Last week, Wash U Spoon Exec took Drunken Fish by storm… and got served with a veritable tidal wave of delicious sushi, sashimi, appetizers and desserts.
Photo by Katie Calder
Two orders of sticky fries, two orders of edamame hummus, an order of asparagus, an order of tofu, an order of lettuce wraps, an order of salmon roe, a drunken fish roll, a spicy butterfly roll, a red dragon roll, a rainbow roll, a wonder woman roll, a yellowtail Mexicano roll, a mango roll and a sushi and sashimi platter later, we were barely able to walk.
And then don’t forget to add in the strawberry cheesecake roll, strawberry mochi and fried green tea ice cream for dessert – sheer food coma bliss.
The Food
Stand-outs from the evening were definitely the edamame hummus (a huge surprise), the mango roll and the sticky fries.
The hummus, an appetizer on the lunch menu (pro tip: it’s the only appetizer from the lunch menu that you can request at dinner), was flavorful with an undeniable made-from-scratch texture, served with fried wonton strips for added Asian flair. You may have seen this interesting chickpea/soybean combo at Trader Joe’s, but Drunken Fish’s version tasted even fresher.
Photo by Katie Calder
The mango roll, another unexpected favorite, maintained the perfect savory to sweet balance with a sliver of mango beside the fish in each piece. And the sticky fries, a Drunken Fish original, are actually strips of sweet potato covered in a sweet glaze (and not actually fried!) Be warned: they are incredibly addicting little morsels.
Dessert is a whole other story—after being so incredibly full from our meal, we were convinced by our server to try at least one of the desserts (naturally, we got three). Although the mochi and green tea iced cream were uniquely delicious, the crowd pleaser was hands-down the strawberry cheesecake roll.
Photo by Erica Sloan
Each piece of the strawberry cheesecake roll was literally a bite of heaven: all the components of the classic dessert wrapped in a sweet piece of wonton. According to Catering Manager Samantha Schafer, it was a former sushi chef, now the Corporate Culinary Manager, who developed this creation at one of Drunken Fish’s internal culinary competitions. We can see why it was a prize winner.
The Service
Upon our arrival, we were initially seated in the crowded section of the restaurant on the first floor, so we requested to be moved to the more secluded upstairs area (aware that we would be obnoxiously using our phones to get proper lighting for photographs). Our server, Pamela, kindly moved us to a new table right away.
Aware of our previous arrangements with Schafer to hold our Spoon Exec dinner at Drunken Fish, she kindly provided two of the rolls and one of the appetizers on the house.
Extra Deets
In discussing the future of Drunken Fish, which currently has four locations in St. Louis and another in Kansas City, Schafer told Spoon, “Our ultimate goal is to provide quality, fresh Japanese cuisine nationwide, when the time is right. We are working on solidifying our foundation and strengthening our concept right now, and working on a new event space in the lower level of our Laclede’s Landing location called 612North Event Space + Catering.”
Photo by Katie Calder
Currently, the most popular item on the menu at Drunken Fish is the White Tiger roll, followed closely by the Drunken Fish roll.
While the menu offers a large variety of Asian fare, Schafer and Marketing Manager Myhi So suggest that newcomers be adventurous and try one of Drunken Fish’s many varieties of sushi—there is a roll on the menu for everyone, including those who would prefer not to eat raw fish.
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