Yamamori Sushi: Japanese classics on a Dublin plate
In the sushi and sashimi business since 1995, Yamamori Noodles is – for most Dublin diners – a reliable and delicious way to try new tastes in town. While smaller, more agile Japanese restaurants have come and gone, Yamamori's consistent and huge menu of big plates, bowls and bento boxes endure with style.
These days the restaurant's decor is showing its age – with huge canvases by previously-edgy-now-established Irish artist Graham Knuttel, slumping lantern lighting and awkward sectioning in the dining room that makes the trip to the table a small adventure in itself.
The food, however, is timeless. Similar to restaurant traditions in Japan, there are no set courses at Yamamori. Unless specified, diners will receive their dishes as the kitchen prepares them. Prior to making any drastic dining decisions, diners are urged to sample favorite Yamamori beverages, including the chilled and syrupy-sweet plum wine cocktail or a bottle of Asahi beer.
Norimake arrives on wooden trays, still warm from the rice maker and with fillings rolled perfectly inside. For those just learning to love those nori-wrapped treats, the smoked salmon and cream cheese roll is an excellent (and familiar) starting place.
Substantial main dishes are more than enough for one, and can easily stretch to two peckish patrons. Ankou Teriyaki, battered monkfish wok-fried, dressed with a balsamic vinegar sauce and served on a luxurious bed of wild mushrooms and leaves, comfortably balances sour-salty-sweet tastes and leaves little room for its accompanying bowl of sushi rice. The generous mix of prawns, roast pork belly, chicken and vegetables in the Yamamori Yaki Soba are swathed in a rich and salty sauce, tossed with egg noodles and finished with sour slices of pickled red ginger.
When the bill arrives, be prepared. Yamamori's own brand of Asian cuisine starts at around €8.25 for most norimake, with main dishes tallying €16.95 and up. Drinks and desserts can push a bill for two over €80, but with the security of leaving well-fed.
Posted by Bridget Reilly
