{"id":20392,"date":"2011-05-10T10:34:50","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T08:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=20392"},"modified":"2011-05-10T19:38:07","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T17:38:07","slug":"restaurant-review-nobu-offers-largest-sushi-and-sashimi-selection-in-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-nobu-offers-largest-sushi-and-sashimi-selection-in-cape-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Nobu at One&Only Cape Town offers largest sushi and sashimi selection in Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I had been to Nobu just after it opened two years ago, and was not very impressed by it,\u00a0due to a service issue, but a return visit on Saturday evening, at the invitation of the One&Only Cape Town and its PR Consultant Ian Manley, was a delight, with a noticeable menu and service evolution in the past two years,\u00a0with unique Japanese, Peruvian and even South African elements in it.\u00a0\u00a0Nobu serves the largest sushi and sashimi selection in South Africa, I was told, and with the most unusual ingredients, such as abalone, scallop, lobster and langoustine.<\/p>\n

Hostess Delphine welcomed us, and said that she had left after the opening training, but had returned again, and did the traditional Nobu greeting of Irashamase, which is echoed by all her staff, meaning ‘welcome to our house’.\u00a0\u00a0 We were well looked after by waitress Nonte and sommelier Keith, and especially by manager Sebastian, who was most knowledgeable and sought information from the chef when\u00a0 he could not answer a question.\u00a0 He has been at Nobu since its opening.\u00a0 I asked Sebastian why he and the staff were not wearing a name badge, and he told me that all the staff are part of\u00a0the team, and no individual stands out.<\/p>\n

The restaurant, like Reuben’s, is downstairs, with a very high ceiling which contains lighting that looks like Japanese paper lamps.\u00a0 We asked about the circles which run along the walls, but could not find an explanation for them, as they are unique to Nobu.\u00a0 Sebastian found out that American Adam D. Tihany was the interior designer.\u00a0\u00a0 Tables have black lacquer tops, and chairs are dark stained.\u00a0 In general, the lighting is low.<\/p>\n

Owner Nobuyuki Matsuhisa worked in Peru after he trained in Japan, and then opened a restaurant in Alaska.\u00a0 It burnt down two months after opening.\u00a0 He then opened Matuhisa in Los Angeles, and in 1992 he opened Nobu in New York, with actor Robert de Niro as a\u00a0major backer.\u00a0 There are now 28 Nobus around the world.\u00a0 Sebastian told me which dishes are the classic trademark ones, which one is likely to find at any Nobu (we can attest to that, as a group of Americans sat next to us, and they immediately discussed these as well, clearly knowing them from past experience at another Nobu):<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Yellowtail sashimi and jalapeno (R115)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 New style sashimi, lightly seared (R75 – R210)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Tiradito (sashimi and chilli) (R105 – R210)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Tuna sashimi salad (R110)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Black Cod Den Miso is the best known dish of all, the cod being marinated in the Den Miso sauce for 3 days (R395)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Prawn Tempura\u00a0in rock shrimp style, fried in cotton seed oil, and served with ponzu, creamy spicy and jalapeno sauces (R125)<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Omakase, the chef’s recommendation, in which the chef prepares a 7-course meal based on what the patron likes to eat, consisting of\u00a0two cold appetisers,\u00a0a salad, one hot fish dish,\u00a0one hot beef dish, soup and sushi (served after the main courses in Japanese style),\u00a0and a dessert, at R 550.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The menu had a cardboard cover, with replaceable pages inside, allowing for regular menu changes.\u00a0 Blanched soya beans sprinkled with sea salt were brought to the table while we were discussing the menu, and they became more-ish as I got the hang of eating them out of the pod.\u00a0\u00a0If I eat Asian foods in Cape Town, I have gone to Haiku<\/a>\u00a0 <\/strong>in the past, and therefore I tried more Haiku-like dishes to start, to serve as a comparison.\u00a0 I started with abalone (R16)\u00a0and lobster (R28)\u00a0sushi, its presentation very different to my past experience of what I can now call more ‘commercialised’ sushi.\u00a0 The lobster sushi\u00a0was soft and almost jelly-like, and it was explained\u00a0that it was because it had not been cooked.\u00a0 I could not recognise it from\u00a0 the lobster I know.\u00a0 The abalone had some tough sections to it, and I know that abalone generally needs a good beating and cooking in a pressure cooker because it is so tough.\u00a0 After posting the photograph of this dish, there was some criticism of the serving of abalone, but Sebastian assured me that the restaurant has a licence to obtain and serve it.\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a>The avocado (R18 for\u00a0two slices), asparagus (R25 for two),\u00a0and shitake mushroom (R20 for two) tempura was delicious, with a very light crispy batter.\u00a0 The highlight however was a new dish recently created by chef Hideki Maeda, which he has included in his 7-course Chef’s Special Omakase tasting menu (R850), being a 100g \"\"<\/a>portion of Wagyu beef imported from Australia, served with foie gras, fig jam, fig tempura and a balsamic reduction\u00a0(R395)\u00a0– it was heavenly, a perfect main course size, given the preceding starters and the dessert to follow!\u00a0\u00a0 What made it even better\u00a0was the beautiful slim and elegant\u00a0Elia cutlery that I ate it with, having used chopsticks for the starters.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For dessert I ordered Suntory whisky cappuccino, a delicious cappuccino look-alike served in a\u00a0coffee cup, with four layers inside, and one is encouraged to scoop deep inside the cup to have a taste of all four the layers of coffee br\u00fbl\u00e9e, cocoa crumble (adding a wonderful crunch), milk ice cream and the Suntory infused froth on top – an absolute treat.\u00a0\u00a0 I was surprised to see a selection of desserts, all costing around R60 – R75, that were largely ‘Westernised’, including a local malva pudding.\u00a0 The winter menu special is a 5-course meal with one appetiser, the Rock shrimp tempura, Beef Toban Yaki, soup and sushi, and a dessert, at R299, and is a good way to try some of the classic international Nobu dishes.<\/p>\n

The winelist has a brown leather cover, and contained a selection of cocktails and Sake (R150\u00a0–\u00a0R590 for 150 ml), as well as of mainly local and some French wines.\u00a0 It is not as extensive as that at Reuben’s by any means.\u00a0\u00a0 Sommelier Keith is Let’s Sell Lobster trained, and worked at The Round House after his training.\u00a0 It showed in that the wines-by-the-glass we ordered were brought to the table poured and untasted by ourselves, Keith saying that this is how he had been taught.\u00a0 He did oblige by pouring the subsequent wines at the table, and allowing us to taste them.\u00a0\u00a0Wines served by the glass include Pommery Brut Royale (R175\/R850), Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve (R200\/R975), Billecart Brut Ros\u00e9 (R295\/R1550), Graham Beck Brut (R49\/R240), Villiera Tradition Brut (R44\/R210), and Graham Beck Brut Ros\u00e9 (R98\/475).\u00a0 White wines range from R34 for 150 ml of Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc to R74 for Rustenberg Chardonnay.\u00a0 Red wines start at R54 for 150 ml of Springfield Whole Berry Cabernet Sauvignon to R118 for Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2009.\u00a0 About five options are offered per variety, and the Shiraz selection started at R 280 for La Motte 2008, up to R560 for Luddite 2005.<\/p>\n

Nobu has something and more for everyone that appreciates excellent Asian style cuisine, and Haiku won’t be seeing me in a great hurry again, as there is much more variety, friendlier service, and no star order minimum at Nobu.\u00a0 The professional service by Sebastian was a large part of the enjoyment of our dinner at Nobu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nobu<\/strong>, One&Only Cape Town, V&A Waterfront.\u00a0Tel (021) 431-5888. www.oneandonlycapetown.com<\/a>.\u00a0(The hotel website contains\u00a0a page for Nobu, with a menu and winelist, but the photographs are in a general Image Gallery, unmarked, and mixed with those of Reuben’s and the Vista Bar). \u00a0Monday – Sunday, dinner only.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had been to Nobu just after it opened two years ago, and was not very impressed by it,\u00a0due to a service issue, but a return visit on Saturday evening, at the invitation of the One&Only Cape Town and its PR Consultant Ian Manley, was a delight, with a noticeable menu and service evolution in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,20,21],"tags":[11387,11391,220,11395,2506,32378,11398,226,142,5286,11390,999,393,1540,11389,153,11388,3010,11392,509,11396,503,1094,11386,11402,3625,41,11393,11394,60,11401,6742,4640,11399,1896,5531,11403,2870,11397,32373,11400],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t