Lexington, KY - The Tachibana Japanese Restaurant is not the sort of eatery you stumble upon while out roaming the city in a hunger-induced daze. Its location, tucked behind the Courtyard by Marriott off of Newtown Pike, is isolated, purportedly to make for an authentic, yet discreet, Japanese restaurant to cater to the Japanese workforce at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Georgetown.
Sometimes imposed seclusion can translate into wariness of new customers, but my guest and I found Tachibana to be comfortable and welcoming. The building itself is of an iconic Japanese style of architecture, and shoji windows line the exterior. Guests have many options for seating - tables, the sushi bar or around one of two large hibachi grills. There are also a handful of formal tatami rooms, though these are not open to the public.
On our visit, my guest and I were whisked off to sit at a hibachi grill, which is away from the sushi bar and adjoining seating area and has its own limited menu of steak, chicken and seafood items to be prepared in front of you. These meals, which include a bowl of miso soup, salad (with dynamite ginger dressing) and steam or fried rice range from $13 for chicken breast to $30 for a steak and lobster combination. I ordered tenderloin steak ($16) and my guest had scallops ($17) -
these were good, but nothing extraordinary from other hibachi experiences.
The sushi menu includes over a dozen nigri items (two pieces, priced between $3 -
$5.50) and about 10 roll options (six pieces, priced between $4.50 -
$7.50, or $12 for a spider roll). We ordered an Alaskan roll (with salmon), a shrimp tempura roll and eel -
all were extremely good. Along with some sake, the bill came to $70.49 prior to tipping.
On a second visit, my guest and I wanted to try the food from the standard menu, which included a large selection of appetizers, sushi combinations, nabemono (where people around the table eat from the same pot), dinners and menrui (noodle dishes). Each section of the menu had a wide variety of food options. My guest ordered the tempura moriawase (battered deep-fried shrimp and vegetables; $16 and included miso soup, salad and rice) and I had tonkatsu -
(breaded deep-fried pork; $13 and included miso soup, salad and rice).
The tonkatsu was very flavorful, especially when dipped in the accompanying tonkatsu sauce, but the tempura moriawase was very impressive - the batter was very crisp and faint. Along with an eel roll and some sake, of course, the bill came to $49.29 prior to tipping -
cheaper and much more inclusive than sitting at the hibachi grill.
If you are a sushi fan, be sure to check out Tachibana on your next outing. The full menu is also very enticing, but also very daunting -
there are many interesting items to choose from.
Tachibana also has an abbreviated lunch menu of nearly two dozen items, but the dinner menu is also available.