Lush is the word to describe the new sushi place that opened at 21 South Park Avenue in Rockville Centre in March. Called Rozu, the Japanese restaurant replaced The Ugly Duckling, which had opened up just a year ago.

 

Among the traditional rolls, Rozu features some specialties like their High Roller with toro, uni, caviar, yuzu mayo, scallions and crispy shallots ($33), the Green Dragon with shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, cucumber, avocado daikon cress and yamagobo ($19) or the Kiss & Tell with yellowtail, wasabi mayo, serrano pepper, avocado and cilantro ($24).

 

The list of specialty cocktails is just as fun and intriguing, all for $17. The Toki Oi is suntory toki whisky, ginger syrup and angostura, the Rozu is el tesoro reposado, mezcal aperol, yuzu, agave and hibiscus flower, and the Tokyo 75 is roku ginn mint, cucumber, lime and sparkling sake.

 

Photo: Roku Facebook page.

 

The restaurant is lushly decorated with twisting tree forms surrounding columns in the middle of the space with pink roses hanging from the branches sprouting from the wood floors. Chandeliers hang over the bar and dining area and vivid artwork adorn the walls making for an Insta-worthy backdrop.

 

On Yelp, Alana T, from Long Beach, went to the soft opening on March 10th and was pleased. She gave the restaurant five stars.

 

“Came to Rozu tonight for their soft opening and I was absolutely blown away,” Alana said. “I really enjoyed it here and I'm excited to come back.”

 

Rach F, from Malverne, also loved it.

 

“We love our omakase so when a place opened up right here in town we had to try it out,” she wrote. “It felt comparable to our favorite places in Manhattan & Queens, minus the LIRR trip, will certainly be coming back soon.”

 

Location: 21 South Park Avenue, Rockville Centre, (516) 208-3110.