Sushi bar Nobu may be expensive but it surely serves some of the best sushi in Kyiv
Okay, let’s get this out of the way now: Nobu is overpriced. It just is. A single piece of yellowtail will run you almost $5 and a six-piece California roll with only a fake crabstick and vegetables inside will cost you about $13. What’s more, the only sake (Japanese rice wine) they sell is Hr 140 for 150 grams. It’s a bit ridiculous. However, Nobu also has by far the best sushi in town. So it’s a question of priorities: do you let a place overcharge you in order to get the highest possible quality in an almost flawless atmosphere? Honestly, when it comes to sushi, the answer should be yes.
First of all, you should know that I consider sushi a near-perfect food. When it’s done right, it can honestly be one of the most mind-altering experiences available in the culinary kingdom. Who’d have guessed that a slab of raw fish perched atop a lozenge of white rice and dipped in soy sauce mixed with wasabi could have such a profound effect on the human nervous system? Well, the Japanese did, of course. But luckily the rest of us have caught on.
But there’s a caveat involved here: yes, the popularity of sushi around the Western world and its explosion in Kyiv means we now have lots of options to indulge this desire. But it also means that many of these options are wholly mediocre. And if you’re a relative neophyte to sushi and your palate is not quite delicate enough to know while eating, you can certainly tell you’ve had less than perfect sushi as soon as you leave the restaurant. It’s not quite a sick feeling (well, actually, sometimes it can be), but it’s not exactly a feather-light sensation either. However, the right amount of good sushi (I say “right amount” because sushi is not a meal to gorge yourself upon. You should never consume it the way you would, say, Chinese food or a huge pile of holubsi and kasha) does something magical to a person: The wasabi opens, the ginger clears, the cuts of fish transport and transcend.
But enough poetry, on to Nobu. I’d eaten sushi about a half-dozen times in Kyiv in almost as many restaurants. And not a single one broke through the barrier of mediocrity. Again, that’s not to say bad. It’s simply to say the food was serviceable for a sushi fix and nothing more. I’d hesitated to enter Nobu only because of the price. Yes, all the guidebooks said this was the best in town, but, well, I rarely trust anyone else’s opinion. But when our sister publication Afisha also added themselves to the chorus of Nobu adherents (and, well, add to that the fact that I have a Guide Editor expense account to offset a bit of the damage), I had to give it a try.
My first impression was a good one. Nobu looked exactly the way a decent sushi bar in New York or London would: dark-stained woods, calm lighting, waitresses clad in kimonos, a clean bar stocked with raw fish and manned by Japanese chefs (the only off-note, of course, was the club music playing at a slightly obnoxious volume. Is there some kind of city ordinance that every restaurant has to play tepid techno with the knob stuck at a level just loud enough to make conversation difficult?). And I decided, in the spirit of inquiry, to order the most popular pieces in an attempt to judge each on their own merits. For those who don’t know, the pieces of sushi that are just raw fish stuck atop a wedge of rice are called nigiri, and the rolls of seaweed stuffed with rice and raw fish are known as maki (for the record, just a piece of fish without anything is called sashimi, but this is much less popular so let’s try not to complicate matters further).
First up was a piece of tuna nigiri (Hr 20). Now tuna may be the most basic of the raw fishes. Its flesh is the most similar to meat, its consistency the least trying and its flavor the most familiar. But that should not detract from its appeal. The color of a perfect piece should be red but not ruby, reflecting just enough light to show off its opacity. And that’s exactly what this was. The consistency as well: perfect – not a hint of a cross-grain cut that can cause a nigiri slab to be sometimes unpleasantly chewy. Things were looking good.
And things continued looking good with the salmon (Hr 20). Okay, here I should add that I’m biased: while I’ve had love affairs with most different pieces of sushi, my love for salmon returned about a year ago and we’ve been happily entangled ever since. While I sometimes have brief dalliances with tuna, yellowtail, eel and the rest, I know where to go for a real love affair. A good piece of salmon is practically fish butter: a burst of creamy flavor and then a slow melting shuffle down your throat. And this one was perfect: bright orange marbled with pale yellow lines, tearing so delicately as I bit into it, and dissolving with a warm glow of taste. In fact, it was so perfect that I didn’t even hear my guest ask me how it was, so moved was I by the fish’s tender charms.
Next up, yellowtail (Hr 24): this fish comes closest to usurping salmon for my affections, and the piece I had at Nobu only edged my commitment closer. More importantly, though, men, pay attention: this was the third time I’ve watched a woman eat her first piece of yellowtail and be nearly overcome with passion. I have no idea why this happens. Actually, I really don’t care. Leave it to the scientists to understand – I merely suggest this as a potentially helpful tip.
The eel (Hr 24) perfectly rounded out the quartet: a slab of the freshwater variety smoked in teriyaki sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. This is a great piece for first-timers who are still not exactly comfortable with the concept of eating raw fish. While it’s not exactly pretty (salmon is probably the most pleasing to the eye: a nice piece looks like a wedge of stained glass) it’s definitely easier to stomach for the uninitiated.
We also ordered a California roll (Hr 64) at the request of my guest. To be honest, this is against my sushi philosophy. I consider California rolls to be what people order when they don’t really like sushi but think they probably should because everybody else seems to. California rolls are always just fine. Never exceptional, rarely less than adequate. The one we got at Nobu held no surprises. Probably the best value, actually, was the five-roll set for Hr 75: 15 pieces altogether, three each of salmon, yellowtail, tuna, cucumber and avocado. It’s great for sharing (though, at three pieces each, you have to stake out the ones you want early and barter to get the last bite of your particular favorite) and it’s perfect for those who can’t quite handle the full-fish appeal of the nigiri yet but appreciate quality nonetheless.
But seriously, if you’re a sushi fan and you’ve got the cash, don’t worry about the rolls. Come here, spend a lot (relatively, of course. For many successful people here, both ex-pat and native, Nobu is certainly not even close to prohibitive), and enjoy simply the best sushi in Kyiv.
Nobu
12 Shota Rustaveli, 246-7734
Open daily noon till midnight
English Menu: YesEnglish-speaking staff: Yes
