Savannah's Take on The Floating World

"Ukiyo” has some work to do.

Ethically speaking, this was not an easy review to write. There’s nothing I hate more—except, perhaps, any steak cooked over medium rare—than having to pick apart a kitchen’s beloved craft. But I promise myself, in every restaurant I enter with a notebook and pen, that I’ll be as honest as I can be. Unfortunately, in this case, I’ve got an earful. On and ever onward.

The Floating World (Ukiyo) was originally an Edo-Period entertainment district scattered with teahouses, Kabuki theatres, and brothels during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). It and its partner, the ukiyo-e art movement, entered Japan in a time of remarkable stability. It’s this stability that allowed the artists, cooks, and entertainers of Japan to perfect their craft in a way that would reflect the efficient and process-oriented nature of the arts. This is to say: naming your new izakaya bar on Bull Street “Ukiyo” is a big promise. If not regaled by courtesans or greeted by an actor in a kabuki mask, I’d better get an authentic, traditional meal.

Despite my judgements of ukiyo prior to my visit—given their corporate restaurant group ownership—I was stunned by the dining room’s ambiance. The space truly does, in their words, transport its diners from Savannah to the “thrill-seeking and adventurous side of urban Japan.” The organization of the bar and kitchen on one side of the floor and the fabric-adorned wall on the other is an admirable representation of Japanese interiors. The service, too, was strong. My server was well-versed in the restaurant’s origins and knew every ingredient in the plates he set on the table.

Perhaps no one outside of the kitchen industry would’ve noticed the pitfall that left my whole infatuation with Ukiyo’s vibe in the dust. It was simple: they don’t have a ticket printer. When I enter a Japanese spot, especially one that claims to be “not just another Americanized sushi bar,” I expect to hear my order printing. I expect to hear everyone’s order printing. I’d rather have to pause my conversation at the table during the scratching of a malfunctioning printer than be left in an eerie silence. This silence was only added to by the lack of communication in the kitchen. Not once did I hear Ukiyo’s cooks communicating their ticket times or fires. Of course, a kitchen that sells their plates “as ready” (“order fire” in expo speak) doesn’t need to echo with “how long on this” or “two minutes to plate, four to the window!” but it should not be a solo dance. The cooks should dance together.

I was also surprised—and not pleasantly—to see the place already clearing out by my 8:15 reservation. The Savannah izakaya’s late-night emptiness was a regrettable reflection of their missed target customer, considering the traditional izakaya’s late night rushes in urban Japan.

The Takoyaki (octopus donuts) were pretty solid. They were served hot and properly smothered in kewpie mayonnaise, tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes. Takoyaki is a hard snack to mess up, but I’ve had some awful iterations in the past. Ukiyo does a good job.

Their sashimi platter was also on the mark, but maybe a bit banal. Escolar, Hamachi, Tuna, and Salmon are the four choices of platter sushi for just about every Americanized sushi spot on the planet. Again, if your secondary slogan is “not just another sushi spot,” I’d expect a bit of innovation. And, while I recognize that ordering rarer marines can often be out of reach, I have no doubt that a corporate-owned spot such as Ukiyo could get their paws on some seabream.

Here's comes the earful I mentioned earlier. Ukiyo’s blistered shishito peppers, dressed in xo (an umami seafood-based sauce) and togarashi, were… not blistered. “Blistered” describes vegetables and fruits that the cook has charred and cracked the living daylights out of while keeping the insides intact. When done well, a blistered shishito pepper takes on a gloriously ugly exterior and lets a flood of juice from its insides. All you need is a hell-hot grill or skillet. You can even cheat with some oil. Ukiyo, even if they had cheated, didn’t pass the exam. Half of the shishitos were crunchy and raw, and the other half had the texture of an ashed marijuana cigarette. The xo had little to no flavor at all.

Truthfully, I hold nothing but respect for anyone working behind Ukiyo’s line. Cross-cultural cooking takes time to perfect. If I had to urge Ukiyo’s line to work on one thing, it would be technique. The line cooks and sushi chefs of Japan have a phenomenally structural way of doing things, and for good reason. Every glide across their whetstones and every movement of their legs is done with purpose. They work independently, but still as one machine, and they pay an incredible amount of attention to every ingredient they touch. An Asian restaurant’s success in an American town comes down to its efforts toward research and its deviation from other washoku spots in the area.

I’ll be back at Ukiyo soon. I’m only so harsh on them because of their eagerness to get things right. In many ways, they’ve succeeded, and I’d consider them one of the best Japanese spots around. Still, they’ve got a lot of room for improvement.

Southern Cross Hospitality’s Ukiyo is located at 2224 Bull Street in Savannah. They serve from 5:00-10:00 on all weekdays except Tuesday and Wednesday, and 4:00 to 10:00 on weekends.