Boathouse Sushi - Rohnert Park

6278 Redwood Dr, Rohnert Park CA 94928
(707) 588-9440
Parking: in parking lot
http://www.boathousesushi.com/

Last Visited: September 25, 2005

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Price: $$$ to $$$$

Boathouse Sushi is self-described as serving innovative Japanese cuisine California style in a modern bistro setting

Boathouse Sushi definitely has a modern feel. The ceiling which shows the painted ducts, the burgundy color, and the black give the room a romantic elegance. The light fixtures look like cones of crinkled paper. The silver beads that hang from the ceiling covering the hall to the restroom add to the look. The room is separated by a divider painted black. On one side, the windows bring in natural light. On the other side are the bar and the sushi bar. The sushi bar is decorated with an area for sushi boats to pass. Six boats traveled the waterway, curved and winding. The island is decorated with metal sculptures. The boats are empty and only filled when a dish is ordered.

When we arrived, we were asked if we would like to sit at the sushi bar or a table. We decided to sit at the sushi bar this evening, although from the height we were sitting at, we couldn’t actually see any of the sushi preparation. The glass display case is lined with green plastic bamboo which blocks the view, so you only see the finished plated product placed on top of the case. The setting is serene, but since I’ve been to restaurants where the boats are full and you can endlessly select dishes from the boats, something just felt like it was missing. Blank boats. No dishes. It looked like empty ships. On each table is a bottle of soy sauce in a modern bottle and the cocktail/dessert menu featuring their specials.

The food rating would have been a solid four, but there were a few flaws this evening. Not only is it the more frequent you eat at a place, but the more dishes that you order that you’ll find more room for flaws. So instead of a solid four, Boathouse receives a three to four rating for food with great potential for upgrading their rating in the future.

- Green Tea – Considering the amount I typically pay for tea, I thought this was a little expensive. It probably wasn’t so much the price, but that I paid eight dollars in fluids alone, and that doesn’t fill you up much. What was probably more frustrating was the teapot. It was clear glass with the tea basket inside, but it constantly spilled when I poured it. I thought it was the way the lid was placed on the pot, but after making the adjustment, the teapot was still spilling. I’m surprised the staff wasn’t aware of this. Maybe I just got a bad teapot, but it would have been better for it to have a napkin wrapped around it or under it. Fortunately, there was a clean napkin next to me, but I must have spilled more than 1/3 of the contents simply because of the teapot. Pretty teacups are used to serve the tea. Each of the cups looked different – one was on a pedestal, the other was a larger cup. $2 per person

- Miso Soup – The miso soup is served in a bowl with tofu, seaweed, and green onion. The tofu is diced so tiny that I had a hard time finding it. The size is about ¼ of a sugar cube. It’s not sweet nor overly salty. Just right, but a little more tofu would have been nice. It could also come a little hotter in temperature, but still okay. $2

- Black Cod baked with Shiro Miso – Past experiences with fish cooked with shiro miso have been terrific. The flavor of the miso complimenting the delicate layers of the fish. However, they didn’t have any available this evening. I was disappointed that we didn’t find that out until after the order had been placed. Besides, couldn’t they sacrifice some salmon to replace the cod? Nevertheless, no such luck tonight.

Nigiri Sushi (two pieces each) – All were plated on white rectangular plates.

- Unagi – A large piece of warm unagi is placed on top of the rice. Excellent. Clean fresh flavor, great temperature. Just perfect. $4.75

- Garlic Maguro – The server recommended the garlic maguro as a must try if we liked maguro. This special was described as sushi grade maguro topped with ponzu sauce. The rice was seasoned with a spicy red oil and lightly drizzled on top with a few green onions. I felt the ponzu sauce overwhelmed the fish. It overwhelmed my palate and covered the fresh flavor of the fish. I think true maguro lovers wouldn’t like this one, but if you like to spice up your sushi, it might be a good option. I recommend eating it after you’ve eaten your other sushi and rolls if you’re going to try it. $5.95

- Rainbow Roll – A roll with salmon, shrimp, halibut, tuna, and red snapper over rice. Within the roll was crabmeat. The roll was cut and separated into four groups, two pieces in each group. This was also served on a white rectangular plate. The roll itself is a bit on the small size, but it’s not primarily rice. The fish is delicate in flavor and texture. Good.$11.95

- Vegetable Tempura – Eight pieces of tempura are plated over some salad greens comprised of lettuce, red onion, and carrot curls. The tempura is served with a cup of warm dipping sauce. There were two young corns, two broccoli flowerettes, two pieces of diagonally sliced zucchini, one onion ring, and one slice of pumpkin. Each is lightly breaded and the coating is just the right thickness. I wasn’t too keen on the broccoli since I don’t think that should be a tempura vegetable. To me, it’s a filler vegetable. Even the young corn is borderline. However, the amount of tempura coating was just perfect, so that rescued it. This is one of the reasons for the 3 to 4 star rating. I would have liked another slice of onion at minimum, and another slice of pumpkin would have been great. $4.25

- Panko Fried Tonkatsu – Pork loin cutlet is dipped in panko crumbs, cut into strips, and served over rice. Along side is a salad comprised of lettuce and red onion lightly tossed in a soy sauce/sesame oil dressing. Three mandarin oranges decorate one corner of the plate. A tonkatsu dipping sauce and another lightly spicy orange colored sauce accompany the tonkatsu. The tonkatsu is breaded just right with the panko crumb covering being light and golden brown. The flavor of the sauces are a nice compliment to the pork and though I prefer my tonkatsu sauce to be on the thicker side, this one was fine. I wasn’t as crazy about the orange colored sauce, but it was okay too. Although the tonkatsu would get a rating of very good on its own, the salad had wilted lettuce and not because of the dressing. This is another reason for dropping the rating from four stars to the 3 to 4 range. $12.75

Overall, I was happy with the quality of the sushi and the thickness of batter for both the tempura vegetables and the tonkatsu. All of the food was very fresh with the exception of the salad. Although there’s no filler rice (in my mind that means excess rice) with the sushi, the broccoli in the tempura would be considered an excess vegetable. It’s good quality food in a nice setting, and I would certainly go back for the sushi. Service on the whole was fine, but it would be great to see the sushi chefs smile more. Offering additional dishes via the floating boats would also be a great improvement. Boathouse has a few things to work on, but pretty good for the most part.

After I talked to friends about my visit, several people expressed some discontent with their own visits. One mentioned lack of freshness for the sushi, and another found the rice to be excessively sticky and broken. For now, the rating stands, but be cautioned.