bar, minus the dubstep and “woo” girl bachelorettes.
We sit at the bar, alongside an enormous sitting Buddha blissfully looking out over those drinking. Happy hour specials run 4 to 7 weekdays (select $4 starters, $4.25 sushi rolls, $8.25 special rolls, and drink specials.)
The regular menu is full of pan-Asian foods, from a garlic miso shrimp stir fry ($16.95) to chicken pad thai ($10.95) and an Indian pancake ($4.95). Overall prices seem a little expensive, but then the first impression is also that Koma is aiming to be higher end.
It’s always a plight to decide whether to order an amazing-sounding kitchen entrée or stick with sushi. We decide to straddle the line, starting with the Mini Beijing Duck ($9.95) before switching to sushi. The duck arrived beautifully on a plate with three steamed buns, shredded green onion and hoisin. Duck steamed buns? Closer and cheaper than Manhattan? Amazing. The duck was tender and flavorful with a nice crispy skin.
A bowl of sashimi riding a bed of ice was placed near us, with blue light illuminating the frozen crystals from below. Fine presentation, but sadly destined for other customers. We received the Trio Spicy Combo (spicy tuna roll, spicy crabmeat roll, and spicy salmon roll, $15.95), a staple of my sushi orders. Many similar combos don’t include the crabmeat roll, which was a little sweeter and had a shredded texture to the meat.
The Sushi Sandwich ($13.99) was fun and a rarity for local sushi restaurants. Filled with spicy tuna, lobster, avocado, and tamago (egg), layers of rice and soy paper act as “bread” as it is cut into triangles and, literally, meant to be eaten like a sandwich. The result was delicious and quite filling.
Koma, in Bishops Corner, 345 N Main St., West Hartford, is open Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Information: komahibachi.com and 860-232-2100.
