 This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only. |
| Location |
| 620-B West Covell Boulevard (in Anderson Plaza, across from Albertsons) |
| Lunch Hours |
| Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:00pm |
| Dinner Hours |
| Sun-Thu 5:00pm-9:00pm |
| Fri-Sat 5:00pm-9:30pm |
| Phone |
| (530)758-4560 |
| Website |
| http://www.miraijapaneserestaurant.com |
Mirai Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar offered both traditional and American-style Japanese food. They served lunch, dinner, and food to go — catering was available. They closed permanently as of the weekend of 6/1/07. The location is being turned into Sushi Unlimited.
Lunch specials were offered Monday-Friday, and they had dinner take-out specials. That included dengaku, Shabu-Shabu, rice balls, menrui (noodles), tempura, sashimi, sushi, and various Japanese desserts. They made all sushi and their various other Japanese dishes fresh to order either from their extensive menu or by request. Generally the prices were considered moderate to expensive. Some Japanese Exchange students polled stated that the food was above average to high quality and the atmosphere and presentation were the most Japanese in town.
Some Sample prices as of June 2005: Catering to their Davis clientele, Mirai offers a donburi (rice bowl) take-out special for just $5.95, as well as tempura and chicken teriyaki take-out for $7.95; party trays are available starting at $24.95. Lunch specials range from $5.95-$8.95, and lunch bentos run a straight $7.95 or $9.50 for one of their special bentos. Lunch sushi starts at $4.95 for California roll to $8.75 for spider rolls and $10.95 dragon rolls; combination sushi platters are also available, as is a vegetable sushi.
Also see the Sacramento Bee review and the Sacramento News & Review review for Mirai. Mirai was voted one of the top 10 best restaurants in the Sacramento Area by SushiMasters.com, which selects it's top 10 based on rankings provided by newspaper reviews and dining guides in each region.
Tips on requesting the Americanized food you are used to as well as things to keep in mind when eating at Mirai: - If you are used to eating California rolls with the rice on the outside remember to order them "inside out". - They do not offer all-you-can-eat (or Tabehodai) try Fuji Chef or Sushi Nobu for such things. - The rolls are said to be overpriced and different than what most are used to. If you are picky ask your server exactly what goes into what you are ordering. - Portions in Japan are small. Portions in America are huge. Portions at Mirai are in the middle. - Mirai runs at a relaxed pace to accompany the atmosphere. If relaxed service is something you dislike perhaps Mirai isn't for you.
Tokyo Japanese Restaurant previously occupied this business space.
2005-08-26 "For quality and variety, Mirai is hands-down the best Japanese place in Davis. Those with discriminating tastes or those who wish to sample authentic, traditional Japanese dishes can find both really only at Mirai. Indeed, Mirai is more than your ROTM sushi joint: it's actually a "full-service" Japanese restaurant, beyond simple Westernized rolls (some places might as well have a French Fry Roll) and tempura. But before you cynic away at the idea of "authentic dishes" and say sushi is sushi, I remind you the added benefit of the full menu: it's less work convincing your squeamish date to go Japanese food with you. While you gorge on the raw stuff, there's hot, cooked food for everyone as well. Novices and gourmets will enjoy intricate appetizers such as the Dobinmushi, a mushroom broth served in a teapot, or the Chawan Mushi, a steamed egg dish with morsels of seafood. Vegetarians will want to sample the crisp, refreshing Vegetable Garden rolls, and the adventurous should try out the Ankimo Ponzu (sauteed monkfish liver). Couples, of course, can get all hot and steamy with the Shabu Shabu hotpot for two. But you only want pure, unadulterated raw goodness? Well Mirai is still the place, and any sashimi addict must order the Chef's Special, which will leave you lusting for the stuff days after (you'll also realize that Uni elsewhere tastes like crap; plus if you're trying to induct a sushi virgin, you might as well use the best, not some nasty stuff that'll turn them away for life). All this gastronomy finery is served to you in art-like, invitingly-arranged servings, accompanied by a sophisticated but relaxing ambience and greetings from the ultra-friendly owners (who are actually Japanese, which, not to sound prejudiced, should count for something, right?). Mirai's only detraction is its lunch options, which is currently topped by Nobu Hiro (best quality/bargain buffet in Davis) and Moshi Moshi (best quality/bargain bento sets), but if only for pricing and its a very close third. Anyway, obviously I have a high affinity for this joint, but if you gotta fork over the dough for Japanese food, why settle for paltry, assembly-line mediocrity? Do yourself a favor and give Mirai a shot. (Note: if you want to sample the fish but aren't ready for the Special, don't get the Sashimi Appetizer. For various reasons they are only so-so; much better to just go for the Assorted Sashimi dinner, the in-between option, or a la carte nigiri plates.)" — From The Discriminating Tapeworm, local food critic (reprinted with permission, posted by YoungLandis)
2006-02-07 14:45:09 I'm not sure if I just had a bad experience here, but when I ate here nothing tasted fresh. The atmosphere was kind of cool, but service was slow and the tempura my friend ordered was soggy and didn't taste that good. The rolls I ordered were not great, the rice tasted stale. I recommend Moshi Moshi or Osaka's if you want a good sushi dinner. —LauraChan
2006-02-20 02:41:51 The best Japanese place in Davis, and definitely the most 'traditional', if only in appearance. As Laura above me notes, the rolls suck and are overpriced. Roll fanatics should be visiting Mikuni's in downtown Sacramento for the ultimate yuppie experience (pricey, of course). Come here for the nigiri and the maki, and you won't be disappointed. The hamachi is really tasty. —CurtisLim
2006-04-14 12:43:30 I liked their Lunch Sushi Bento Box —CarlosOverstreet
2006-04-14 19:12:11 My fiancee and I went to Mirai this evening with family. We all agreed that the quality of the food, freshness of the sushi, quality of service, comfort of the atmosphere, and price were better than average for Davis. I'll definitely be back. —GrahamFreeman
2006-04-29 14:06:12 I went here when my girlfriend was in india as a way to spoil myself. I spent a rather high price for terrible sushi. To this day (a year later actually) I still won't step foot into the place. I have never had bad sushi until I went into this place. —BryonWright
2006-05-02 01:37:52 So disappointing. Sushi Rolls: Mostly rice w/ day old fish :( Tried twice. 1st time thought it might be a fluke, so gave them another try. Disappointed the 2nd time. Tokyo, Mirai's predecessor, was much better! —ChristinaLee
2006-06-16 10:46:29 food was good, i think, but all i can remember is the extremely slow service, and I usually try to be understanding about slow service.. but it was really terribly slow. To the point where it was really negatively impacting my dinner. We were in full view of the hostess the entire time, one would think she'd remind the staff to at least get us water while we waited so long —TheodoreSuryapurnama
2006-06-25 20:04:14 Decided to try the place. Haven't been there since it was "Tokyo". Advertised as getting 3 1/2 stars from the Sacramento Bee in late 2005, but when we arrived in 6/2006, saw a sign in the window advertising and change of ownership liquor license application. Got a beef teri and some sashimi and CA rolls. Portions were extremely small. I would suggest smaller plates so it doesn't look as obvious. Sashimi was "fishy" smelling, both the tuna and the salmon. Weird streaks on the fish, too. Dry CA rolls. It did seem day old, like in the previous comments. Got a eggplant appitizer that was extremely salty, and when we asked the waiter if it was supposed to be so salty, he said, "Uhh...yes." Won't give them a second chance and if you go after reading this, you can't blame anyone but yourself. —UsetheForce
2006-08-05 23:00:30 I went here maybe two times when it first opened. I ordered a vege teriyaki bowl and it was cold then they served it to me. The waiter didn't come by at all to check up on us. I had to walk up to the counter and asked them to microwave my food for me. Second time was a few weeks ago and i ordered a bunch of appetizers. Nothing special. —PattyLouieJunior
2006-10-04 23:05:31 I went here with my boyfriend and when we walked in the place smelled fishy. Fishy smell = NOT FRESH. Service was slow, but it was the girl's first day, so that is understandable. I was more bothered by the fact that they skimp on things like miso soup, wasabi, salad, etc. I had California Rolls that tasted fishy. I don't know if they were cut with a used knife or what, but I couldn't even finish them. Bottom line: nothing tasted fresh and we left without finishing the meal. —RachelCakes
2006-10-16 16:50:44 I am not sure why so many comments are negative perhaps posting positive comments is just a rare thing. I brought 4 people born and raised in Japan to eat at Mirai and they said that it "felt and tasted like they were back in Japan". The waiters even spoke fluent Japanese to them as they ordered. Most places in Davis if I order in Japanese I get some confused looks and have to resort to English. Each time I've eaten at Mirai the food has been quite good. Perhaps the Japanese food is a bit "too" Japanese for some? I agree that for “good” “American style” Japanese food the place to go is not Mirai. —KevinRobinson
2006-10-16 18:36:36 I agree with the previous poster. As somebody who has had the great pleasure of visiting Japan , this place is really authentic and is the only place I know of in Davis where one can even order abalone and they also have TORO!! All the negative comments probably come from the "advanced palates" that stand in front of Fuji's at 1030 to get "good, authentic" sushi since Fujis is run and owned by Chinese. I have had most of the sashimi here and have to say you won't find fresher fish outside of the ocean unless in a coastal city. They get the fish delivered every morning by the way. —JonathanNasca
In mid-August Mirai changed ownership, and unlike the previous owners the current owners do not have a background in Japanese food, or honestly, much familiarity with it at all. Most recipes are the same as before (as per the perchase agreement), but with lower-grade ingredients. When I worked there many regular customers complained to me about a drop in the quality of fish they were using after the ownership changed. For whatever reason the new owners chose to keep up the favorable newspaper reviews, despite the fact the food quality has dropped and the old sushi chef is no longer there. —SeanOMara
2006-12-03 21:50:37 Fishy and gross!! —SoCalGal
2007-01-15 10:27:42 I was really disappointed with their sushi. I went there because of all the reviews that were getting flaunted but really didn't see what they were raving about. It could have been what I ordered, but I love salmon nigiri and California rolls, and the salmon was terrible and flavorless and the Cali rolls were about average. Definitely not worth the price I paid by any stretch. And I really wanted some good salmon that night, too! haha. —JulieEickhof
2007-04-06 15:02:45 I like sushi and sashimi quite a lot, so I just went to Mirai to try it out. I thought what we got was quite good. Ordered nigiri pieces individually: maguro, unagi, uni, fresh sake, scallops, hamachi and of course toro. The scallops were outstanding, some of the best I've had. The toro was excellent as well. The hamachi was good, but not heavenly (as hamachi should be). So I imagine they might have some variability depending on what they get each day. Also has a good choice of sake to drink, including unfiltered sake. — ManuelCalderonDeLaBarca
2007-05-02 20:37:16 My partner and I tried the bimimbap and the beef sukiyaki. I liked these well-enough but the CP's partner thought the beef quality was poor, and the dishes a bit greasy. Not that I disagree with that, but I thought it was worth a second try (the flavors were good) — my partner disagrees — maybe we'll be back there eventually. —CovertProfessor
What did you think of Mirai?
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