Tis Me Michelle

This restaurant has been on my list for a while now. I had seen it on the TikTok and looked yummy. So I recently went for my 32nd birthday dinner. It was my second try to have dinner here, the first time I had gone there was absolutely no parking and it’s a walk-in-only restaurant, so I cut my losses. My birthday happened to be a Wednesday, and there was no problem getting parking we got there right as it opened, so not really a line either.

Susuru is another izakaya restaurant, the same style of restaurant as Tori Tori, but definitely a different vibe. Tori Tori as I mentioned has more of a nightclub vibe, and Susuru is much more laid back. The decor was eclectic and contributed to a more chill bar vibe. My favorite part of an izakaya restaurant is that you can try a bunch of things because it’s small plates. So my friend and I tried out a few things.

I started off with a drink. I have to say, I haven’t drank nearly as much in the last few years, or feel the desire to. This drink, My Kewpie, was a boozy boba drink. When there’s boba involved, I’m involved. There were a lot of sugary things on top of it so I wasn’t sure about ordering. Despite having a sweet tooth for baked goods and desserts, I don’t like overly sweet drinks. I asked our waitress if they could make it less sweet, and they did! My friend got some rock candy out of it and I got a pocky stick. I nibbled a bit on the cotton candy, but I could have done without that, aesthetically pleasing though. It was a drink and a snack in one, for all that the $13 was worth it.

Next up we ordered a few things for dinner including, brussels sprouts, which I always order if it’s an option. I really enjoyed it, the flavor was fantastic, but definitely fried and a bit too greasy. The other vegetable I chose was the Yuzu Street Corn, which was also super flavorful, their take on an elote. It always hits me right after I order it that what I want is esquites NOT an elote. Because an elote is straight up on the cob which isn’t the most graceful thing to eat. I would get the brussels again, but would skip the street corn unless it was a to-go order.

We also got the gyoza with wings. This was unfortunately rather disappointing. There was nothing special about the gyoza and they were way too salty. My friend and I both agreed we weren’t a fan and didn’t end up finishing them. Then we moved on to the meats, landing on the short rib and pork belly. I love pork belly, this was definitely not my favorite. It was tougher than most I’ve had, leaning much more thick-cut bacon. The short rib on the other hand was a stand out. It was tender and had a great flavor to it. That was definitely the highlight of this round.

And of course, we had to end the b-day dinner with dessert. They had a matcha tiramisu and taro ice cream. We got both, obviously. Honestly, neither blew me away. I love the idea of a matcha tiramisu, but it tasted more like a cheesecake, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Ice cream is my favorite. The flavor of the ice cream was wonderful, but the texter was grainy which completely threw me off. That drink ended up being a better sweet treat than these desserts.

I’m glad we have a few izakaya’s in Orlando. I think it’s a great way of trying out a bunch of things with others. I will say, that the vibe was much more chill, but I’d still go to Tori Tori between the two izakayas I’ve tried.

Rating: 6.7/10