I bought a restaurant.com certificate for Sekisui Pacific Rim about two years ago, completely forgot about it, and then found it in some paperwork not too long ago. You know that feeling you get when you find money in your pants pocket you didn’t know you had? I had the same reaction when I found this certificate.
A couple weeks later I used it for a much needed girls’ night dinner with my friend Dani. We ordered dinner, drank wine, and chatted for hours. Sekisui Pacific Rim has the perfect atmosphere for this occasion. The lights are dim. Elegant blue lights decorate the inside. Fish tanks sit on the walls, and calming music plays in the background. It’s almost like you are in a swanky spa, but with a menu.
We had a certain amount of money we had to spend, so we ordered quite a bit of food. We both started with a house salad, that comes topped with that yummy Japanese dressing.
I love Pacific Rim’s house salad. Not only is the dressing perfect, but the crunchy noodles on top are a great contrast to the vegetables underneath.
After our salads, we split an appetizer of edimame. Sushi has a reputation of filling me up quickly, but leaving me hungry again an hour later. I always counteract this by eating edimame beforehand. Pacific Rim’s edimame tastes fresh, crunchy, and perfectly salted.
We also split an order of Gyoza, which is “Pan seared pork dumplings with spicy dipping sauce.” The dumplings were yummy. They were crunchy on the outside, housing the sweet tender pork on the inside. The sauce was the perfect mixture of syrupy sweet and spicy.
After the gyoza, we went for the main attraction. We split four rolls:
- Memphis Bayou: softshell crawfish and avocado
- Redbird: crunchy crab, sweet chili sauce, sushi shrimp on top
- California: crab, masago, avocado, cucumber
- Rock & Roll: shrimp tempura, crab, masago, avocado, cucumber
I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to sushi. My favorite is usually the California roll. This time is no different. However, all of the rolls were delicious. They each had their own characteristics that made them great. They all not only looked beautiful, but tasted fresh too.
At this point in the meal, we already had take out boxes to take a lot of the extra food home. However, Dani said their fried cheesecake was amazing. We ordered it.
The cheesecake was very rich. I could only take a couple of bites. It was good though. I think I still prefer my cheesecake baked, but this was a nice change. The cheesecake was piping hot, which was perfect for the melting french vanilla ice cream on top.
It’s also important to note that Pacific Rim has a great wine list. There is something on there for everyone.
They have a cute little patio out front as well. I have tried to enjoy it in the past, but it can be noisy. The restaurant is located on Poplar Avenue, so you have to talk a little loud to be heard over traffic sometimes. I think the atmosphere inside is much better.
Overall, I highly recommend Sekisui Pacific Rim. They have a great atmosphere for a girls’ night or for a date night. I even saw some families enjoying themselves as well.
Though Pacific Rim is part of the Sekisui family that expands over several states now, it is important to know that Memphis is its original and main home. To learn more about SPR, visit their website, Facebook, or Twitter. You can also find more reviews at Yelp and Urbanspoon, or book a table using Open Table.
