Valentine's Day means a fancy dinner out, outside of our usual restaurant budget. (Special occasions don't count.) Because my husband is stuck at classes on Monday evenings, we initially set our reservations for 9PM, but he dismissed his class early (lucky them) and came home a half hour ahead of schedule. So we headed there early.
Shoki is one of the "newer" steakhouses in town, compared with the venerable Inoko Steakhouse in Alps. I remember when it opened a few years ago. We had an unfortunate Valentine's Day experience at the hibachi a back in 2007, in which a couple mistakenly brought their toddler. That was not the restaurant's fault, although they should probably include a disclaimer that 2-year-olds and 3 foot high grill flames don't mix well.
We decided to try again, only to go with sushi this time. We're sushi lovers through and through and nothing makes us happier than tearing into a double boat while knocking back sake shots.
A note on the door was the first sign of trouble - they are on a "BYOB" policy. It turns out their liquor license expired. So no sake for us.
We explained that we had 9PM reservations but wanted sushi now. They seem to be severely understaffed, as the hostess lied and said they needed to "clean up" the sushi area. It looked pretty clean to us, but we agreed to wait until it was "ready." We sat at the bar, staring longingly at the bottles of alcohol they weren't allowed to serve. We were not offered water.
The wait wasn't long until the already clean sushi bar became "ready" - in this case, they had kidnapped one of the hibachi chefs and asked him to run the sushi bar. He mentioned he hadn't done that in a while. He was Japanese, and he complimented us on our pronunciation. We had a nice conversation about Japan while he slowly made our sushi.
The sushi fish was fresh and tasty, although the rice was a little dry and not well seasoned. A few of my pieces fell apart when I was trying to consume them - and I'm pretty skilled with chopsticks, so this wasn't user error.
Our boat came in two sections, probably because the poor sushi chef was suddenly inundated with orders from other customers as well.
We left full, but disatisfied. I don't think we're going to give them a third chance at impressing us on V-day.
Location: A - Right off Atlanta Highway. Parking lot is large and very adequate. No troubles getting in and out. Actually, the best thing they have going for them these days.
Atmosphere: B - Sitting two lushes at a bar that can't serve alcohol is a bad move. The decor is nothing special, although I do like the shoji screens that line the front wall. Partitioned rooms for the hibachi for private parties.
Service: F - Letting your liquor license expire in Athens is a recipe for disaster. My guess is they are facing serious budget troubles and couldn't afford to renew. They were also critically understaffed and while our sushi chef was polite and friendly, our hostess was rushed and the other waitresses couldn't keep up. My glass went empty twice, something I'm not accustomed to.
Price: A - A bit pricey but within the reasonable range for sushi and steak. I've paid upwards of $75 for a sushi boat, so getting one for $50 is a fair deal.
Food: B - Fresh fish, but improperly prepared sushi rice. It was dry and not seasoned correctly, and as a result, didn't have the proper level of stickiness. If I had to make a guess, they skimped on the sushi vinegar and sugar. Food was presented on two wooden platters instead of one big boat, but that's a very minor nitpick from a sushi boat lover.
Overall grade: C - Oh Shoki, I really hoped for more from you. You're the closest sushi restaurant to us and if you had knocked our socks off, you would have been seeing a lot more of us. As it is, we're desperate to go back to Inoko or to try the new Sakura that just opened up near Academy Sports. Heck, we've had better sushi and service from Inoko Sushi Express, and they're fast food!
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