Dining solo isn’t a treat I often can afford myself. But one night, as I dropped my daughter off to her evening activity, I realized I had a spare hour where I didn’t have to catch up on work or chores.
Instead, I could take myself out to eat.
Some people might be embarrassed to sit alone at a restaurant. I challenge you to instead consider it a lovely treat with the best company you could ask for. I’ve dined sumptuously alone on everything from steak with lobster mac and cheese to warmed airport everything bagel with a smear of chilled cream cheese. And I’ve always enjoyed every minute.
That night, I was going to make the most of my hour. I hadn’t had sushi in months, and Toki Hibachi and Sushi was on my way.
The restaurant was quiet that evening, and I settled into a four-top table. There was a gentle hum from the television up in the corner, and a little soft conversation around me. As a teen, I worked in several Asian restaurants, and Toki felt so familiar—lots of shiny dark wood with red paper lanterns and plants and greenery.
As I opened the menu, I scanned quickly over the hibachi options, which include bento boxes, entrees and combos, featuring the usual steak, chicken and shrimp but also scallop and lobster tail. I also quickly went past the noodle and udon bowls, hot broth filled to the brim with noodles and meats or seafood.
Finally, there was the sushi—enough options to satisfy any sushi lover, from a la carte offerings and sushi appetizers to regular or fusion rolls and sushi specials. Consider the black pearl roll, with spicy tuna, shrimp tempura and avocado wrapped in rice and seaweed paper and rolled in black tobiko (flying fish roe) with dabs of chili sauce.
How about the poke roll, featuring the chef’s special tuna, topped with crab and avocado and served with soy vinegar on the side? Or the blue crab triangles, pan-fried tortilla stuffed with cream cheese and fresh blue crab with the chef’s special sauce—a fancy riff on crab rangoon. Or the tuna spoon—a spicy lobster salad and crab, covered with tuna, then topped with a slice of spicy jalapeño, served delicately in a spoon with a zesty yet sweet ponzu sauce.
For those with a flair for drama, there are also the sushi boats for two, offering sashimi, sushi and rolls. More classic sushi lovers will also appreciate the chirashi, a bowl of sushi rice simply topped with a variety of sashimi.
I love them all, but what I love most of all, especially if I haven’t enjoyed sushi for a while, is a simple sushi meal where the flavors come through clearly without a lot of sauce or fuss. Delicate pink raw salmon is always my top choice, and a good California roll can’t be beat for flavor and freshness if done well.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Toki offers a sushi special I didn’t notice—if you dine in and order two rolls, your meal will come with a soup and a salad. I chose miso soup and, just because I wanted to be a little fancy, upgraded my salad to the seaweed salad.
My order placed, I sighed, leaned back and relaxed, alternating between my phone and my latest book club book as I waited for my meal.
The miso soup arrived first. It was hot, salty and comforting, with tiny cubes of silky white tofu and chewy strips of briny seaweed and flecks of scallions. I like to think of it as the Japanese version of chicken soup—there’s nothing like that umami taste of the miso.
The salad came next, and I appreciated how it was served on a bed of crisp and cold shredded cucumber, which soaked up the sesame-flavored dressing on the seaweed. The salad itself was chewy and crisp, a little sweet and oily, and so green and refreshing.
In preparation for my sushi, I filled my soy sauce dish (I always choose low sodium), then, when my platter arrived, swirled in some creamy green wasabi. Now on to tasting, with the California roll first. The rice was firm yet tender, seasoned correctly with rice vinegar, with the lovely mild flavor of the crab, crisp cucumber and soft avocado enhanced with a slice of bracing ginger (I love to top my rolls with a bit) and the sweet and spicy soy dipping sauce.
I’d ordered my salmon in the form of a salmon avocado roll to give my meal a little more heft—rather than my usual salmon nigiri. The roll was simple, yet abundantly filled with large chunks of fresh avocado and the salmon. The rule, of course, is when fish is raw, it must be fresh, fresh, fresh—and this was. It was nice and cool and soft, sweet and buttery. Was it the best I’d ever had? I can’t say that, but I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
In fact, I enjoyed my meal so much that the whole family went again a few weeks later. Perhaps my second meal wasn’t quite as amazing as my first—but that night was pretty special. The stars aligned for one precious hour, serving up an utterly satisfying meal and a solo dining experience I’ll remember for a long while.
Make Your Reservation
Toki Hibachi and Sushi
362 Furys Ferry Rd. Ste 4, Martinez
Entrée cost: $10.25 to $38.25
