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Restaurant: Restaurant i
Location: Web: www.restaurant-i.com Phone: (704) 333-8118 Price Range: Lunch $6-15, dinner $21-$37 (Chef's Choice Sampler $72) |
Number of visits: 1
Last visit before review: June, 2007
Randy had (dinner): Miso Soup, Green Salad, Caliente Roll with Salmon, Smoked Salmon with Fresh Mango, Cheesecake, Grape Mousse, Green Tea Ice Cream. Also Hoji-cha (roasted tea).
Rating 10 (of 12) Excellent |
Randy says: I found this place when I did a web search for non-smoking restaurants in Charlotte. They are non-smoking inside, although they do allow smoking on their patio. Luckily, even though several tables were occupied on the patio, no one smoked.
The name [i]i[/i] comes from the Japanese word "ai," which means love. Co-owner Nobby Takahashi, a very nice Japanese woman, greeted me when I arrived and led me to my table. This is not a large restaurant, and the space isn't very fancy, but it is nicely decorated in a soothing Japanese style. It is largely white, with pleasant greenery and art. The waiter brought a plate of edamame as soon as I sat down.
Even though I love green tea, I'm sensitive to the caffeine. I asked if they had hoji-cha, and was amazed that they do. I have seen it in very few restaurants outside Japan. It's made from roasted tea stalks and leaves, so it is very low in caffeine. It's reputed to be very good for digestion (and also for babies and ill people).
The miso soup was very nice. It was flavorful and not at all salty. There were very small cubes of tofu.
The green salad was topped with shredded sweet potato fries, which were extremely thin, crunchy, and tasty. The salad also had few pieces of toasted pecan and pine nuts.
The Caliente Rolls with salmon were artfully arranged; some of the center pieces were cute with sprigs of daikon sprouts poking up. The teriyaki sauce is house-brewed; it was nuanced and balanced. The salmon was fresh and tasty.
The Smoked Salmon with Fresh Mango was really terrific. The salmon was about the thickness you'd usually get with sashimi (which is how the dish was listed on the menu) but was lightly smoked and wrapped around spears of wonderful mango. The sweet and succulent mango nicely complemented the salmon with its hint of smokiness.
I couldn't pass up the cheesecake, described on the dessert menu as especially creamy. The waiter announced that tonight they were serving it with grape mousse and green tea ice cream. It was also accompanied, as listed on the menu, with fresh whipped cream. Unfortunately, the cheesecake was disappointing; cakey and somewhat dry, rather than creamy. The whipped cream was a dollop of perfectly-whipped fresh cream; not too sweet, and not too thick. The grape mousse was smooth, with just a hint of grape taste. The green tea ice cream made up for this, however, bursting with green tea flavor.
Jeff says: Too bad I wasn't there -- I'd have liked the miso soup, would have liked to try the Edamame Cream Soup, and really would have loved the Kobe Beef (or any of the poultry entrees).
  
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