Offshoot Nama Izakaya eatery and bar ups brand's game

I had been trying to get around to Nama Izakaya for several weeks, but my schedule wasn’t cooperating with their business hours. So I was excited when The Grub Spouse and I finally got our stars into alignment and journeyed to the 100 block of Gay Street to check out this offshoot of the popular local Nama brand. I found it up and running in the twin building spaces once occupied by Harvest. Doubling my excitement was the fact that I happened upon an empty parking space directly outside the front door, just like they do in the movies.

My first impression of the interior space was a strong one. The décor and color scheme have brightened significantly since the Harvest days. All elements coordinated well to create an environment that’s welcoming, relaxing and aesthetically satisfying. The host showed us to a booth in the primary dining area and left us with menus to digest.

As I often do at restaurants that specialize in sushi, I chose to order a plate to serve as an appetizer. The selection is limited compared to the original Nama site down the street, but fans of the cuisine may choose from nigiri, sashimi, hosomaki (thin rolls) and uramaki (specialty rolls). I chose an uramaki item, the creamy shrimp roll ($15), which is made with tempura shrimp, crab, cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and black garlic aioli.

The main menu is similarly scaled down in scope, starting with several small plates that we passed over in favor of the sushi. These include edamame, tempura vegetables or shrimp, Korean fried chicken, gyoza, miso soup and izakaya fries. (Incidentally, “izakaya” is the name for Japanese bars that offer smaller dishes and snacks to accompany bar beverages. This is an adequate descriptor of Nama Izakaya in general. And for the record, the bar offers full service, including a selection of mocktails and sakes.)

Nama Izakaya offers beef bulgogi — shaved marinated ribeye topped with sesame seeds and served with lettuce, salad and rice — and beef short rib topped with crunchy wontons and served with a savory-sweet soy braising sauce, bok choy and rice.

The Spouse and I searched for two suitable candidates from among the big plates, which include yakisoba noodles, miso pork ramen, bibimbap (one of several Korean-cuisine dishes I spotted), mushroom crispy rice and pork katsu curry.

I ordered the beef bulgogi ($17) — shaved marinated ribeye topped with sesame seeds and served with lettuce, scallion salad and rice, according to the menu. The Spouse decided to try the short rib ($18), which is beef short rib topped with crunchy wontons and served with a savory-sweet soy braising sauce, bok choy and rice.

The sushi arrived first, and as usual, I had it all to myself. It was a solid roll, from the fresh, sticky rice to the crunchy shrimp to the small avocado crescents topping each slice. I actually enjoyed the creamy shrimp roll without embellishment, but the house soy sauce was really good and struck my palate with an essence that was notably distinctive from most soy sauces I’ve tasted. I put away half the roll and saved the rest for another day.

Nama Izakaya's two dessert options are an ice cream sandwich, with a choice of green tea or vanilla ice cream, and and ube cheesecake, topped with syrup derived from a purple yam native to the Philippines.

The same was true of our entrees; we went halvsies on both to accommodate a possible dessert course. But the main dishes both delivered big-time. I can summarize both the short rib and the beef bulgogi by saying that each delivered a unique flavor experience that practically made our respective sets of eyeballs roll back in their sockets. The sides of white rice both got the job done. I did notice a minor discrepancy from the menu on my plate: Instead of scallion salad, my beef was served with shoestring cucumber strips on the small bed of greens.

For dessert, we ordered one each of the two menu options — an ice cream sandwich ($6) and ube cheesecake ($8). The former is made with a choice of green tea or vanilla ice cream (The Spouse went with vanilla) between two homemade sugar cookies. The latter is a New York-style cheesecake made and topped with ube syrup (derived from a purple yam native to the Philippines) and house-made whipped cream. Rest assured that we completed both treats and loved every sweet bite.

Although I had to be a little more proactive in requesting follow-up attention than I prefer, our server was quite personable and helpful and came through when on task. But overall, I intend to work Nama Izakaya into my personal rotation, and something tells me you’ll be reading about it again when it’s time for my annual summary of my favorite restaurants of the year.