OSAKI: ONE OF BOGOTA’S MOST WELL-KNOWN ASIAN RESTAURANTS SERVES UP QUITE A VARIETY OF DISHES
The Cost - $28 per person
The Atmosphere – I dined at Osaki 71 in the Chapinero district of Bogota, one of the five Osaki locations in the city. The restaurant décor and ambiance do not stand out for any reason or have a particular style to it. It is fairly casual and probably best suited for a dinner with friends or a quick dinner on your own.
Bogota is one of the biggest up-and-coming foodie cities in the world. With amazing chefs like Leonor Espinosa De La Ossa and Juan Manuel Barrientos Valencia bringing notoriety to the city’s food scene, the number of upscale restaurants in the city has grown substantially over the past ten years. To test out one of the Bogota restaurants serving Asian cuisine, I went to Osaki 71 where the menu centers on dishes from Japan and Southeast Asia but also includes dishes from other parts of Asia and the rest of the world.
The Order – Mezcalita, Crispy Rice, Tiradito Ponzu, Eel Temaki, Eel Temaki with Tempura Shrimp, Red Curry with Chicken and a Banana Tempura.
The Great – Osaki’s Tiradito Ponzu, which can be prepared either with salmon or tuna, is a raw fish dish similar to a carpaccio. The tiradito was prepared with a nice portion of thinly sliced tuna that was lightly bathed in a ponzu sauce with radish, cilantro, jalapeños and bits of mango. It was sweet, fresh, and spicy and the mango was a nice touch. The Banana Tempura was the other best dish of the night. It consisted of four large pieces of fried, tempura-crusted banana with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry sauce with coconut shavings and a tiny bit of chocolate. The hot, fried bananas were tasty, and they went nicely with the vanilla ice cream and coconut shavings, making this dish a nice way to end the meal.
The Good – The Mezcalita at Osaki is made with both tequila and mezcal mixed with ginger, lime, and agave. It was served over a large rectangular ice cube and garnished with a chile de arbol, a hot Mexican pepper. The drink wasn’t very smokey because of the split between the mezcal and tequila and overall, it was a solid cocktail. The Crispy Rice, a staple at sushi restaurants in the United States, interestingly came with the option of salmon or tuna on top of the two rectangular fried rice pieces. I decided to try the salmon since most often the dish is made with tuna. Despite being topped with a piece of jalapeño, the dish had no kick to it which was a problem for me. Other than that though, I thought it was a nice appetizer. The Eel Temaki, a handroll with eel, avocado, tempura shrimp, and teriyaki sauce was tasty. The addition of the shrimp tempura made the handroll have a slightly better rice ratio than the same handroll without shrimp tempura (see below). I don’t think the eel was the best quality, but the dish was a decent addition to the dinner.
The Okay - The Eel Temaki (without shrimp tempura) was way too heavy on the rice and that made it seem like you were just eating rice with a bit of sweetness from the teriyaki sauce. The eel was not warm in either of the temakis either and all told, this dish was a miss. The Red Curry with Chicken had a decent flavor, but it was not spicy enough or thick enough. It was served with rice and, strangely, two grilled pieces of bread. Unfortunately, this dish also did not meet my expectations and didn’t live up to excellence of a good Thai curry.
The Verdict – Osaki’s menu is a bizarre mix of dishes from mezcalitas and tacos to poke bowls to sushi to Korean BBQ to Chinese kung pao chicken to Thai curries to Peruvian lomo saltado. Eclectic menus are very difficult to execute well and Osaki fails to provide diners with high-quality dishes across the board. The possibility of having an enjoyable meal at Osaki exists but you must either get lucky or know which dishes to choose before you arrive.