Apparently, Octopus is yet another chain sushi restaurant! Seems like all the restaurants we have been visiting lately are one of many. These have created a string of mediocre and generic dining experiences. In this, Octopus continues the trend. It was good but nothing spectacular or memorable. It’s hard to highly recommend but there is nothing terribly bad to report either. It did seem much better than Sushi Dan in the cleanliness department though. These last few restaurants have made think maybe we should make an effort to try one of the more centrally located outposts of each of these to compare. I guess its pretty much on par with the valley though, lots of chains everywhere – oh well. Regardless, Octopus was alright and worth stopping in if you are in the area and looking for some sushi. Overall the price was reasonable, but we didn’t end up gorging ourselves this evening, so it definitely could have been more. It is a larger sized restaurant, so probably good for larger parties. Catherine said she had been there before but that it had changed quite a bit, for the better. Nothing to rave about but nothing to complain about either. They have locations in Ventura, Newbury Park, Irvine, Glendale, Encino, Burbank, Brea, and soon in Downtown.
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What We Ordered
- Seaweed Salad
- Sumo Roll
- H.O.T. Roll
- Garlic Edamame
- Kevin Special Roll
- Hamachi (Yellowtail) Sashimi
- Dynamite Crab Appetizer
- Some other roll…
- Green Tea Ice Cream
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Our Favorites
Garlic Edamame
Wonderful twist on an old favorite…This was the most outstanding item we ordered. You normally don’t think twice about edamame, but this one is definitely worth ordering. The garlic added that extra flavor that made this very memorable. The best edamame we have had anywhere I would say.
Dynamite Crab Appetizer
This is probably not always on the menu, but this night it was. If you like dynamite, you will like this. It was served in two large clam shells. We ordered two orders it was so good!
Green Tea Ice Cream
This is pretty much a known quatity. I mean, when is there bad ice cream? I guess as a note to our readers, if we list “Green Tea Ice Cream” as one of our favorites, that pretty much means we didn’t have alot to say about the food. Also interesting to note is that we ALWAYS seem to have the green tea ice cream when Leah joins us…hmm…interesting coincidence!
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Sushi Gallery
(click image to zoom)
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- Hot Miso
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- Seaweed Salad
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- Hamachi Sashimi
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- Sumo Roll
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- H.O.T. Roll
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- Some other roll
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- Kevin Special Roll
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- Green Tea Ice Cream
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- Da Boyz
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- The Girlz
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- Signage
Points of Interest
Roll Selection
Octopus had a wide variety of rolls, which we like since they are so easy to share. Sometimes it’s challenging to review the rolls unless there is something really unique or stand out about them. All of the rolls we had were tasty but not necessarily memorable. Still, there is nothing bad to be said about anything we at here tonight.
Generic Atmosphere
The restaurant was big and clean. It wasn’t very crowded or loud, which can be based on it being a Wednesday night, although all of our sushi clubs are on the same night. Being larger though can have its advantages…it seems like it would be easy to get a table or come with a larger group. Also, it wasnt too loud. Apparently the restaurant has been updated and is much nicer than it used to be. Personally I was a big fan of their ‘octopus’ pint glasses for water. Im not suggesting anything bad, but they would be nice to have at home for a beer.
Interesting Strip Mall
Parking was no problem at all at Octopus. The restaurant is in a deep strip mall with an impressive variety of other stores in it. You can help but laugh. It had a very international flare to it. Next door was Mitzva Land, then there was a Thai Massage and an Italian restaurant as well. In hindsight, I wish we had ventured into Mitzvahland before it closed. That would have been fun for some interesting updates on facebook. Only in the Valley!
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Summary
Date: September 16, 2009
Restaurant: Octopus Japanese Restaurant in Encino
Desserts: Green Tea ice cream
In Attendance: All Founding Members (except for Suzi) plus special guest: Leah
Price: $$ - Meal cost was $24 pp. (with ~15% tip)
