gaku sushi izakaya is a little difficult to find, especially at night. it's located on a one-way street, so it can be easy to miss. if you are driving, there is a small parking lot in the back of the restaurant. upon entering, we were enthusiastically greeted in the traditional "irasshaimase!!!" by the staff and the sushi chefs. despite it looking deserted outside, the restaurant was busting at the seams with happy, boisterous patrons. the energy in this place was amazing! we were promptly seated at a corner table and were given the menu.
the menu itself has a positively intimidating selection of sushi, sashimi, authentic japanese meals, and more. it also seemed endless, to be honest. i also noticed that the diversity of their alcohol were predominantly from japan and that they pair excellently with fish textures and types (i.e. cooked fish, raw sashimi). our server was a young man who was very attentive and eager to help. we came to gaku after seeing a recommendation to try their omakase style ("i'll leave it to you, chef"), which they had different versions of. after taking our server's advice, we ended up ordering the omakase sashimi dinner, the moi yaki cooked fish, a side order of sushi rice, and the "iki" drink to pair with the sashimi. the meals arrived after a decent amount of time (about an hour?), but, for some reason, i felt it was a lot shorter so i did not mind the wait.
the omakase sashimi dinner came out with beautiful colors and presentation. our favorite pieces were the toro and tuna; these tasted the freshest and melted in our mouths so delicately. the others were good too, but we enjoyed the flavors and cuts of the tunas better. the iki drink, despite being sneaky, strong drink, had excellent crisp and fruity flavors that paired nicely with our meal. the moi yaki was also a very delicious surprise; the fish was cooked in its full integrity and seriously had a flaking, butter texture that melted in our mouths deliciously as well. if you order this, i suggest ordering a side of sushi rice - it completes the meal in my opinion.
unfortunately, what ruined our experience was that after we were served the food, we seemed to have been forgotten and didn't leave for another hour, approaching an hour and a half from the time we were done with our meal to the time we were able to pay for ticket (even after catching the server and asking for the ticket several times). that ending left a sour taste to our experience, but even with our large bill (with just the 4 items our dinner cost $84.82 without tip), long waiting times, and end service, gaku sushi izakaya still deserves at least a 4.0 rating for its originality that pays homage to the japanese cuisine and the boisterous energy in the air from its chefs and patrons.
tip #1: the sushi chefs seemed very passionate and were always beaming with positive energy. if you can, i recommend following mr. bradshaw's tip - sit at the sushi bar and watch them in action.