Photo by: Michael Furman
The freshest fish in Denver can be found within walking distance of the University of Denver thanks to brothers Toshi and Yazu Kizaki.
The two have opened their third restaurant on South Pearl Street, Den Deli, featuring fish flown in daily from the Japanese fish markets.
Den Deli attempts to marry traditional Japanese macrobiotic fare with noodles in a café-styled, casual dining venture. It is located at 1501 S. Pearl St. and is across the street from its sister restaurants Sushi Den and Izkaya Den.
In fact upon entering Den Deli, you may feel you’ve mistakenly stepped into a neighborhood bakery at the sight of glass display cases and blackboards with specials of the day scrawled out in chalk. Instead of baked goods however, the glass cases house an exquisite selection of Japanese takes on classic deli items.
Daily, the restaurant mixes up their offerings with a plethora of fishy combinations to keep customers guessing.
For $2.95 a bowl of potato salad packs a flavorful punch with wasabi, mustard, cucumbers, carrots, ham and white raisins sprinkled with shredded sweet potato and garnished with a sweet potato chip. The unlikely combination of flavors paired with it’s low price tag make it a nice compliment to any entrée.
Sweet teriyaki hot wings for $7.95 a pound are topped with sesame seeds and though prepared early in the day still satisfy any finger-licking wings fan. Other highlights include the miso cod for $9.95 and Japanese vegetables, Hijikki for $3.50.
To complete the deli atmosphere, Den Deli roasts Coda coffee and is happy to whip up a steaming espresso or tea to go along with deli purchases.
Gelato from South Pearl Street’s Pajama Baking Co. is also available as well as desserts whipped up by the owner’s wife daily.
The fruit tart for $3 pairs a delightfully flaky pastry base with a thin layer of chocolate cream and a sumptuous amount of deliciously creamy lemon custard covered with apples, blueberries, pear, kiwi, strawberries, blackberries, grapefruit and raspberries. Looks are definitely deceiving with this little delight, though it is small in size it is perfect for sharing.
The Deli is best for diners eager to try something a little out of the ordinary and ready for some assertive decision-making. The menu boasts more than 30 different deli selections along with sandwiches like French dips, sliders and a noodle bar.
While one might conventionally avoid sandwiches at a Japanese restaurant, the juicy Kobe Beef cheese steak is the highlight of the menu for many of the neighborhood restaurant’s frequenters. Piled high between a roll, seared Kobe beef is complimented by shitake mushrooms, onions and is topped with melted provolone cheese and wasabi mayo.
The sandwich is served with crispy fries and appears almost magically on the tabletop a mere five minutes after the order is placed.
The Kizaki brothers spent careful time researching noodle dishes in their home town Kyushu, Japan’s southern most island, to create their own signature ramen noodle, Ton-Kotsu Ramen. The noodles finds their home among pork stock in a steaming bowl with a medium boiled egg, sprinkled bean sprouts, bok choy, sesame seeds, corn and thin pork slices. The bowl is pure and simple steaming comfort food, by adding some red crushed pepper the degree of spiciness can be monitored by the consumer to provide the perfect blend of miso creaminess. The noodle bowls range in price from the Miso Ramen for $9.95 to a build-your-own bowl for $12.95 which includes rice, miso, one protein and one veggie.
The open refrigerated case in the front provides good options for those on-the-go, including bento boxes and sushi combinations from $3.95 to $12.95.
Den Deli also boasts a fresh seafood market where Japanese seafood selections like salmon, tuna, roe, sea urchin and yuzu may be purchased to take home and prepare yourself.
The restaurant is open daily 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is located a mere light rail stop and short walk away.
