Shige Sushi: A real Japanese ‘izakaya’ rocks in Sonoma

This past March, Shige Sushi opened in the former Shiso Sushi spot in Maxwell Village on Sonoma Highway near downtown Sonoma. It was to be an expansion of the original Shige Sushi that debuted in Cotati in 2012 - because even after Shige owners Shige and Toki Mori closed that tiny eatery on Old Redwood Highway, they posted a sign on the door saying that the shuttering was temporary, and they would be back once they got their Sonoma operation all worked out.

The Cotati spot remains dark, so it’s now a 26-mile drive from my Sebastopol home to get a taste of the Mori’s first-rate hamachi carpaccio dressed in thin-sliced jalapeno and yuzu vinaigrette ($14), crispy salmon skin salad dotted with salty tobiko ($12) and crazy delicious Crazy Ninja roll of maguro, hamachi and avocado tucked in rice and topped in spicy tuna and tobiko ($17.50).

There are plenty of very good Japanese restaurants in the Sebastopol-Santa Rosa area, but Shige has a particularly appealing atmosphere. Much larger than the original 22-seat space, the Sonoma spot is an izakaya, sporting the authentic clutter, noise and casual service you expect from the working-class watering holes so popular around Tokyo.

My server gave me a tattered paper menu that looked like it had been used to wipe tables, and dishes land on the table whenever the kitchen pushes them out - an appetizer of perfectly browned, silky plump housemade pork-?vegetable gyoza ($8) arrived after a tempura udon entrée ($17) But that’s part of the quirky vibe that marks real izakayas.

Chef Shige was raised in Tokyo, and he brings some of the street culture here, including décor of vintage Japanese advertising posters, lots of bright red, black and white lanterns glowing in a dark, usually crowded space, and plenty of Japanese beer, sticky plum wine and premium sake on the close-set tables.

He hand-makes his creamy-pillowy tamago (slightly sweet egg omelet) for his nigiri at a bargain price of $5, and thinks of details like serving tonkatsu on a metal screen so the panko-crisped pork doesn’t turn damp ($18).

That’s why you’ll find a whole grilled squid appetizer here, to salute the popular walk-around feast sold by Tokyo food cart vendors. There, the big beast is skewered on a stick for portability; here, it arrives on a pottery plate, sliced into fat, chewy body rings framed by lightly fried arms on a pond of soy sauce with dollops of spicy aioli and chile sauce ($15). It’s a challenge to eat, even with good chopsticks skills, but wipe your fingers on the oshibori (warm, damp hand cloth napkin) your server might remember to offer.

Another starter, seared mackerel sashimi is dramatic, too, the strong-flavored raw fish heated on its edges with a blowtorch ($18). The look - and rich flavor of - butter-sautéed scallop served in an open shell is nice, too ($15), though the dish didn’t have any of the promised sautéed corn.

While the above dishes are somewhat adventurous, there are some dishes to please California roll-style palates. Usually I would steer away from a roll called “Godzilla,” since I’ve never appreciated campy, Americanized sushi. But it’s a best-seller, I’m told, so I try it, and find I actually enjoy the busy mix of soft shell crab, shrimp tempura and spicy tuna enrobed in rice then layered with spicy shredded crab, tuna slab and a flurry of crunchy tempura flakes ($19.50). The roll is stacked high, a mess to eat, and perfectly fitting for this party atmosphere.

A Fujimon roll of soft shell crab tempura and cucumber capped in spicy crab, seared hamachi and chunky apple sauce ($18), is a “no, thank you,” but Sonomanma Higashi is a “yes” for its interior of hamachi, avocado and shrimp tempura and crown of sweet crab mix and crunchy, vinegary seaweed salad ($15).

Other dishes land in the middle, for taste buds preferring familiar classics. The sashimi combo is very pretty, presented in a black pottery bowl lined with ice cubes and artfully arranged twigs, in a changing display of fresh bites ($35 small, $55 large). One evening, I enjoyed a small order of three pieces each including maguro, pink-tinged hamachi, salmon and hirami (fluke/flounder).

And this is some of the best nigiri locally, too, since the chefs behind the tightly packed sushi bar use just a thumb size knob of rice as a base for the ample strips of beautiful fish, not an inches-long wad of belly-filling starch like so many Americanized restaurants do.

When I lived in Japan, I got used to diners slurping their soups loudly, supposedly to show their pleasure as a compliment to the chef. You might be able to get away with that here, but it’s polite to not uphold that tradition, even though chef Shige’s tempura udon is quite good ($17). In a thoughtful touch, the tempura arrives on the side, so it doesn’t turn soggy in the rich broth stocked with thick noodles.

Sure, the new Shige won’t please everyone with its boisterous pub mood. For a quieter time, you can dine in a small, wood-lined room near the entrance, or on the patio. But for anyone who loves an upbeat atmosphere, or cherishes experiences of busy Japanese izakayas as I do, this delightful place is a win.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.