A friend of mine had heard about the Sushi Happy hour. We were so pleasantly surprised at the selection and quality of the rolls!! The Octopus Cerviche and the Crunchy Salmon rolls are probably 2 of my favorite things. I hate to single out just 2 of the rolls cause EVERYTHING is so yummy!!
The last time we were there, I was introduced to Oyster Sake Shooters. Totally rocked my world. I am in LOVE!!
The atmosphere is very sleek. The sushi Chef, Guermo, so very nice and excellent at his craft. We really always look forward to coming here for both the food and the staff!!
Chiba is my go-to place for good sushi and rolls. Everything's fresh and flavorful. One of the things I really enjoy is that, if the description mentions an ingredient, you taste it but it's never overpowering. It just adds to the flavor.
Good selection of beers and and a marvelous saki list--currently Thursday nights are half-price for all sakis, so I've been able to try some of the more expensive things.
Good, attentive staff and a comfortable, polished atmosphere make this a place I love.
The sushi here is excellent. That is not something I would say about any of the other sushi places in New Orleans (that I have tried). I imagine that Chiba flies in fresh fish from the West Coast. The prices seem to reflect that.
The fatty salmon and smoked salmon sushi were both amazing. The strawberry roll was also amazing. We also had an appetizer plate of salmon, bluefin tuni, and yellowfin tuna with white truffle oil which was, yes, amazing. The steamed bun with pork belly was excellent--an airy, puffy, warm bun with the perfect amount of a lightly-sweet, tangy sauce.
The only thing I tried which was not excellent was the shrimp tempura roll. The strongest flavor in the roll was mayonnaise. I'm surprised they didn't add some sort of spice to modify the straight-up mayonnaise flavor.
The prices here are very high, i.e. $3.50 for one piece of sushi or sashimi. A Â light dinner without alcohol will be about $40 per person.
Chiba has quickly become our goto Sushi Bar! Â Great happy hour, freshest fish in the city and they are on Open Table. Â The other night the scallops and hamachi were amazing! Â Their rolls are some of the most creative in the city! Â We arrived early with our kids (5,4,2) and that was ok but after 630 it would not bring my kids to Chiba.
Update:
So the menu has been spruced up in the most amazing ways! Â Monday night is local fish night where the Chiba teams prepares a more local flavor to the sushi, Tuesday is "Taco Tuesday" with amazing tempura grouper, fabulous ceviches! Â And Wednesday night is happy hour all night! Â
This week in particular I would note the scallops were AMAZING!!! Â We mixed a spicy scallop hand roll with avocado and yellow tail...oooh la la!!
First thing that we ordered was Satsuma Strawberry Roll, Gulf Coast Roll, and octopus ceviche. These were delicious! The rolls were very fresh, and the strawberry roll was definitely new for me
Yes, this place is pretty pricey, and I can definitely go to other cheaper sushi areas where they taste just as good for less the price. But I'm giving this place a four stars because they have some special rolls I haven't seen in other places, also their different types of ceviche! and their newer items on the menu, such as the taco items I need to try.
It's a good place to try if you want a "fancier" sushi place to eat. I also like how they have a regular happy hour and a "Reverse" happy hour which starts from 10-1am depending on certain days.
I've found sushi bliss at Chiba: an easy all-around 5-star experience this past Friday night! Dig the digs that are more ultra urban than traditional silk scroll and shoji screen-filled sushi joint. And the service is sweet and attentive to your every need, no matter how bustling the scene.
These folks know what they're doing. Yeah, you've got the Japanese classics, the udons, tempuras, sushi, sashimi, chirashi etc., but where other restaurants might stop there, Chiba keeps going. Â For example soy paper is an option, instead of seaweed and they also offer brown rice instead of only white. I love that they have speciality rolls with NOLA-fied names like the Voodoo Roll and Satsuma Strawberry roll. And I especially love that their vegetarian options aren't limited to avocado and/or cucumber rolls. And, finally I've found vegetarian gyoza in New Orleans. Hallelujah! Chiba's veg gyoza is mushroom-based and the dumplings are perfectly pan-fried and sososo tasty. I also had a vegetarian tempura roll that is beyond words delicious and love that they have asparagus in it!! I had never tried soy paper before and it went perfectly with this veg tempura roll. Avocado/cucumber roll was also on point.
A note on tasty boozy bevs: I'm thankful that Chiba doesn't limit their drink menu to sickeningly sweet martinis, plum wine (or lousy wine) hot sake and Japanese beer.I mean, 3 types of Champagne by the glass is pretty remarkable. Also, I vow that next time I'm going to give up my moratorium on sake-sippin' and try one of their tasty-sounding infusions. Honeysuckle? Yes, please!
We ended up here when my girlfriend said she needed sushi. It was  a Wednesday, which happens to be when they do their all night happy hour. Great call! Drinks were $3, most items on the menu were $3-5. I managed to get filled up for about $7.50. Definitely a cool atmosphere and it has its own mini parking lot. Check this place out on a Wednesday.
Review Source:Ok these guys are the nicest most coolest best place to eats ever. they are soooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooood i can't even believe the mouthttescular expieriantes when i partake upon the chiba goodness. My fave thing to do is to get basic junk always but my chick always gets radical sushi combos of a different variety and they are also always super righteous just like my regular basic sushi decisions. Great service. groovy owner. Sat outside on maple street., felt the vibes, dug the scene. Very very very cool. I Come here all the time will be back for shores. Endorsement granted.
PS AMAZING DEALS, HAPPY HOUR WHOA
I don't write many yelp reviews, but Chiba is the best sushi restaurant in New Orleans so I had to this time. Â I'm pretty picky about sushi and I don't like crazy rolls with lots of mayonnaise. Â The sushi here is always fresh, especially the sashimi. My favorite rolls are the spicy tuna avocado roll, spicy scallop, and eel avocado roll. The salmon sashimi is really good too. They have the best tuna ceviche appetizer. The drink menu is great as well.
Review Source:We wandered over here the other day, looking to add a few new places to our Sushi Circuit in town. Â After a little research, and realizing that we hadn't tried this place before, we went for it. Â In order to beat the rush, we decided to make reservations for an early dinner (5:00 PM) on a Saturday. Â Needless to say, the place was pretty empty when we arrived, which meant we had the sushi bar to ourselves.
Our sushi chef was James (Hope I remembered that right), and he was excellent. Â We started with some items off the "Funk and Roll" Happy Hour Menu (M-Sat, 4-7PM) - the Pork Belly and the Edamame. Â The Edamame was what you would expect. Â The Pork Belly was very tasty, and an excellent starter. Â We also ordered the Short Rib Appetizer, which seemed to have a little bit of a Mexican flair to it, but was very good.
On to the good stuff, and the best reason to sit at the Sushi Bar...
For the main course, we ordered Tune Avocado Roll, and it was exactly was it supposed to be, so we wandered out from there. Â Next we had the Mardi Gras Roll, and finished up with the special of the day, the Creole Crawfish Roll. Â The Mardi Gras roll was was tasty, with a mayo a touch overpowering. Â The Creole Crawfish apparently came out of a challenge from the owner to the chef to create some kind of roll with crawfish remoulade. Â At first, this sounds quite heavy, and we were happily surprised at how light and crisp it was..
We somehow managed to bites of the Banana Pudding, with was coated in tempura, and topped with fruit and cream. Â It was also very good, and one of the Happy Hour specials.
Our server was great, and very attentive. Â The space has a modern/rustic feel to it, with modern art and fixtures, and furniture/chairs made from repurposed items - possibly railings or wagon wheels with the chairs...?
The Happy Hour specials are all day Wednesday, and the Sake bottles are all half off on Thursdays.
Overall, we will return and dine again! Â We will probably also try to trek their early again to once again commandeer the sushi bar.
Great place for late night sushi uptown! Although the rolls aren't of the highest caliber, me and my girlfriends love going to Chiba to catch up as the drinks and rolls are always good. It normally comes out to being under $20 for each person and that is a price that can't be beat uptown. The staff is also professional and personable which is a huge plus. I haven't been during the regular hours but have never been disappointed during their happy hour.
Review Source:The reverse Happy Hour phenomenon is perfect for our city. I am no a sushi know - it  - all but put anything in reverse and it's bound to be a hit
I really like the cocktail selection and appetizers during happy hour. I don't think it's a Sushi Samba but it's somewhere fun to hangout while waiting for a table next door at Jacques -imos.
Review for the happy hour only...
You should go if you like cheap sushi and drinks! They have a great happy hour menu, that is good for a quick bite. The quality of how the sushi is made isn't the best, but you certainly can't be $4 for unagi/avacado roll. Despite how cheap the rolls were, the fish was fresh and brought out in a timely manner. 8 of us headed up there on a Wednesday to take advantage of the pretty much all day happy hour. We weren't disappointed and everyone left feeling full with less than $20 tabs that included drinks.
The service could be improved a bit and I don't really understand the need for 2x hostesses. There's a small lot next door that is very convenient to park on since Oak St can get a bit full. While I'm not into trendy sushi places (this place certainly qualifies as that), I am into a good cheap bite. I probably won't be back for the regular menu, since it seems a bit overpriced. However, I will certainly be back for the happy hour menu!
Happy hour: Wed 4pm-12am, Mon-Sat 4-6pm, Mon-Tues 10-11pm, Wed-Thurs 11-12pm, Fri-Sat 12am-1am
I couldn't say enough about this place. Â We went there for a friendly business dinner and it was the perfect place. Â The food quality was top notch, and had some of the usual sushi "comfort foods" along with a great variety of innovative dishes. Â The music was good, atmosphere great, and right next to a good bar/lounge for after-dinner entertainment.
This place won't disappoint and I definitely recommend.
I may change this review if I actually get to eat here, but I cannot give any good rating to a restaurant that will treat its customers so badly.
We made a dinner reservation at 8:30 pm on a Thursday and arrived right on time, but were met at the door by the hostess who said that we would have to wait a few minutes for a table ("we're very busy"). However, the bar was full and they have no waiting area, so we were forced to stand awkwardly between tables of dining customers while we waited.
Despite the fact that I could see at least three empty tables, Half an hour later (my phone said 9:06), we approached the hostess and asked if we had been forgotten about. She apologized, promised it would only be a few more minutes, then went on to advise us to order an appetizer when we are seated because the kitchen is backed up and it would be an hour and a half before our entrees would probably arrive.
So... dinner at 10:30/11:00 pm after an 8:30 pm reservation. Absolutely not.
I will not be spending my money here, sorry.
If you like sushi, but want atmosphere that is different than the usual oriental theme then this is your spot. It has progressive music, and avante-garde decor. Best of all, it's on Oak St. near some other cool places that you should at least walk by and know are there (I'm talking to you, tourists!).
The sushi is great, so don't think I'm waiting to talk about that to avoid the subject. It's just that so many other factors tie in to the good food. Service has always been top-notch as well. This is a gem, and if you're from out of town you should find a reason to go visit the bars and restaurants along Oak St. If you're in the mood for sushi then this place is a fantastic excuse to hit a really interesting part of New Orleans that many tourists don't ever see.
The sweet and sour soup is fantastic, by the way.
I will never eat at this restaurant ever again in my life. I went with a friend twice, the first time was an ok experience. I had the sweet n sour soup for the first time and it was actually good. The owner who's name escapes me, came and checked on our "two top" table and asked my opinion of the sweet n sour soup. I responded, "It was great!" The owner gave me his business card, and reassured me that the service was as exceptional as their food.
As of last week, my (same) friend of mine decided to go back to Chiba. Only this time, we were more enthusiastic about returning bc of the initial great experience we received the first time, and it was a week from HELL and we simply wanted to enjoy a nice relaxing dinner, and receive the same exceptional service we did the first time.
We started with a bottle of Sake with no intention at acknowledging the prices carefully, although we managed to order a $95 bottle. Okay, the meal came, they forgot one of the rolls we ordered, and in one of them the Avocado was mushy. We later get the bill, and it was $161!!!! GEES I KNOW RIGHT? It was that damn Sake! (OUR FAULT)
We pay the check via credit card, and within seconds once ran, my bank sent an alert that my card was charged $193!!!!!! I asked for the manager, who was RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL, AND ARGUMENTATIVE!
Lets not forget UNCONCERNED! She stated there was a 20% Gratuity which was not applied the time we ate there before, keep in mind that our first visit, with the same two people, was not charged the 20% gratuity. So why now this time? The so called "MANAGER" forced us to basically tip by 20% when in fact my friend still left $10 cash for the server. She blamed it all on my banking institution and insisted that all tables were charged a 20% gratuity! WRONG LADY, IM NOT AN IDIOT!!!
MANAGEMENT TRIED TO ROB ME OF MY MONEY, WHEN MY BUSINESS THERE THAT NIGHT WAS SIMPLY FEASIBLE ENOUGH! HOW DARE THEY WITHHOLD MY FUNDS BECAUSE THEY WANTED MORE MONEY!
I WORK FOR A MAJOR HOTEL CHAIN HERE IN FRENCH QUARTER AND I WILL NEVER CONTINUE TO RECOMMEND ANY OF MY GUEST TO THIS ESTABLISHMENT, NEVER! IT AS A TOTAL DISREGARD OF PERSONAL FINANCES. I WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE WORD AROUND TOWN OF SUCH HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES.
IF YOU DON'T WANT BAD SERVICE , OR SIMPLY BE ROBBED OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY, DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS!
This is one of those places that looks really cool and hip. Â When you walk in, you feel like there should be cameras following you because you must be on some cool new reality tv show. Â But honestly....that's where my excitement ended. Â The seating is somewhat tight for a party of two and not all that cozy. Â I can get passed that due to the general sensibility of the restaurant but the true kicker was that the food was just OK.
I had high hopes. Â HIGH HOPES! Â But I was pretty disappointed by our meal. Â We ordered the tuna ceviche and short rib tempura as appetizers and both were pretty delicious. Â They really got me excited about our specialty rolls cause I was thinking....gosh, they've got to be good now! Â
For our rolls, we ordered the St. Charles and Let the Good Times Rolls. Â The St. Charles roll was not very tasty and the Let the Good Times roll was not good...at all. Â Keep in mind that sushi can be totally subjective and folks like what they like. Â But if you're reading this and want my opinion....I'll pass. Â If you don't want my opinion, stop reading! LOL! Or try it for yourself. Â Needless to say, I doubt that Chiba will see me again. Â So long, farewell, a-chiba say good night!
As I'm writing this review, I'm still unsure of what rating to give Chiba. Â I'm currently debating between 3 and 4 stars. Â Why? Â Well you see, I actually had a very pleasant experience at Chiba. Â Then why am I debating this again? Â Well Chiba is actually quite pricey, and trust me I've been to a fair share of sushi restaurants in New Orleans. Â I personally never had a problem with spending $15-$18 on a special roll, but when a special roll is the same size as a small roll and still costs roughly $10 more, there's a problem.
Okay let's get to what we ordered. Â We started off with the Octopus Ceviche (must-try!) and the Yellowtail Ceviche (decent). Â We then ordered 6 rolls for the table which included the Satsuma Strawberry Roll, the Gulf Coast Roll, the Mardi Gras Roll, the Black Widow Roll, the St. Charles Ave Roll, and a crunchy roll. Â Everyone loveddd the Strawberry Roll. Â They were all actually pretty good, but for the size of the roll it just wasn't worth the money. Â We then ordered Mochi and the Fried Blueberry Bread Pudding for dessert. Â The red bean mochi was horrendous, not because of the flavor (bc I actually love red bean), but because of the texture! Â It was so brittle and fell apart in your mouth. Â I'm sure it was because it was really old, because the mango and green tea weren't that bad. Â The bread pudding was good, but being the dessert connoisseur I am I'm quite critical,and no it wasn't the greatest dessert I've ever tasted.
So overall Chiba actually is a good sushi joint if you don't mind the prices, but personally I don't think it's worth it. Â There are definitely other sushi joints in NOLA that's worth the money.
I was strolling down the street headed for a completely different restaurant when Chiba's menu stopped me in my tracks. I'm easily distracted by sushi. My mother always told me not to talk to strangers, but if that stranger has sushi, I'd probably get in the van.
I went inside knowing I had dinner reservations thirty minutes later, but I just couldn't stop myself. Their Happy Hour menu was so seductive. Hot and cold sake was three bucks, white and red wines were three bucks, speciality cocktails were seven bucks and elaborate sushi rolls were five. It is the best happy hour menu I've seen in a long while.
I ordered a cold sake and an avocado and eel roll as a pre-meal meal while I glanced at the full menu. I'm not gonna lie, it was really really hard leaving this place to attend the other restaurant. What little food I did sample, it was beyond delicious.
My only regret is not allocating time to have a full meal here, but I know I will definitely be back.
Their happy hour is a WINNER for a few reasons such as: it happens twice a day (4-6p and 12-1a), good rolls for $3-4 and their steamed "buns." Â
Should go ahead and mention that their version (of steamed bun) is nowhere near traditional. Â It's more like a taco with stuffing, but the taco "shell" is made from bun dough. Regardless of style they are so, so delicious!
I'm glad I've discovered their happy hour because going to eat there during non-HH times is really hard on the pocketbook, so cheaper food at the same quality? Â Geez, it makes me feel like I'm stealing!
In 2012, it would be inaccurate to describe New Orleans as lacking in sushi restaurants. It makes sense that a town full of seafood lovers has such an abundance of sushi restaurants, and yet, oftentimes a lot of these sushi restaurants are generic in their approach. With every new sushi restaurant that opens, there comes the inevitable question: "What new thing are you bringing to the table?'
I'm pleased to note Chiba seems aware of this question and is providing a stellar answer. Chiba has a menu full of Japanese flavors not commonly found at many other New Orleans sushi restaurants: Bonito and toro sashimi, ume rolls, and live clam are all featured among more Americanized & common favorites like Philly rolls. There are four kinds of delicious steamed buns (we had the grouper and oyster - both excellent) - another trend which has been inexplicably slow to catch on in New Orleans sushi restaurants and which Chiba thankfully remedies with flying colors. Additionally, I was impressed by what looked like a wider assortment of vegetarian options for rolls and appetizers on the menu (though I did not take advantage of this for my first visit) than is typical, and also found evidence that the chefs at Chiba have a vested interest in keeping their menu seasonal.
Where Chiba truly stands out from other sushi restaurants in New Orleans is in it's creative specialty rolls, some of which are seasonal and some of which have already become popular mainstays. Of these specialty rolls, we sampled the popular Satsuma Strawberry roll: A delicious, spicy-sweet combination of yellowtail, scallop, strawberry, mango, and jalapeno, a roll that I think it's safe to say was unlike any other sushi currently being served in the area.
For dessert (a must for every venture out for me), I was pleased to see a more inventive couple of options than the usual offering at most sushi restaurants: Instead of a choice between red bean and green tea ice cream, we were given a choice between tempura battered bread pudding and a "Bananas Foster spring roll", consisting of a banana fried and topped with bananas foster sauce and served with vanilla ice cream. We chose the latter and were pleased.
My one qualm with Chiba is that it is on the pricier side, and in the future I will prefer to return to it for lunch and happy hour rather than it's regular price times. Even given it's pricing, however, it seems utterly possible to dine at Chiba without breaking the bank as the happy hour is not only daily from 4-6 but also late nights.
A friend and I visited Chiba early in the evening to take advantage of their amazing happy hour deals!
This was our first visit.
Decor: Â A
I was really impressed with the decor. Â It's clean and stylish without being too loud and overbearing. Â
Service: Â A+
We sat at the bar and the owner, Keith, waited on us. Â I enjoyed hearing about how he fell in love with the city and moved here from New Jersey to open this amazing sushi restaurant! Â The service was attentive, without being overly so. Â Since it was our first visit, Keith surprised us with a free dessert, which was amazing.
Food: Â A
Everything that we ordered was fresh and absolutely delicious. Â Since the happy hour prices were so amazing, we ordered several different things...edamama, mushroom gyoza, pork belly bun, eel roll, crunchy salmon roll and the strawberry satsuma roll. Â Everything was delicious. Â If I had to give a slight to anything, it would be that there wasn't much beat in the pork belly bun. Â It was find for $3, but I would've had issue with it at the regular price of $6. Â
Value: Â A+ during happy hour - C for regular prices
All of the happy hour prices are amazing and it really gave us a chance to try a lot of different items. Â The strawberry satsuma roll was the only thing that we ordered that wasn't on the happy hour menu. Â While it was delicious, I found it to be much too small for the $15.50 price tag. Â I checked out the regular menu and found all of the prices to be on the high side.
Conclusion: Â I'd definitely go back to Chiba because of all of the pluses, but I'll likely just stick to happy hour or maybe just make it a very occasional splurge during non happy hour times.
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I RAVE about Chiba. Â Without a doubt, this is the best sushi restaurant in the city. Â I should correct myself and say Japanese restaurant because their grilled food is just as amazing as the sushi. Â And then I wanna correct myself on that and say it's my favorite restaurant in this city!!! Â The bathrooms are always clean, and the decor is beautiful.
The bar... I give props to any bar that serves Avion tequila. Â Their drink menus change so there's always something new to try. Â They also have a late night happy hour that agrees with my schedule. Â
To eat: Â Steamed pork buns and the sushi roll with strawberries.
To drink: Â Take your pick
Very trendy, Japanese style food with an slightly noticeable American/local influence. Â The menu is not as expansive as competitors in the area, but has all the important dishes for a Japanese place in an American town.. Â The dining area is very posh and would be a very nice setting for a date. Â Prices were fair.
My partner had the California Rolls, which were a bit odd. Â The flavors and presentation were nice, which included a wooden tray as opposed to a dish. Â The sliced ginger was a pleasant plus. Â Her only complaint was that the rice was also served cold, rather than room temp. Â Which could mean that these rolls were prepared hours before and refrigerated until serving. Â I ordered the pork gyoza and the tempura. Â Both were sub-par.
I ordered the combination tempura, with chicken substituted for shrimp. Â The batter used is most definitely not the traditional light batter, which resulted in a darker golden brown color, and a thicker texture. Â The vegetables were not sliced in the traditional manner, which briefly made me wonder what each piece was. Â For example I had two pieces of a chopped onion (flower petal) as opposed to an onion ring. Â Not bad exactly, but distinctly an American attempt. Â I had asked for teriyaki instead of the traditional sauce. Â This was served late, and had obviously been nuked in a microwave for too long. Â A three star dish, nothing special and not what you would expect.
The pork gyoza was a different matter. Â These are very much made from scratch and suffer from all the pitfalls of inexperience. Â Six half moon (not crescent) shaped gyoza are served as an appetizer. Â They were filled with soup. Â Since both sides of the dumpling were pan seared, you can imagine how the soupy filling squished out like a ketchup packet. Â The tops and bottoms are pan seared, so the sides of the gyoza have not crisped and provide the weak point for losing the filling. Â As a result of their filling being pork puree based, these gyoza do not take on the shape and pressed appearance of traditional gyoza. Its more of a mini pork hot pocket than a fried dumpling. Â The flavor was bland and the texture of the filling was gritty (pork puree). Â 5 stars for the effort involved, -4 stars for the finished product.
I could not comment on service, as I ended up being served by the owner. Â He had mentioned that the restaurant was only open seven months, so I can guess he hasn't worked out the kinks with scheduling wait staff. Â Although he removed the gyoza from my bill, he did seem genuinely shocked that I would mention the shortcomings of his most popular appetizer. Â I must say he was very friendly and approachable. Â Its nice to see an owner that cares, and I hope things improve.
I will probably not visit again, as Chiba offers neither distinctively good food or value amongst the many competitors in this city.
Went to Chiba for happy hour. You cannot beat the Happy Hour deals. Rolls are $3-4 and glasses of wine are $4. We got 4 glasses of wine, 3 rolls, and 2 appetizers for $33. The rolls are small and I was glad we got the happy hour pricing otherwise I would have been disappointed.
The ambiance is great. It's new, fresh, and trendy! There's something to be said for a trendy new place nestled among old New Orleans establishments. I like it! I'll go back.
I think I have it mixed up; Chiba really is Japanese first, sushi & sashimi second. Â You need the rolls, because the quality of the fish isn't as pristine as I'd like for naked fish. I'm not a big fan of multi-ingredient rolls, so it was a letdown for me. I did try one of the special appetizers - the yellowtail ceviche. The execution just didn't work; the only flavor was hot, and the diced fish were too difficult to pick up with the - blueberries - with chopsticks.
I'll go back sometime - the servers are gracious and fast, and those happy hours are extremely tempting.
I've had two trips to @ChibaNOLA in the last couple of weeks, one lunch, one dinner, because my friend Gina has been raving about the place on Da Twittah.
"Sake Blu" - Gina started off our lunch with this concoction of Tyku Sochu, Tyku Silver Sake, muddled blueberries, with a splash of grapefruit and soda. It looked neat, so I had one on the dinner outing. One turned into two. :-)
Pork Belly Steamed Buns. Our expert on the place insisted we start with what Chef Keith says is his most popular appetizer. They naturally made a second appearance at dinner as well.
Sushi: We ordered lunch specials off the menu, but also had one of Chiba's specialty rolls. The photo at the top is the "Satsuma Strawberry Roll" - Scallop, yellowtail, wasabi tobiko, mango, jalapeno, tempura flakes, and spicy sauce. Each piece is topped with a thin slice of strawberry and the roll is drizzled with satsuma ponzu. Without the strawberry and satsuma, this would still be a wonderfully-upscale crunchy roll. With those two additions, it's truly something special! Chiba also does the standards well...the California Roll and regular Tuna Roll were both solid.
For dinner, we tried the Spicy Tuna roll and a "Let the Good Times Roll" - Crispy shrimp, crab, cucumber, tuna, and a sweet chili sauce, then I asked Chef Keith to get us a different specialty roll from the two we'd already seen at this point, and he brought over a "Mardi Gras Roll" - Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, white tuna, cucumber, lemon, jalapeno, tobiko, and spicy mayo. We will have this one again!
While eating this one, Chef Keith explained Tobiko to me. It's flying fish roe. The reddish-orange color (fourth piece from the left) is its natural color. Various things are used to dye it other colors: Squid ink for black, yuzu (an Asian citrus fruit) for the yellow, and wasabi for the green. When Keith said the green color came from wasabi, it totally explained why Gina food-gasmed over the piece of the roll she grabbed.
On the lunch outing, there were three of us, so we all ordered different things off the lunch menu. Â Chicken Teriyaki-tender and tasty, and the rice cooked just right. Since Gina had the chicken teriyaki, I got the salmon teriyaki. I got the better deal!
Terri got the Assorted Tempura lunch, a bit of chicken, shrimp, and veggies, all fried nicely.
Dessert! Tempura-fried bread pudding with a blackberry sauce...wicked, just wicked!
To sum it up, we had a lovely lunch, then a great evening event with good food, excellent drinks, @TequilaAvion, and wonderful company!
I've only been here for happy hour, but oh how happy those hours were! Â (hehe)
I wasn't expecting good Japanese-esque food on Oak Street. Â Think Japanese, with a heavy gulf influence. Â Not in a bad way. Â The technique is Japanese (well, Americanized), but some of the ingredients are Gulf.
I tried a few of the genera-rolls and well, they were good for what they were: happy hour sushi rolls. Â Tasty, done rather well, but boring. Â
The stars of the HH menu, or as they call it the "funk and roll" menu, were the Bao! Â They list them as Steamed Buns, but they're Bao. Â I highly recommend the tempura crawfish (I know! Â awesome) and the pork belly (I'm not a fan of meat fat, but it was good and had a nice crispy edge). Â I wound up just taking a bite of the pork belly and eating the bao plain. Â It was good and very fresh. Â Given my choice, I would have been all over the Panko Oyster Bao, the Crawfish, and possibly the Miso Grouper Bao.
They also had gyoza (pot stickers). Â Besides the standard pork, they also had mushroom and crawfish.
A few of my party waxed poetic about their coconut mojitos. Â I opted for the healthier choice of iced tea. Â When the bartender said they had green tea, iced, never in a million years would I have thought matcha green tea, iced. Â It.was.fantastic.!
The service was wonderful, even to the HH partakers. Â The food and drinks are pretty great for a little corner in New Orleans.
Now, after reading the dinner menu, I want to try the Oak Street Bouillabaise. Â Lots of gulf seafood with bok choy (the menu says boy choy - ha!), mushrooms, and a miso shellfish broth. Â Um...hell yes!
Interesting place. It's not really a traditional sushi restaurant. Â But more of an Asian restaurant that also sells sushi. Â Very important items to note it has INARI which is really hard to comeby in NOLA and I love it. Â It also has a vegetarian sushi or sashimi plate which is again rare.
We had the specialty strawberry something roll and while I was hesitant, it was delicious. Another standout was the dessert tempura blueberry something. So tasty
The specialty cocktail menu was interesting and they had a good selection of high end sakes.
The service is still uneven but it's a new restaurant. I did feel the staff was trying...just confused.
A new sushi restaurant in New Orleans? This I must try. So far I have not been impressed with the New Orleans sushi scene. Most sushi joints serve sushi rolls covered in various sauce, many deep fried, and really not healthy at all. So you can understand how excited I was to try out Chiba hoping that it would resemble more of what sushi should be about: fresh fish with no frills and gimmicks. This is a sushi spot for true sushi lovers. In fact I quickly learned that the restaurant prides itself on serving less common fish and no Americanized sushi rolls (which means no crispy/fried sushi)! Great if you are looking for a healthier meal.
Chiba is a beautiful modern, clean and roomy restaurant located on Oak street. I love everything on this vibrant and eclectic street, Chiba is a great new addition.
We ordered several sushi dishes and loved each one. The perfect amount of rice on each roll (not too much) and fresh fish. Delicious! Being from Vancouver its hard to rate this as the best sushi I've ever had but I can easily say that it is the best sushi I have ever had...in New Orleans.
I like sushi. Â You know this. Â I even have a lengthy sushi list. Â Can I just hit the high points and not fancy pants this review up? Â Great.
Appetizer: Edamame with black salt. Â
verdict: Awesome. Â Pretty hard to screw up and the black salt added an exotic kick.
Rolls: tuna, Black and Gold (specialty), Gulf Coast (specialty)
verdict: the tuna roll was a typical tuna roll. Â The Black and Gold and Gulf Coast rolls were all fancy pants and topped with caviar of some sort. Â Now, let me ask a question; Â When you order a special roll, you kinda expect them to be BIG, right? Â Well, these were normal size rolls, but instead of 6 pieces, you got 8 pieces... for 7 bucks more. Â That's $3.50 per extra piece, for those of you playing at home. Â Were they good?? Â Yeah, but not $12 a roll good!
I also had green tea which was pretty good and the whole place had a "sake cafe" feel.
Look, I'm sorry. Â I like places that are a little less "trendy". Â That's just me. Â I prefer a "Hana" any day of the week: good food, no whistles. Â I have yet to find a place that can compete. Â Call me a snob.
Attended their Grand Opening this weekend. I thought their chairs were very interesting but heavy very hard to move. I loved their sushi bar i think the owner said it was made from coconut palm. i loved the bathroom had black toilets thats a rarity in nola.
The steamed buns with different fillings like pork,oyster,shrimp and fish were very tasty. Â The ahi poki was really good loved the large pieces of seawood with pickled onions which is uncommon for me. As far as sushi I thought the spicy crab rolls were simple but it worked. i dont normally eat raw fish but the chef convinced me to try yellowtail with spicy mayo and it was soo delicious it literally melted in my mouth.
The owner and staff are fantastic. Keith approach to the restaurant business is very appealing. One of his sushi chefs kept offering me seconds of everything i enjoyed i left beyond satiated
Cant wait to get back to try them during regular business hours.
This place has an uber new and shiny exterior and interior. Â It is even a bit out of place on Oak Street it is so fresh and shiny and looks like something out of California or Texas. Â They have a good sized staff and they provide good service. Â The chairs in this place, while looking quite nifty, are some of the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever sat in and you only get a choice of any chair you want to sit as long as it is one of these evil back breaking chairs.
They have a good sized menu and offer some things that aren't offered at other area sushi restaurants. Â The fish all seemed to be very fresh and good quality. Â I had a good toro (it was just very cold the coldest toro I've ever had), one of their special rolls, and their hot and sour soup. Â The only iced tea they had available was green tea and it wasn't a very good green tea. Â The price for my dinner was the most expensive sushi experience I've ever had in New Orleans and I probably would have been happier with a meal next door at Jacques-Imo's in that price range. Â It was good but I've just had better in NOLA and it wasn't good enough to justify what I paid. Â Overall I enjoyed my meal and will probably return for another visit but I'm still favoring Kanno as my local favorite.
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