recently on a trip to norfolk virginia, my friend and i visited a real gem of a restaurant, one i really wish was located here in los angeles: kotobuki. the ostensibly normal fish-serving sushi joint also offers an impressive vegan menu with rolls that rival any in this town. when we informed our waitress that we were vegan, her eyes lit up and she immediately began making ordering suggestions and bragging about how good their vegan sushi was.

sapporo and a sweet potato roll

as it was my last night in town, we decided to go out and order a ton of stuff. i started with a sapporo and a sweet potato roll, which went together quite nicely. the japanese beer was cool and refreshing, and the sushi was simple yet satisfying.

now onto the more creative dishes…

the hugged rolled salmon n seaweed, the peta roll, and the buddha roll

the vegan menu at kotobuki is huge, and filled with very elaborate-sounding rolls, so we had a difficult time deciding what to order. after much debate, we settled on the “hugged rolled salmon n seaweed,” the “peta roll” and the “buddha roll”. the hugged roll, which is the top one pictured above, came stuffed with vegan salmon and avocado, all wrapped up in soy paper and topped with seaweed salad and sesame seeds. thumbs up. i really dug the seaweed salad, because it gave the roll a kind of fishy taste.

next up was the peta roll, pictured in the center of the photo above. this roll is named after the norfolk-based animal rights organization PETA because, as the waitress explained to us, lots of staffers frequent the restaurant and order vegan sushi. the peta roll was decent, but not spectacular. it came with seaweed salad, inari, fried tofu, and steamed carrots rolled up and cut into 6 slices for $5.50. the tofu inside was tasty, albeit a little bland, so i think i will stick to the more adventurous rolls next time i visit kotobuki.

lastly we had the buddha roll, pictured at the bottom of the photo above. we sure saved the best one for last, because this roll was madness!

the buddha roll consisted of shiitake mushrooms, kampyo asparagus, and shiso horseradish sprouts topped with avocado and spicy vegan mayo. the vegetable blend was so inventive, and the spicy mayo was kickin’! i didn’t even miss the fake meat or tofu that is so prevalent in vegan sushi. this was by far my favorite roll, and i highly recommend it.

after all that sushi, we were pretty stuffed, but our waitress refused to let us leave without ordering dessert. she was super proud of all their vegan options, and insisted we try the deep fried chocolate cheesecake. VEGAN DEEP FRIED CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE?! what?!?!?! i had no clue that such a wonderful thing existed. i was suddenly hungry again.

deep fried vegan chocolate cheesecake. OMG.

we split an order of the cheesecake, and it did not disappoint. the chunks of rich chocolate cake came covered in a thick tempura batter and fried to a crisp. genius i tell you, genius! the center was perfectly moist, creamy, and chocolatey with a tart cheesy flavor, while the outer layer was crunchy and oily. the cheesecake bites alone are reason enough to make a trip to norfolk; they’re definitely the most memorable dessert i’ve had in a while.

overall, kotobuki gets an a+. i’ve never been to a “normal” sushi place with such an inventive vegan menu…and the food was fantastic. the service was friendly, and our waitress seemed genuinely excited that we were vegan customers. i know i’ll be back!

kotobuki
721 W 21st St
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 628-1025