Kru – Sacramento Restaurants (part of an occasional series)

(Last Updated 6/11/24)  Description and review of Kru, an upscale Japanese restaurant and bar serving contemporary Japanese cuisine in East Sacramento.  NEW: See “Updates” below.

Original Post

Kru recently relocated to Folsom Boulevard (near Alhambra Boulevard).   Along with many other Kru fans who patronized the former J Street location in Midtown, I had been looking forward to its re-opening.

Billy Ngo, the chef, is a partner of Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine, Fish Face Poke Bar and Heathy Hounds Kitchen in Sacramento.  Ngo is known as a “chef’s chef” as it is not unusual to find chefs from other establishments dining at Kru on their days off.

See related post:  Healthy Hounds Kitchen.

Not that I needed an excuse – but my daughter’s birthday provided just the right occasion to visit Kru on a recent Saturday evening.  I perhaps waited a bit too long, as when I went online the Wednesday before to make reservations my choice of times was limited. I opted for 5:30 p.m.  My thought was that it would be easier to find a parking spot and that after dinner we could finish the evening with a nice bottle of wine and watch a movie at home – which we did.

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Parking

Kru shares a building and parking with OBO’ Italian Table & Bar. There is a small parking lot behind the building, and a larger parking lot on Seville Way.

We arrived a few minutes early and secured the last parking spot in the larger parking lot on Seville Way. When we left that evening I am sure that the person waiting to pull into our spot felt that they had hit the jackpot.

See related post:  OBO’ Italian Table & Bar – Sacramento Restaurants (part of an occasional series).

Venue

My first impression of Kru was that it was a lot more spacious than the J Street location.  Later in the evening our waitress told us that actually it was not all that much larger (as it relates to the number of tables).  All in all – I very much like the layout and decor.

Our table sat near the good-sized sushi bar, so during the course of the evening we had the opportunity to observe a variety of dishes being expertly crafted.

Menu/Review

As this was her birthday present I told my daughter she was free to order whatever she wanted.  After due consideration, we decided to order a number of small plates so we could sample a variety of dishes.

Beverages

It was not on the drink menu, but my daughter inquired as to the availability of sake nigori (unfiltered sake).  Our waitress checked with the bar and confirmed that she could provide a carafe.  That took care of that.  I settled on a glass of dry white wine as I was sure it would go well with whatever we ordered.

The waitress presented my daughter with a tray of different sake cups to choose from before bringing her beverage.  A very nice touch – but choose your sake cup wisely!

My daughter obviously did not pick the most stable of cups – she knocked over her sake cup twice and the waitress did once as well (she brought another splash of sake to compensate).

Review

First, we were served the hamachi nigiri (yellowtail) and sake nigiri (salmon) over rice.  I sampled one of the sake nigiri.  My daughter opined later that the nigiri were “solid” – but not exceptional.

Next up – the sake steamed mussels served with sake and dashi broth and grilled bread.   I love mussels – and we both loved this dish.  So much so that we asked for additional grilled bread to soak up the juices.  I will definitely order the mussels again on a future visit.

My daughter is a big fan of beef marrow bone and often orders it when it appears on a menu. The dish was served with wasabi mustard and grilled bread.  I tried a bite of the dish and my daughter enjoyed the rest.

The house-made pork gyoza (pot stickers) were great.  My daughter described them as “porky goodness” and I have to agree.

You are probably wondering how we could possibly eat anything more – but we did.  We needed to get our veggies – so next up was the shrimp and vegetable tempura.  It was excellent.

Dessert

Lastly, to finish up we were offered dessert – and as this was a birthday celebration it was up to the birthday girl to decide what to order.  We went with the mochi brownie (to be shared).  The waitress had overheard our conversation and brought the mochi brownie (which comes with a couple of dollops of vanilla ice cream) with a birthday candle anchored on the side of the plate. The gesture was much appreciated as this was a special occasion.

To Sum Up

To sum up, both my daughter and I greatly enjoyed our special meal at Kru.  I look forward to dining there again in the near future.

See related blog posts:  21 Sacramento Restaurants Reviewed!  Sacramento Ethnic Restaurants; Kru Revisited and  Sacramento Must Try Restaurants

Updates

(6/11/2024) The James Beard Foundation announced its 2024 award winners on June 10.  Best Chef: California went to Chef Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, a small 28-seat fast casual Filipino restaurant.

(4/4/2024)  Buu “Billy” Ngo Kru is among the five finalists (out of what had been twenty semi-finalists) to make it through round two! Sacramento will be cheering him on when the final announcement of Best Chef: California is made in June.

(1/25/2024) The James Beard Foundation has announced the 2024 Chef Awards semifinalists.  Among the finalists in the Best Chefs: California category is Buu “Billy” Ngo of Kru. Winners of the Best Chefs: California category will be announced on Monday, June 10.

(6/27/2017)  Kru recently announced that the restaurant is dropping lunch service – and instead focusing on providing the best possible bar and dinner experience.  Kru will now open for small bites at 4:00 p.m. and full dinner service will start on 5:00 p.m.

Comments on Kru?

Have you been to the relocated Kru?   What was your impression?

Kru Snapshot (as of 1/25/2024):

• 3135 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA  95816
• (916) 551-1559
• Monday – Friday (4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday (5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.)
• Outdoor Patio
• Shared parking lot/street parking

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