Tamari

fast, amazing food.
Robata wasn’t fatty, amazing sushi rolls.
Extremely nice wader.
One thing they did that I loved, was not forget the spicy mayo. I’m constantly asking for it at other restaurants when food comes out and it never comes. I’m impressed.
GO HERE!!!

SETTING
Modern and clean feel. Two floors with a similar layout on each floor. Bar along one side and tables on the other side.
FOOD
I can only comment on the Happy Hour (M-​F 4:30 — 6:30pm). I thoroughly enjoy traditional asian food. On the other hand, I thoroughly dislike wannabe or cheaply made asian food – who is this General Tso and why are people eating his chickens? A mix of asian food and another culture’s food to make some sort of fusion just seemed like a disservice! But then it occurred to me, «Half asians are gorgeous. This fusion thing might just work…»
A bite into the duck Quesadilla (shredded peking duck with the hoisin sauce inside a cheesy quesadilla) made me a believer! The robatas (skewers with meats and vegetables) was delicious as well. My definite favorite is the quail eggs wrapped in bacon. They went a bit sauce-​happy on the robatas, but that’s really a minor issue.
Fish tacos with tempura fish and salsa was also very popular. I saw them cranking out those orders like crazy. Imagine if they had dim sum and latin fusion (like Shumai… but with carnitas)!
SERVICE
For Happy Hour, you sit at the bar and can see the chefs making all the food you order. Are they robots? Everything is made so efficiently and brought out in a relatively quick manner. Domo arigato, Mr. Robato (s). The waitress checked on us a few times and always asked if we wanted to place more orders. She also removed dishes in a timely manner when we finished, to make room for our new plates.
IMPRESSIONS
To be honest, I think I would only come here for Happy Hour. Many of the items on the menu are a bit steep, ie: ~$ 10 per appetizer and ~$ 25 per entrée. But half off most apps during Happy Hour makes it so worth it because you can taste multiple tapas-​style dishes in one sitting as opposed to being committed to one entrée. Plus, most cocktails and beers are half off too!
You know what else is an awesome asian-​latin fusion? William Hung’s (American Idol) rendition of Ricky Martin’s «She Bangs»!

This past Saturday for Valentine’s Day, my date and I braved the bitter cold and snowy weather in order to have a unique experience at Paint Monkey for their special Valentine’s Day couples painting. Being as the session started at 8pm, we were in need of some sustenance to power through the 2 hour event. Our night at Paint Monkey was planned very last minute, and dinner was more of an afterthought, so of course, we called several places near Paint Monkey, all of which were booked. I remembered Tamari, and it had been at least 2 years since my previous visit, so when I suggested calling to see if they had open seats at the bar, my date obliged. When we arrived around 6pm, we were the only occupants of the bar area. They had a special prix fixe Valentine’s Day menu, however, I was not particularly thrilled with course #2 which contained oysters, so we decided to go with the regular menu.
The bartender greeted us quickly and our drinks arrived shortly thereafter– a glass of Riesling for me and a glass of sparkling brut for him. We limited ourselves to one glass since we had a whole bottle of wine chilling (literally) in the car for our paint night later. My date is a sushi fan, while me, eh, not so much but I’ll always give it a try if a restaurant is known for it and I am with someone who is a fan. We started off with two rolls– a Tuna roll and a Philadelphia roll. While I didn’t try the tuna roll (although he said it was tasty), the Philadelphia roll (salmon, avocado, and cream cheese for those unfamiliar with it) was hands down one of the better Philadelphia rolls I have had in the area. My only suggestion, and maybe it’s just because I am not a regular eater of sushi, would be to make the individual pieces of the roll a tad smaller. The individual pieces were quite difficult to fit in your mouth at once. I did notice, however, the tuna roll was cut into much smaller pieces so maybe the Philadelphia roll was just in larger pieces because there were more ingredients involved. Since we ordered two rolls, we saw it fit to just split an entrée. We agreed on the crab cakes (rayu aioli, balsamic, parsnip fries, watercress salad). The salad was on top of the crab cakes which made for an exquisite presentation of the dish. The aioli was spicy but not overly so, just enough to add a little kick to the dish. The crab cakes were excellent-​very little filler, mostly meat, and rather large in size too. Personally, I’d put them near my favorite crab cakes in the city which are found at Sausalido. The hidden gem of the dish, I believe, was the side of parsnip fries. They were crunchy yet a tad sweet, and actually, I think I would prefer these to regular french fries on a regular basis if restaurants started offering them. I only wish there had been a few more because I didn’t really want to share! We did look at the dessert menu, however, nothing really jumped out at us and we were in a bit of a time crunch to make it to our 8pm event (because we had a leisurely meal NOT because service or the kitchen were slow. In fact, both were quick and efficient throughout our meal). Typically, I forget about Tamari in Lawrenceville, but now that I had yet another good experience here, it will be on my radar if I find myself nearby again-​which I’m sure I will!

I’ve known about Tamari for awhile, and I think this review is long overdue!
Tamari is located in the 3500 block of Butler street in Lawrenceville and sprang up as an early part of the rebirth and rebuilding of the large Northeast neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It’s located among the new restaurants, shops, and boutiques. My understanding is that it’s been around for almost ½ dozen years, circa Mid-​2009.
Parking is available on both sides of the street, and on side streets, but you’ll want to give yourself some extra time before your reservation. There’s no valet service, which disappointing because other neighboring restaurants offer it.
I’m sure the courtyard in the front of the restaurant is popular during nicer weather! The hostess was very friendly and took our coats. We sat upstairs and I liked how they had a few tables sprinkled in stairwells and in the nooks and crannies of the building. It was a unique space with copper and dark woods.
The menu is immense and offers a great variety of foods to sample. We had a hard time deciding what to eat because we wanted to try everything.
We had the chips and guac which was fairly standard, but the fresh jalapeños were delicious. We also had the pork belly which was fantastic! I’ve had pork belly all over the city, but I’ve never enjoyed it as much as here. Tamari cuts their pork belly thicker, and so in addition to that super fatty tasty softness, you get some great texture and delicious meatiness as well. It was great!
Next, we had their Robata Sampler served with three sauces: chimichurri, teriyaki, and ponzu butter. All the sauces were great but the ponzu butter was the standout. Ponzu means «vinegar punch» in Japanese. It was rich and savory and was a great accompaniment to the food-​on-​a-​stick usually cooked slowly over charcoal which is Robatayaki (robata). The two-​or-​three morsels on each stick were chicken, steak, bacon and quail egg (delicious!), eggplant, salmon, eggplant, salmon, and King Trumpet mushrooms. Everything but the mushrooms were very good. Despite usually enjoying mushrooms, the texture and overall chewiness of the ‘shrooms turned me off.
The specialty tokubetsu maki was some of the best sushi we’ve had, although I’d admit after a few cocktails and martinis that I can’t for the life of me remember what was in it. But it was also delicious, and we eat maki rolls regularly.
We chose the Bulgagi (6oz beef tenderloin with potato croquettes) and the crab cakes. The potato croquettes were great! Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, absolutely great meat and potato dish! The meat was tender, great flavor, and even a hint of sweetness. The spicy crab cakes were served with a chili-​oil based aioli called rayu.
The Bulgagi was initially undercooked, delivered rare instead of medium, but the problem was quickly rectified without hesitation or delay.
We finished the night with the peanut butter and jelly Crème brûlée which was fun and tasty. The churros were thick, again with great texture contrasts, and really were a perfect finish for the night.
Two things strike me about Tamari:
1. The seasoning on everything was aggressive. The kitchen cooked without fear, and cooked with confidence. There was no lack of flavor in any single bite. Nothing was bland or boring.
2. Despite having been around for around six years, Tamari still hasn’t lost the passion in food or service. Adrianne (sp?) did a great job. When restaurants start off well, it seems easy enough for them to rest on their laurels.
I’m very happy to see that Tamari isn’t one of them. We’ll be back!
Highly Recommended.

Great service! The fish tacos were awesome… loved the ponzu foam. The torched scallops on the tamari roll were a nice touch. I tried my friend’s robata sampler and all of the bites were excellent. Her pork belly appetizer was quite mushy so I don’t think she’ll order that next time.

Tamari is by far the best fusion type restaurant in the city.
The drinks are all pretty balanced. The wine selection is great.
I usually get the Robata sampler or an entrée. I’ve had the appetizers and small plates, but the entrees and the Robata sampler are too good to pass up on.

FRESH! FRESH! FRESH!
We stumbled in at 1pm on a Sunday. The restaurant was not busy. We loved this unexpected gem and truly give it 5 stars based on fresh quality sushi and flavorful unique dishes. Our only 5 star rating since moving to Pittsburgh.
Quality of sushi is excellent. Not only the fish, but the wrapping, rice, veggies inside are equally fresh. There sushi menu is limited, but if you are excellent at sushi, you don’t need an extensive sushi menu. Try the Tamari Special is special and a must have!
Other Items (we had bulgogi and egg & shrimp and grits) were really exceptionally tasty.
Environment is welcoming and someone took some effort with the design. The environment is better than OK, but nothing unique. The food though was that good that we still give it t stars!

I think I would have been torn between giving Tamari 4 or 5 stars if it weren’t for the unbelievably good red thai tea crème brûlée. The best crème brûlée of my life.
Taste | 4.5
Atmosphere | 4
Presentation | 4.5
Service | 4
OVERALL | 4.5

We went to Tamari this past Friday and everything was excellent. No wait, got to eat right out on the patio and our server came right over. The food was fantastic and we especially liked the bacon wrapped quail eggs. We got two specials and ate every bit… was seriously amazing. Drinks were tasty and potent, dessert was spot on and our server was tentative the entire time.
Felt that everything was 100% up to my expectations and wanted to make sure I showed my appreciation. Wonderful establishment. Will definitely be back.

This was my first trip to Pittsburgh and my niece who is a student at the University of Pitt gave my friend and I the best food tour of the area in 1 and half days! Tamari is close to her apartment and it was the first stop on our culinary tour around town. We flew in early and were able to get there on time for the 5pm happy hour. We got there on a Friday at 5pm because she said it fills up fast because the happy hour kicks ass… and it really does! All the drinks and appetizers are half off. We decided to try a bunch of them and several of the drinks seeing as this was the beginning of our vacations we needed to celebrate!
There was plenty of room at the bar so we got comfortable and the bartender was such a good sport answering all of our questions and he was very informative as to what everything was made out of and how it was made even the drinks. Everything was very fresh, and the restaurant itself is a very cool and hip type place. I have been hooked on a drink I had with some Unilocal friends in Boca called a dark and stormy (thanks Greshka). Its basically a ginger beer, rum combo and I love it! So as I was checking out the drink menu I stumbled upon a drink (I cannot remember the name) that was the same thing and it tasted even better!
There were just us 3 girls and we ordered the:
Tuna Tartare (ginger, chives, leeks, tamari soy, plantain chips) I think it had like a sour cream topping as well it was very good and the only thing that wasn’t half off that we ordered.
We also tried the Empanadas (beef, olives, quail egg, sambal, heirloom tomato) they were pretty good.
Kale & Brussels sprouts (lemongrass, bacon, pinto, manchego) this was really good the Brussels sprouts were on top of this pinto bean mash with the crispy kale over the top as well, we really liked this dish.
Korean Tenderloin (hominy grits, baby kale, beet chips, Szechuan chili oil) this was awesome as well! Very tender meat and the hominy grits were really good I have never had them before and I am now a big fan!
That’s 4 appetizers and 6 drinks (2 each) and the bill was a total of like $ 62!!! I was shocked! We had so much food and the quality was top notch and the drinks were all top shelf liquor no skimping either! Service was very good and the place was super clean. This was a easy 5 star stop and when I go back to visit I will be sure to go back.

Stopped in for happy hour. Had the fish tacos and a few Sixth Ward cocktails. Both were amazing. The ponzu foam on the tacos was a delicious touch. Also tried the happy hour roll because I needed to stick with fish on Goof Friday and it didn’t disappoint either. Can’t wait to try even more of the options.
I’ve come here before for dinner and they have never failed to surprise me with new and different takes on dishes and beverages.