Next Door by Wegmans is the Japanese-centric restaurant across from the flagship Pittsford Wegmans. If memory serves, Next Door used to have a more eclectic menu that moved to primarily sushi and Japanese food more recently. We had 8 veteran Rouletters.
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We kicked dinner off with the tuna tartare with avocado, yuzu mayo, and crispy rice. The tuna was fresh, well-seasoned, and the correct temperature for raw fish. This lead to a creamy and pleasant experience. The crispy cracker was a bit divisive: Rouletters either found the crunch welcome and delightful or they felt that it actually wasn’t crispy enough. All Rouletters agreed that the yuzu mayo dressing was terrific. All that being said, some Rouletters found this to just not be flavorful or stand-out enough as a whole. ⭐️ 3.9 ⭐️
Our second dish was the edamame with yuzu sea salt. The edamame was well-steamed, nicely salted, and not wilted. That being said, no one tasted yuzu. At the end of the day it was a perfectly standard edamame. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
We followed this up with the crispy pork gyoza with soy-vinegar dip. The filling was perfectly spiced with a touch of heat: it did not descend into mono flavor like take out. We loved all of the textures. The filling was ALMOST loose, but it cohered. They let the crispy excess gyoza-bottom just spread out, which was crispy and delightful. That being said the shape sort of confused several Rouletters and they weren’t really sure if they liked it. ⭐️ 3.9 ⭐️
Turning to sushi, we had the spicy yellowtail with avocado, serrano chili, and wasabi mayo. It was prepared very nicely: tasty, fresh, the right temperature, and not at all fishy. The overall flavor was bright and spicy – what isn’t there to like? ⭐️ 4.4 ⭐️
The red dragon with tempura shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, spicy tuna, and sweet miso is tied for the second highest rated dish of the night. Like the yellowtail roll, this was prepared perfectly. The silky tuna and avocado along with the crisp of the tempura shrimp and the thoughtful combination of the sweet and savory miso with the spicy mayo was delightful. ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
The other dish tied for second highest rated dish of the night was the grass-fed grilled ribeye with sansho butter and soy-onion relish, 12 oz. We loved the cook on the steak, the texture, and the flakey salt. The sauces didn’t improve this dish (and for some Rouletters it lowered the score). ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
Next, we turned to the grilled crispy organic chicken with cashew ginger-shishito sauce and lemon.Again, cooked expertly: juicy, super tender, and a tasty crisp skin. We loved the texture! This dish was light and sweet with a gentle heat. Rouletters rated this a bit lower than other dishes because it didn’t stand out as much. However, it would be absolutely perfect for the friend in your group is slightly freaked out that you took them to Japanese centered restaurant and is just trying to be a good sport. ⭐️ 4.0 ⭐️
The second lowest rated dish of the night was the roasted cauliflower with shiso chimichurri and miso walnuts. Rouletters found this to be a nice, if average, cauliflower dish. The accompaniments didn’t really stand out and the cauliflower was a hair undercooked. If you love cauliflower, you’ll really dig this dish. If you’re more neutral on cauliflower, this probably isn’t the dish for you. ⭐️ 3.3 ⭐️
For the first time ever, we have a tie for the Parisian Paradox! First, we have the sweet miso-roasted eggplant with crispy wild rice and creamy sesame sauce. Some Rouletters were over the moon crooning that these perfect little bites of salty, tender eggplant were the best thing we had all night. The eggplant, they proclaimed, melted in your mouth and the umami of the miso brings EVERYTHING to this, while the crispy wild rice brings it a notch further. Shrimp Toast nominee, they exclaimed! Other Rouletters said, meh. The presentation was cool with the little toothpick, but the eggplant was too mushy. Others didn’t love the eggplant flavor with the miso. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
The second dish that tied for the The Parisian Paradox was the bolognese with cavatelli and creamy tomato sauce. Some Rouletters loved the cook on this cavatelli. Just getting a perfect al dente is a slam dunk. The creamy tomato sauce had a richness but wasn’t particularly heavy making it a lovely well-balanced dish. Other Rouletters found this dish to be boring and uninspired. ⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️
The highest rated dish of the night was the truffle mac n’ cheese with fusilli and crispy panko. Your Croupier notes that we ordered one dish as listed on the menu and another without truffle for our fungi free friends. Talk about a taste explosion! How did they achieve this in a mac n cheese? Typically, a mac n cheese is simply creamy, but the cheese choice gave a beautiful flavor. We won’t say it ruined boxed macaroni and cheese, but we will think of what is possible every time we eat cheese on a noodle from now on. Three cheers for the Wegmans cheese caves! The dish without truffle wins the Shrimp Toast Award. ⭐️ 4.7 ⭐️
Because some Rouletters felt so strongly they split their scores, let’s turn to the mac n’ cheese with the truffle. Rouletters said the truffle felt forced and like too much flavor. Most of us love truffle but so much of what we get served is flavored with the truffle-scent chemical, which turns the flavor into a hammer and doesn’t display the sweet, floral, nutty elegance of the unadulterated thing. Honestly, the altered dish’s score would have been higher and this would have been lower if your Croupier had asked for separate scoring from all Rouletters. ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
Next Door burger with grass-fed ground beef, miso-pulled beef, pickles, cabbage slaw, and American cheese on a brioche bunwas another mixed bag for Rouletters. Burgers are notoriously hard because we have two camps: “the let’s all bite the same burger!” chaos goblins and the “we need to cut this thing into equal pieces and each have our own” germaphobes. This results in VERY different experiences (spoiler, the chaos goblins get a better example of what the burger actually tastes like if one were to order it, public health be damned!). The goblins report that the burger had an excellent composition and consistent taste experience. It was a nicely balanced burger. Germaphobes found the burger less impressive overall. All Rouletters agreed on three things: 1) the brioche bun really ratcheted this burger up a notch, 2) the meat was extremely under-seasoned (friends, always salt/season the meat generously), and 3) we ordered medium and this was medium-rare. ⭐️ 3.9 ⭐️
Now we turn to the truffle parmesan fries with truffle mayo. For some Rouletters they found these to be perfectly crisp with delicate shaves of parmesan and the truffle flavor does not overpower. Others found the fries themselves to be unremarkable and the toppings also did not adhere. Overall, folks again really enjoyed the fries better without the truffle. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
We kicked off dessert with the chocolate volcano cake with hazelnut toffee and vanilla ice cream. This dish was a pleasant surprise: we expected the cake to be darker and have more of a chocolatey taste but overall it was lovely. We really dug the texture but didn’t taste anything to set this apart. ⭐️ 4.1 ⭐️
Our favorite dessert was the raspberry yuzu pavlova with coconut meringue, raspberry yuzu jam, vanilla Chantilly, and raspberry juice. This was a cool dish with a light flavor – perfect after such a big rich meal. The balance of flavors and textures was spot on. Rouletters loved every element (including the little show of pouring the sauce) and they were even better together. ⭐️ 4.3 ⭐️
We ended with the baked cheesecake for two with panko macadamia crumble, mango sorbet. What even was this? We guess they reimagined a beloved dessert as…a warm smear on the plate? We didn’t really get it. This one flirted with a Bibimbust but was saved by two Rouletters who value creativity and found it tasty despite it definitely not tasting like cheesecake (they were unable to distinguish exactly what it tasted like, however). Turns out you should not deconstruct cheesecake. ⭐️ 2.1 ⭐️
Your croupier felt bad for the mango sorbet, so we let it have its own scoring. This was a perfect end to a delicious meal. Our server mentioned they are made in house – yum!!! Very mango! Very sorbet! Well executed and flavorful. ⭐️ 4.2 ⭐️
Turning to the drinks, we kick it off with the spicy margarita: this was very delicious although our lips were burning. The French 75 was average. Turning to the wine, the server recommended a sparkling rosè and it was lovely. The sommelier heavily recommended a wine without giving details about it so Rouletters could evaluate, didn’t mention the price point (nor ask for a preferred price range) even though it was not apparently on the menu (that we could find), opened it before he got to the table without making sure it fit, and…Rouletters didn’t like it at all. More worrying, the red wine was served so warm that it actually cooled as it sat at the table – and this happened with two different wines. This is an absolutely basic tenet of wine service. Especially for a place that has an exceptionally rare burgundy on the list for six THOUSAND dollars. Absolutely inexcusable. ⭐️ 3.1 ⭐️
Our server was attentive without being overly present, made great recommendations, and paced course. We never felt rushed or overwhelmed. Bonus for bringing clean plates for us and making sure portions were cut for ease of sharing when possible. The team refilling water and helping out were great. Unfortunately, service is based on overall experience and the sommelier caused a drop. ⭐️ 4.1 ⭐️
Overall, Rouletters enjoyed their experience. Parking was easy and plentiful for those who arrived early but the lot seemed to fill up with maybe Petco shoppers? They recently renovated the bar area and we love the cozy, sexy vibe of it. The lounge loveseats especially and soft lighting, would make for a great date spot. It got a bit loud at times and we could see that being a challenge during a busier night. Some Rouletters were concerned with the lack of consistency and the price point. Look – if the staff at your fine dining establishment are wearing Wegmans nametags, you sort of are reminding everyone that they are getting food and talent at a STEEP discount. For some Rouletters, this is another example of Wegmans just deciding that if they charge more, people will pay more. ⭐️ 4.2 ⭐️