August 8, the fifth iteration of this chain we've reviewed thus far, is located in Stoney Creek, a suburb of Hamilton about 90km SW of Toronto, at 835 Paramount Drive. We went for weekend lunch, is $32.99. August 8 has an elegant high-ceilinged interior. AYCD fountain pop is available for $3.99. iPad menus are used, reusable chopsticks are used thankfully. Ginger is not dyed pink. Soy at table was delicious with wine notes, savoury and not salty at all. One feature is that there is a whole row of over a dozen types of sauces that can be ordered from the menu, which I have not seen it any other restaurant. There is a 90 minute dining limit posted, and this was just enough.
Miso soup was excellent, savoury and not at all dilute. We both loved the beef taco; it certainly wasn't Mexican but was still delicious and I think it had guacamole in it or some other light sauce which did it justice. Plain fries were made interesting by being brown and crispy and much more flavourful than usual. Loaded fries were very good with beef and onions and the same sauce it seems as the tacos.
Steak teriyaki was amazing, and I'm really glad it was all the lunch menu as it was large chunks of delicious beef and the sauce was very good as well. Chicken teriyaki was excellent, not “rubbery”, the sauce was good, and it had a nice smokey savoury flavour. Chicken nuggets are karage and were good but the dipping sauce had a little too much heat for my liking... personal preference. Chicken cutlet aka torikatsu Mishy liked although I found it dry, one of the few times where she preferred something more than I did. The sauce’s flavour was also a little over the top, but at least it had flavour. Mishy really did not care for the beef skewers, saying that they were far too dried out and should not have been served, and although I think that was a bit much, they were certainly dry and I did not enjoy them as much as I should. Chicken was much better being more moist and tender.
Philadelphia roll was quite good with enough cheese and large chunks of salmon. Mishy enjoyed the salmon nigiri saying that it was fresh and went very well with the soy sauce which more resembled teriyaki-style... it was excellent especially with our brought wasabi. Crab aka surimi nigiri was very good. Surf clam was excellent and super fresh. Red snapper aka tilapia and butterfish aka escolar were very good and very fresh.
For dessert, banana tempura was good and had plenty of chocolate sauce. Lava custard bun was a delicious variety on the classic chocolate-filled bun. Chocolate ice cream was excellent, full of rich chocolate notes, and no freezer burn. Mango ice cream was delicious and while the mango flavour wasn't intense it was very good, and also no freezer-burning. Vanilla was French and quite good. Weekend lunch is $32.99 and this is with the $3.99 pop a little more than the area, but the offerings were worth it and it was certainly an excellent lunch.
Rating: 9-9.5 / 10 - 0.25 value adjustment = 9 / 10