Although it opened some five months ago, Sake Blue Japanese Bistro will be celebrating its grand opening next Tuesday, Dec. 9 with a special event that will include free sushi samples and one-cent hot sake with entrée or sushi orders throughout the evening.

There will also be gift card and bottled wine giveaways, live music, and special offers for local firefighters with valid identification. In addition, half of Grand Opening sales will be donated to the WHAS Crusade for Children. The Grand Opening Celebration will run from 11 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. The Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting at 4:30 p.m.

The locally owned restaurant is operated by Eunsuk Marie Lacey and is the first Japanese restaurant to join the growing community of Fern Creek. Located off Bardstown Road near the Gene Snyder Freeway at 9326 Cedar Center Way, Sake Blue offers a variety of dining experiences from sushi bar to fine dining and hibachi grilling. The menu has been designed to include a wide variety of vegetarian options as well.

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In a recent press release, the management of Sake Blue Japanese Bistro said the restaurant “combines the service and quality of a fine-dining restaurant with the casual vibe and lively energy of a neighborhood hotspot. The dramatic décor features sweeping kites above the dining hall, rustic bamboo-lined walls, granite tabletops and warm lighting. Elegant details include a painting of a single brushstroke along the sushi bar wall.”

I paid them a visit for lunch yesterday, and – as I expected – the restaurant is tucked away in one of those non-descript shopping centers that are the unfortunate hallmark of so many American suburbs. Upon entering, however, I quickly lost the feeling that I was in southeastern Louisville.

Surprisingly hip and inviting, the dining spaces would be perfectly at home in a trendy downtown restaurant in any larger American city. Described as a combination of “modern ambiance with Japanese tradition,” the interior of Sake sets the stage for “sophisticated cuisine with the traditional Japanese principles of washoku that encourage mindful eating and fresh, healthful preparation.” Washoku dishes on the menu include orange ginger scallops pan-seared with preserved lemon, creamy polenta and kale; pan-roasted miso-glazed cod with seared sushi rice and asparagus; vegetarian shiitake ravioli; and mushroom-ricotta stuffed Japanese wontons finished with shiso pesto and reduced balsamic vinegar.

Vegetarian options include pear and warm goat cheese salad, hibachi grilled tofu, and vegetarian sushi rolls. The restaurant also serves liquor, wine, imported beer and an extensive sake selection. Hibachi tables offer a more traditional cuisine of grilled entrees including teriyaki chicken, steaks and seafood.

In addition to the usual suspects in the sushi and sashimi lineup, the menu at Sake features an extensive selection of signature sushi rolls. Popular choices are  the Ocean Drive, which is made of tuna, yellowtail, fresh green pepper, cilantro and spicy mayo wrapped in soft codfish paper and drizzled with lime juice and chili oil, and the Tuna 3-Way with spicy tuna topped with two more cuts of tuna, plus scallions and a drizzle of orange-mango sauce. The Haba Berry roll is both sweet and spicy, with habañero chili-flavored salmon, deep-fried jalapeño and masago, and topped with fresh strawberries, mango, avocado and kiwi-green tea sauce.

My friend and I decided to pass on the sushi and shashimi and ordered entrees off the lunch menu. After two steaming bowls of flavorful miso soup, I tucked into the tuna burger on ciabatta and he dug into the panko-crusted orange roughy. Although tasty, the tuna turned out to be a bit overdone and dry, and was totally dwarfed by the gigantic slabs of bread that encased it. The orange roughy, on the other hand, was a definite hit with its perfectly crisp coating and moist, flaky fish on the inside. The sticky mound of steamed white rice on the side and the mirin-sweetened cucumber tartar sauce made the ideal accompaniment to the fish. With a coke and a bottle of Sapporo, the tab for two came to about $30 – not a bad price for a leisurely lunch with good service. I plan to return soon and try out some of the dinner items on the extensive menu, but from a quick glance at the offerings and the prices, it looks like I’ll have to spend quite a bit more.

Sake Blue is open for both lunch and dinner. Lunch hours are Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served Monday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sunday, Sake Blue is open from 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (There are currently no lunch hours on Saturday.)

For reservations or more information, call 502.708.1500.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant