Shalom Japan, the name says it all. It is a combination of two cuisines, cultures, flavors and worlds. The restaurant is located in South Williamsburg and the owners/chefs Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi did a good job creating unusual menu. It is a very casual place with simple decor, nothing fancy but not too minimalistic either, just right for what is is supposed to be and what it is. The ambience is low key, great place to meet your friends and hang out while exploring good food. I wouldn’t say it is a romantic place for an anniversary dinner, but I do not think that is what the chefs wanted. The venue can sit about 20 people plus the stools by the bar. The bar has a nice variety of alcohols, so if you are into trying drinks, this would be a good place to do it.

As you can imagine the clash of two so different cuisines may be a miss or a hit. In this case it is a hit, there were few missteps but I will get to them later.

All dishes can be shared, there are smaller dishes that can serve as appetizers and larger dishes that can be considered entrees. There are also two options of tasting menu, 5 or 8 course Omakase. We decided to go with 8 course, I guess no one who knows us is surprised by the choice.

The dinner started with challah bread, which was soft, fresh and served with raisin butter covered with chives. This strange combination of sweet raisin butter and chives was not as surprising as one may think. Then the dinner started in a slow pace.

- Plate of smoked toro toast, tuna tataki and monk fish liver - this combo of three small bites was delicious. My favorite was tuna tataki, that is also the signature dish. Each bite delivered different flavor, toast topped with smoked fish was salty, tuna tatki was delicious raw piece of tuna on the top of black tahini and monk fish liver was pate like and nothing what you have tried before.

- Roasted beet salad - this item is very popular nowadays, you can find it almost at every restaurant. However, here it was more of deconstructed salad. There was kale and grapefruit and instead of traditional dressing all the ingredients were sitting on the top of goat’s milk yogurt. It is nothing like what you can find at other restaurants and it put smile on my face.

- Roasted Squash with mozzarella - very mild flavors, good combination of mozzarella cheese with grilled squash and addition of fried chick pea tofu. This dish was different, but did not amaze me, it was too plain.

- Okonomiyaki with pastrami, sauerkraut and bonito - This is a take on jewish potato pancake with Japanese twist of bonito and balsamic reduction. It was the first dish that I thought the flavors were off. The balsamic reduction was too strong and there was too much of it. The dish and the distinctive flavors were overpowered but the reduction to the point we did not taste anything else.

- Monkfish hot pot with miso broth - the lightest dish out of all entrees we were served that night, I did not see any jewish influences in this dish. Miso broth dictated the flavors, the fish was light and nicely cooked. Nothing exceptional, but well executed.

- Beef shortrib cholent with horseradish, beans, barley and potatos - this dish sounds heavy due to all the ingredients but the portion is not big, so it is easy to handle. The ribs were soft and cooked to perfection, the way I remember short ribs from my childhood. This style of cooking short ribs is rare to find in american cuisine so it was nice to be taken back home by the combination of flavors. Freshly grated horseradish on the top of ribs was refreshing addition to the dish.

- Lox Bowl - this is one of their most popular dishes and I was very disappointed we weren’t served Matzoh Ball Raman instead, which was on the menu and I was really waiting to try it. Maybe next time. Lox bowl was the last dish we were served and this was their second misstep in my opinion. There was nothing special about this dish, it was too simple and too heavy to finish 8 course menu with. It is just rice topped with fresh cucumber, japanese pickle, avocado and ikura. I can see the thought behind the dish; fresh veggies, salty fish and mild rice, but unfortunately it does not work. It is a combination of ingredients that do not create whole, cohesive flavor. Sure, the dish is unusual and different but that does not make it good or exceptional. Simply, it left us unsatisfied.

For the dessert we were served chocolate sponge cake with white chocolate cream filling. This was a disaster, in a way it ruined the dinner. The cake was dry, sad and unattractive, the white chocolate cream did not taste like white chocolate at all. The cake looked like it was prepackaged cake bought in a deli around the corner. This was very disappointing finish.

I truly appreciate the idea of creating a menu based on two so different cuisines. Mostly it works, few dishes and their execution need improvement, the dessert needs total makeover but there is definitely something unique about the food here. This type of food needs to be homy and casual and that part is perfectly achieved here. I really wanted to give more plates to this place, but the last dish and the dessert completely ruined the culinary experience. We will be back, there are still few items on the menu that we did not try but I think they are worth the visit.

Cuisine: Jewish/Japanese

Avg price per person: $60

Attire: Casual

Overall Rating: 3 plates