Sugidama Soba and Izakaya serves an extensive Japanese food menu, including housemade udon, yakitori and makimono. The bustling Davis Square eatery opened in 2016 and expanded earlier this year with Futago in Brookline.
Sugidama refers to a “cedar ball,” or cedar branches gathered in the shape of a ball, hung outside Japanese beer and sake establishments. As time passed, the branches turned brown, signaling the sake and beer were ready.
It was a packed weekday night and we were hungry. We started with the takoyaki ($6), six balls with octopus chunks and gooey centers. The takoyaki were topped with bonito shavings, along with drizzles of tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise.
Dragon ball ($12) was an avocado ball filled with hidden treasure: Chunks of raw tuna and salmon, roe, mango, cucumber, imitation crab meat and seaweed salad. The outside had a lemony sauce drizzle, with roe nestled atop greens. A must for avocado lovers!
The dashi maki tamago omelette ($7) is a traditional Japanese omelette, seasoned just right with dashi while being lightly sweet, fluffy and moist. It looks deceptively simple, but is in fact difficult to make well — Sugidama’s version was rolled to perfection.
The scallop hokkaiyaki ($10) featured a scallop shell filled with fresh baked scallop, crab sticks and mushroom in a creamy sauce. A candle underneath kept it hot.
The Hawaiian sushi pizza ($12) combined raw seafood and roe atop a crispy rice flour base. There was a generous drizzle of eel sauce and avocado slices for a finishing touch.
Kurabota sausage ($2.50) was a mild sausage cut into four bite-size pieces. Kurabota pork originates from Berkshire, England and is considered high-quality pork.
The lamb chop ($9) was juicy and lightly seasoned, which we gobbled up quickly.
The yakitori skewers of beef and enoki ($4) were a strip of beef wrapped around enoki mushroom (three in an order). Our skewers were grilled without being overcooked, for a juicy and earthy pairing.
The chicken negima ($3) yakitori were flavorful chicken thigh meat and scallions, a staple for Japanese late night eats.
We sampled the million dollar maki ($13) with spicy yellowtail, tuna and salmon on the inside and outside of the maki. It had crunch from fried tempura, plenty of spicy mayo and avocado.
For dessert, we got the yuzu cheesecake ($5) with red bean ice cream. The sweetness of the red beans and citrus tartness paired well. The airy cheese cake was light.
The green tea cake ($5) was light with whipped cream. Its mild sweetness paired well with the excellent green tea ice cream, which was not overly bitter or sugary.
Sugidama’s Somerville location has a bar on one side and an open dining room area that seats 58 patrons. Hot green tea was $2 a cup.
If you are in Davis Square and crave Japanese food, check out Sugidama.
Sugidama Soba and Izakaya
2951, 260 Elm Street
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 764-5770
