Megumi
Japanese. Sushi.
Mandeville: 4700 Hwy 22. 985-845-1644. Map.
Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
A small, handsome restaurant in a second-tier strip mall, Megumi is different enough from the standard Japanese restaurants to stand out. Although the range of the sushi menu is about average, the presentations are a bit better, and the size of the pieces is substantially larger. Also here uniquely is a yakimono grill, a style of cookery that could be best described as Japanese shish kebab. The yakimono has a separate bar from the one serving sushi, although most get it at the table.
WHY IT'S GOOD
Megumi has the habit of slicing its fish into larger pieces than normal. This has pluses and minuses. It requires that the fish be cut from the prime sections. It also means that some of the pieces that come out are too big to eat conveniently. A knife would come in handy, unless you have a really big mouth. The prices are a shade higher than typical, but that's amply returned.
BACKSTORY
Megumi (the word translates as "grace" from the Japanese) opened almost exactly a year after Hurricane Katrina, at a time when restaurants of all kinds were very busy on the North Shore. It made an immediate impression, but in more recent times the crowd has been thinner.
DINING ROOM
The restaurant is in an unpromising strip mall that has large spaces vacant. Ignore this. The dining room is sleek, handsome, beautifully lighted, and comfortably furnished. It's a good restaurant to visit if you're looking for quiet, or perhaps even an escape from the eyes of people you know on the North Shore.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Yakimono skewers.
Chirashi sushi (sashimi style, on a bed of rice; best presentation of this in town).
Sushi and sashimi.
Beau Chene roll.
Dragon roll.
Crab cake.
Soft-shell crab tempura.
FOR BEST RESULTS
Don't order everything you're thinking about eating at the beginning. Everything here is served in much larger quantities than in most other sushi places. I've walked out of here uncomfortably full more than once.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
This would be a busier place if they put more information on their web site, and otherwise got the word out.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment +1
- Consistency +1
- Service +1
- Value +2
- Attitude +1
- Wine and Bar
- Hipness +1
- Local Color
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Romantic
- Good for business meetings
- Good for children
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Unusually large portions
- Easy, nearby parking
This review was updated with new information on 1/14/2010.