According to its website, SaiKo-i is a Japanese restaurant, but the restaurant also offers a wide variety of Chinese and Thai dishes as well.
It’s no surprise that they are well-versed in a variety of dishes as the management team also operates Coco and Yakitori in Delray Beach, another Yakitori in Boca Raton, and Koi in Fort Lauderdale. What I was not expecting was the considerable number of families. Perhaps it was the hibachi tables, seeing the food being prepared seemed especially delightful for the kids. When we made our reservations, we did not request a hibachi table, so perhaps that may be why we were seated in the bar area, but our round booth was perfect for a group of six gay men on their way to see Bianca Del Rio at the Kravis Center. Because we were dining pre-theater, we were there in time for the Happy Hour menu, with dozens of appetizers and sushi rolls at bargain prices (all less than $10) and well drinks for $6 and house wines for $7, even on weekends!
We began with some appetizers. Fried calamari tossed with onions, garlic, bell peppers, and scallions, served with sweet chili sauce (saved $6 because it was happy hour) and crispy pork gyoza (saved another $2). I opted for a sushi roll. The Out-Of-Control roll consisting of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, tempura flakes, and scallions, wrapped in soy paper, topped with four kinds of tobiko, spicy mayo, kimchee, eel sauce and avocado, and my husband ordered the spicy tuna biscuit which was almost a roll, with a base of crispy rice topped with spicy tuna, jalapeño, caviar, served with eel sauce and wasabi mayo (and both were half-price during happy hour!). Two of our party opted for soup, a delicious lobster and shrimp wonton with a rich stock and an unusual looking but tasty seafood tom yum brimming with scallops, shrimp, squid, and fragrant cilantro.
Entrées, averaging about $18-$20, proved equally satisfying. Mongolian beef, crispy beef with orange and tangerine peel, stir-fried chili paste chicken with cashews, asparagus, onions, bell pepper, and snow peas and yaki udon, thick stir-fried noodles with shiitake mushrooms, veggies, and chicken. All were beautifully prepared and came with a choice of fluffy white or brown rice, or for a $3 upcharge, fried rice. I tried the seafood clay pot ($30), which, to my surprise was not served in a clay pot but was delicious and all the seafood — jumbo shrimp, scallop, calamari, and some unidentified fish — was cooked to perfection. Accompanying it were snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, and a touch of XO sauce. My husband’s favorite dish is Pad Thai and Saiko-i‘s signature dish is a lobster version, one of his favorite foods, so he had to order it. The noodle part of the dish was perfect, unfortunately, the lobster was overcooked.
Hibachi dinners range in price from $20 (vegetarian or tofu) to $60 (lobster and filet mignon) and include mushroom broth, salad, shrimp appetizers, hibachi vegetables, and steamed rice (upgrade to fried rice for $3), plus a tip for hibachi chef.
Our server, Stefan, was young, attractive, and eager to please. Unfortunately, his inexperience was evident. He tried delivering the entrées before clearing away the dirty appetizer plates and placed a dirty plate next to a new entrée on his tray. The woman who was busing tables would scowl as she snatched the plates away from us, even as we tried to be as charming as possible, and believe me, no one can turn on the charm like my friend Ward.
SaiKo-i Sushi Lounge & Hibachi
5970 SW 18th St., Boca Raton
561-393-5888
saikoiboca.com