First taste: Obi Restaurant on lengthy road - consume Out

After Takumi closed previous this 12 months, sushi legend Hatsushiro Muraoka, fondly called Papa San, joined forces with chef-associate Ben Bettendorf to open Obi Restaurant on lengthy street. eat Out critic Linda Scarborough went to get a primary style in opening week.

quick information

price: ±R80 for sushi, R40 for starters, R80 for ramenServes: Sushi and traditional eastern foodBest for: A sociable feast with friendsParking: There's not loads of parking during this neck of the woods, so rather take a taxi.megastar scores: food 4, provider 4, ambience three

Nasu miso and agedashi at Obi Restaurant. photograph through Linda Scarborough.

meals

We said in might also that Papa San and Ben saw Obi as an opportunity to showcase the clean flavours of japanese cuisine, and this they do with simplicity and ability. The menu opens with a bit welcome observe from the owners and a few essential information like 10% provider charge being delivered automatically to your invoice, and to request no infants beneath the age of 5. (Papa San's famous listing of strict residence rules is certainly absent.)

You might kick off with some trademark Takumi starters, like the sweet and soft nasu miso (aubergine with honey-miso dressing) and attractive agedashi (deep-fried tofu in broth with bonito flakes), or some attractive tempura alternatives.

The shōyu ramen at Obi-Restaurant. image through Linda Scarborough.

The shōyu ramen is deeply comforting, however somewhat easy and softly savoury. A beneficiant element of silky straight noodles glisten in a broth alongside strips of pork cheek, sheets of nori, spring onions and a superbly completed egg. The different noodle dish of udon and tofu in dashi broth will suit vegetarians.

As for sushi, there are three pages of 'internal out' rolls organised under the main ingredient (salmon, prawn, vegetarian, tuna) with some Papa San emblems, and sashimi and maki, with ample range to go well with the traditionalists as smartly as the adventurous. The sushi rolls arrive lined up all in a row on fascinating handmade crockery and stoneware. Dainty bowls for soy sauce and wasabi have candy floral touches. As anticipated, every little thing is fresh and satisfying.

The Obi salmon interior-out rolls. photograph by Linda Scarborough.

Drinks

that you may slake your thirst with the commonplace smooth drinks, beers, difficult tack (including Nikka whisky), jap and plum sake, and a handful of wines. The tea selection comprises rooibos, 5 Roses tea and matcha, which is available in an attractive typical teacup ultimate for cradling between your hands.

Papa San's general face on the frosted glass windows at Obi. picture with the aid of Linda Scarborough.

atmosphere

Obi's simple area stands out in refreshing distinction to the lots of the photo-aware and over-designed eateries during this part of the metropolis. all over the day it's a little gloomy and moody, with black concrete flooring and frosted glass home windows, wherein you could peer through from the outside to observe movement within. comfy black chairs and wooden tables seem comparable to those, if no longer the identical ones, as at Takumi, and there are a few padded scarlet booths for those who wish to cosy up closer. ordinary jap music, if a bit bizarre to the Western ear from time to time, continues issues on theme. Soy sauce bottles and relatively facet plates are competent and waiting at each area surroundings, but that's about it in terms of the perfunctory décor. The lunchtime crowd remains catching on, so it's relatively quiet on the occasion of my seek advice from, but Papa San tells me they've been utterly booked each nighttime in the past week. The decrease e nd of long road doesn't have lots of foot traffic after dark, so eager valued clientele are making it a sure thing by way of reserving tables in increase – as when you.

carrier

Our waitress is awfully attentive and food is promptly prepared – even the ramen, which the menu warns might absorb to 20 minutes. in case you're lucky, Papa San may emerge from the kitchen to stroll amongst tables and notice the way you're enjoying things.

And…

Obi offers sushi classes on Saturday afternoons.

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