Nikkei: Japanese Peruvian comes to Cape Town

 30 March 2024

 

 

NIKKEI 

Japanese Peruvian

87 Bree Street, Cape Town 

 

The heads up stuff:

 

The deal is a deposit of R100,00 a person when you book and a choice of either a 18h00 seating (out by 20h20) or a 20h30 seating. 

 

Nikkei is not wheelchair accessible. Stairs to the main dining area, stairs to the mezzanine dining area and steep, narrow, badly lit stairs to the basements loos.

 

The fun stuff:

 

Apparently, there’s been a big buzz about Nikkei since it started slinging hash in premises once occupied by a burlesque house and after tonight, with some reservations, I can dig where the buzz is coming from.

 

We had the early seating and weren’t the only ones. The joint was already skipping by the time we arrived and was jumping soon after.

 

We were shown to a table upstairs, on the mezzanine level, at the rear of the space with banquette seating and peculiarly high tables and high, round-backed chairs. It’s been a while since I sat on a chair with my legs dangling; fortunately, there was a foot rest. There are four of these tables at the banquette and three more “standard” tables at the railing, with a good view over the lower level of the restaurant.

 

Basically, and simplistically, the mezzanine level is for couples and the main floor is for groups, and it was far noisier down there than in our semi-private space.

 

The overall style and feel is of old-fashioned, understated luxury, with dim lighting upstairs and more brilliant lighting downstairs.

 

We remarked that the large marble top of our table was ideal for small plate eating, especially when a few plates are brought at the same time.

 

One can choose between a la carte and set menus. We thought a set menu would be a good introduction to the concept of Nikkei and chose the Omakase (no doubt expertly curated) 8-course set menu for 2 at R599,00 per person.

We got the party started with really excellent prosecco, whereafter the wife switched to white wine, served in a carafe and with a truly magnificently bulbous wine glass, while I dumbed down to my favourite local beer.

 

The amuse bouche, served in a garden setting of a bonsai tree in pebbles where one (if one is me) is easily confused between the edible and non-edible parts of the presentation.  Why not just plonk the delicacy down on a nice plate?

The bouche  was a foam in an edible shell that, I suppose, was meant to mimic an oyster but I can never recall the blurb the server gives one on the elements. Tasty, though.

 

The main courses were served as portions to share but, contrary to similar concept at The Bailey on Valentine’s Eve, these were substantial courses. 

 

The edamame, crispy squid, the yellow Hamachi and tuna ceviche were served as a group on stunning plates and the arrangement of the yellowtail on the plate was incredibly artistic-like.  

The squid was crisp but under seasoned and ordinary; it’s a typical starter in many eateries of less distinction than Nikkei.

 

The edamame, in contrast, were well seasoned but it’s really just a delectable bar snack and, to me, out of step with this kind of menu, unless served well in advance of everything else as a bit of saltiness with your first drink.

 

The tuna and the yellowtail were superlative, with the latter a photo finish ahead if one were to be challenged to a ranking because the incredibly rich, creamy, meltingly soft texture was utterly sublime.

 

Next up, the fried tofu sushi and fire cooked chicken thing. I’m partial to a good tofu but the wife was highly dubious yet very pleasantly surprised by one of her high points of the evening. Each item was topped by slivers of jalapeño. Apparently our served had warned us to simply swallow those slivers. I hadn’t heard that warning and took the liberty of chewing the first mouthful. It was the gift that kept on giving throughout the rest of my meal.  Other than that, the sushi was excellent. The chicken, however, was succulent and extremely flavourful and a match for depth of flavour with the beer braised sesame short rib that followed, which had a sauce so rich, so bountiful, I was tempted to get my face into the empty plate.

 

Of the two lamb chops, the wife seemed to get the raw deal and wasn’t impressed, whereas the one I took was thick, perfectly cooked (i.e. just cooked, the way I like it) and well-seasoned. My only criticism would be that even for a person who likes cooked fat, the fat hadn’t been rendered enough, which is always the risk of you don’t over-cook the meat.

We shared a very light, pleasant and almost palate cleansing dessert of coconut lime blancmange, tuille and ice cream (R115,00).

 

The total bill came to R1 667,00, including drinks and dessert, before deducting the deposit of R200,00 paid when booking and before tip.

 

I’m not clued up on Peruvian cuisine, so, except for the ceviche, I’ve no idea how to distinguish between the Japanese and Peruvian elements, but never mind, it was all good, interesting and exciting.