Dragon King’s Daughter

202 East Elm St.
New Albany, IN 47150
812.725.8600
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With two locations in Louisville, Dragon King’s Daughter is a contemporary restaurant concept that combines two very unlike cuisines — Japanese sushi and Spanish Tapas — into one dining experience. I’m not quite sure what exactly inspired the combination, but it seems to work well enough to keep a steady following of people coming in the doors here. The concept works, though, in part because it brings out a lot of foods that people love and allows them to combine those in fun and interesting ways.

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The sushi is the top draw here, and the first thing to try when eating here. It’s interesting how the spot combines the traditions of Japan with Spanish cuisine and spices at times. The good rolls to try:

• Mantis roll: A pretty simple roll, actually, this one has fried asparagus and cream cheese inside, which makes it a simpler roll but still good.
• Indulgent roll: A one-two-three punch of spicy crab salad, cream cheese and avocado in a large roll that is then deep fried to give it a crunch. This one is very filling but well worth the experience.
• Sabor con Fuego roll: There’s a red tuna cut inside, mixed with jalapenos and hot sauce. Topping it off is a siracha-based hot sauce. Look out for this roll! It’s very, very hot.
• Dragon King’s Daughter Roll: The signature roll features shrimp tempura inside and an avocado and unagi topping and a drizzle of sweet, dark unagi sauce. It’s crisp, savory and about perfect for one or two people to enjoy.

Service here is great — the shop keeps more of a contemporary, casual feel, atypical of many sit-down sushi restaurants, but the food comes relatively quickly and the whole experience ends up being a pretty positive one. The prices are also very good; it can be all too frustrating to find a good place that does mid-priced sushi, but this one manages to do it pretty well. More importantly, there is a happy hour special to take advantage of — which makes practically all of the sushi on the menu very, very affordable.

In all, the experience is a positive one, and while there are plenty of lower and higher range sushi concepts around Louisville, this one fills out the middle ground well. It’s worth a visit.

Recommendations

• The sushi and tapas are an odd combo, but some of them go well together if you put a little thought into it.
• Happy hour specials make that sushi very affordable; make a point to come in before 6 p.m. if you can to try them out.
• A good menu of local beer makes this a nice spot to drink, too.