There is a skewer on this menu that costs $4 and a steak on it that costs $72, and both come off the same grill. Double Knot opened June 17 at 22 W Atlantic Ave in Sundy Village, about 20 minutes north of Boca, and the useful thing about it is that you decide how expensive the night gets. Ten selections plus soft serve runs $78 a person. Or you show up at 4 PM and eat off a happy hour menu where nothing goes above $9. Same room, same grill, wildly different check.

What You're Getting Into

This is a Japanese izakaya built around two things: a sushi bar and a robatayaki grill, with outdoor seating if you want the Atlantic Avenue version of the night. Start at the grill, because the skewers are priced so you can build your own progression. Tokyo scallion, shishito pepper and Japanese sausage are $4. Asparagus, miso eggplant and chicken wing are $5. Hanger steak scallion and pork jowl are $6. Chicken thigh, pork belly, octopus and maitake mushroom are $7. Then it climbs through ribeye scallion and salmon scallion at $9, short rib $10, prawn $11, scallops $12, lamb chop $13, and kobe beef at the top for $14. Six skewers still costs less than one large plate.

The sushi bar runs a separate track and it starts cheaper than people expect. Nigiri opens at $4 for the egg omelet with nori, then shrimp and shitake at $5, octopus $6, yellowtail and king salmon $7, tuna $8, kampachi $9. From there: toro with caviar $11, foie gras with miso caramel $13, A5 kobe $17, and premium uni at $21. Rolls are priced two ways, roll and handroll. Spicy tuna is $14 or $7, shrimp tempura $10 or $8, blue crab $16 or $12, toro scallion $17 or $9, and the Double Knot big eye tuna roll is $18.

The small plates are where the kitchen gets playful. The cheesesteak bao is $12, ribeye and provolone, and it is one of the most ordered things in the room. Duck scrapple bao is $14, wagyu soup dumpling $13, pork gyoza $13, broiled oyster $16, spicy baked scallop and crab $19. The Japanese fried chicken is $16 and it earns it, marinated a full day before it hits the fryer. Large plates run from ora king salmon and pork tonkatsu at $26 up through wagyu bavette $31, broiled cod and Japanese scallop $32, nabemono $36, branzino $39, and grilled Japanese wagyu at $72. If you order one side, make it the black cod fried rice with miso caramel and edamame, $17. Whatever you do, it ends with soft serve.

The Insider Move

Come at 4. Happy hour runs daily from 4 to 6, and it is not a token list of three items. Skewers are $5 to $7, with chicken thigh, chicken wing and maitake at $5 and short rib, salmon scallion and ribeye scallion at $7. That short rib skewer is $10 at dinner, so it is the same thing for $3 less. Rolls and handrolls all drop to $8, including spicy tuna, salmon avocado, shrimp tempura and cucumber avocado. Japanese fried chicken is $9 instead of $16, which is the biggest single drop on the menu. Pork bao and chili crisp chicken bao are $9, dumplings $9, and sides like kim chee fried rice and yaki soba are $8. Cocktails are $7 for The Spice Knot or The Water Knot, Kirin and Kirin Light are $5, and the chardonnay is $6. Book dinner on Resy, and call 561-808-2077 first if you want to confirm whether happy hour is running at tables or only at the bar and lounge.

What People Are Saying

Local coverage has landed on the same idea, which is that this is a table where everybody over-orders. Boca Magazine pointed readers at the Chef's Select as the way to tour the whole menu in one sitting. The Palm Beach Post talked to Schulson about the karaage, which he marinates for a full day in soy, sesame oil, garlic and sake and calls "to die for", and reported that the cheesesteak bao has become one of the most ordered dishes in Delray. For a read on the crowd, go on a Friday at 4 and watch how fast the bar fills.

A Little Background

Double Knot is Michael Schulson's izakaya, already running in Philadelphia, New York and Miami before it landed in Delray. The Delray room sits in Sundy Village at the west end of Atlantic Avenue, a block that is still filling in, which is part of why a Saturday here does not feel like the rest of downtown yet.

561 Approved · Free

Double Knot is already in the app.

Every place we write about lives in the 561 Approved app: a live map, today's plan, and local deals. No account required.

Subscribe to The 561 Scoop for the new Delray and Boca openings worth your Saturday night, with the menu prices already checked.