Dragonfly restaurant is a modern Japanese Sushi and Izakaya concept. Izakaya is basically the Japanese version of Tapas. They offer a wide variety of choices and undoubtedly will have a few menu options you’ve never experienced before. Dragonfly reminded me a lot of a Vegas restaurant with it’s vibrant high energy atmosphere and unique eye catching dishes. This is the place go when in Gainesville.
Ultimate California Sushi Roll
Food: We started off with the Fried wontons- krab, cream cheese, peach apricot reduction. These were a nice blend of sweet and savory. The peach apricot reduction was a great compliment to the cheesy flavor in the wonton. Next we tried the Sautéed Edamame($6)- Sauteed in garlic butter and japanese spices topped with bonito flakes. The visual when these arrived was fantastic. The steam from the edamame actually made the bonito flakes move as if they were alive. We had to sit and stare at the dish for a minute or two before we dug in. We’ve included a 10 second clip on this page to show you what we’re talking about. The menu denotes which items are spicy with a little spicy icon. This dish wasn’t listed as spicy but it certainly succeeded in setting our mouthes on fire. Each bite wasn’t that spicy but after you ate 6 or 7 pods your mouth was on fire. This had a great spicy buttery flavor and really was a fantastic spin on edamame, a normally boring item. Next we had the grilled corn- yuzu, shiso, butter, togarashi, parmesan. This was a corn on the cob seasoned and sliced into smaller chunks to make it easier to eat by hand. This also was pretty spicy. It had great seasoning and was topped with a bit of shredded parmesan cheese that perfectly complemented the other flavors. It’s something I’ll probably order any time I visit dragonfly in the future. After we finished the corn and edamame our sushi arrived. Surf n’ turf roll($15)- grilled shrimp,bacon,avocado,cucumber, krab delight, asparagus, cream cheese and scallions. Topped with beef tataki than finished with teriyaki apple cream sauce. This roll was huge. It was a really neat blend of flavors and offered a delicious meaty option for those who aren’t a huge fan of raw fish. The teriyaki apple cream sauce added a rich sweet apple flavor that gave the roll a beautiful balance between meat and sweet. Ultimate Salmon($10)- California roll with salmon sashimi slices on top. 5pm-7pm is happy hour on certain weekdays so we got this roll for $6 when normally it would be $10. Call ahead and come during happy hour to save quite a bit on a few of the menu items. This roll was a really well done spin on the ultimate sushi staple that is the California roll. The roll itself was really good and the salmon was a nice addition. Black n’ bleu roll- NY strip steak, spinach, sautéed red onions, bleu cheese, jalapeños with honey wasabi mayo. Where as the surf n turf roll was a giant oversized roll this one was more normally sized. You could really taste the steak and onions. The jalapeños and honey wasabi mayo added great flavor and give the roll a kick to it. There were tons of menu items we wanted to try but weren’t able to this time because we ran out of stomach space to fit it all. The menu offered a wide variety of grilled meats and veggies on skewers, interesting salads, soups and sushi. There’s something for everyone at dragonfly.
Surf n Turf Sushi Roll
Service: The service was great. Our server was very friendly, attentive and knowledgable about the menu. We couldn’t ask for more. The food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Part of their concept is that nothing comes out in a particular order. They simply bring each dish when it’s ready. We actually enjoyed that.
Black n Bleu Sushi Roll
Positives:
- Great unique sushi
- Good service
- A menu with something for everyone
- Hip vibrant atmosphere
Negatives:
- If you’re sensitive to spicy foods be very careful what you order
- Dragonfly Sushi and Sake
Grilled Corn at Dragonfly Sushi
Krab Wontons at Dragonfly Sushi
