This is Nobu’s old stomping grounds, presumably when he had both a first and a last name, as in before he was a celebrity. It was his first restaurant, offered to him by someone who met him at a sushi bar in Japan and offered to stake the business, I believe. He wasn’t “Nobu the Great” back then, but Wikipedia leads me to believe that this is where he first started developing his signature fusion style. There are lots of rolls on the menu here with cream cheese, tempura, and mixes of sweet and savoury, but the quality of the fish is the biggest and most important element, especially for someone like me who’s gluten-intolerant and lactose-intolerant (I bring my own gluten-free soy sauce so I can have just nigiri, sashimi and some rolls, but usually can’t eat any of the prepared dishes because of soy sauce, oyster sauce, teriyaki sauce, and other prepared sauces with wheat).
So I’m a purist by default, and that’s not a bad thing. You really focus on the flavours of the fish. I loved the lenguado (sole) and scallops especially. The scallops were creamy and sweet, and the sole just buttery and tender, nothing like sole in North America. And I loved that the sushi chef made a meal just for me (Omakase) and he knew how to avoid dairy and gluten. Unfortunately he didn’t have many options. And the only wild fish they had (my preference, but I did eat a few farmed shrimp and the Chilean farmed salmon) were the sole, sea bream, tuna and crab. Not fake crab – real crab, but not very flavourful.
It was good to see they’re using only what’s seasonal. Unfortunately, besides the sole and scallops the rest of the fish was pretty bland and they couldn’t add cream cheese, tempura or Japanese soy-heavy sauces to make it more interesting. the tuna was just alright and so was the sea bream. The best nigiri I had was sole with a slice of avocado and a little ginger on one side and a little diced lime on the other. It was subtle and beautiful.
The chef made a shrimp roll with sole and wrapped it in cucumber. It was a nice presentation but, again, bland, especially since the cucumber watered the whole thing down.
The best part of the crab maki wrapped in yet more sole below was the green onion.
It seems like it’s hard to find good sake in this city. Even at the best sushi restaurants, I always get asked, “Hot or cold?” I want to know the brand, the type, and see a list with more information. So stick to wine, a fruit juice or a cocktail. Pisco sours are really popular with sushi, which makes sense because of the refreshing lemon. At 40% alcohol, it’s twice as intense as sake, though, so be careful. And I’m not sure all the sugar is helping the fish flavour shine through.
One neat thing was that the chef plops a blob of wasabi and another of ginger down on the counter in front of you when you sit down. No dish, just straight on the counter. The front part of the counter is for drinks (and my packet of gluten-free sauce). They do give you a soy sauce dish, though. And when you leave the sushi chef does a quick swipe of the counter with a cloth to clean it. I’m not sure about the hygiene, but probably the fewer people handling the plates the better. So it’s even better if there are no plates at all, so long as the cloth the counter is wiped with is clean. Cross your fingers, and down more wasabi and soy sauce if you’re nervous, since they’re anti-microbial. All that hard alcohol in a Pisco Sour can’t hurt either. It’ll probably wipe out anything that’s living in your gut.
But if you’re not gluten-intolerant you should come here for all the cooked dishes, which sound and look fantastic. The menu is huge. It’s not cheap, but good fish isn’t cheap here. Order something creamy and breaded for me and enjoy it.
El Matsuei
Manuel Banon 260, San Isidro, Lima
51-1-422-4323
Hours: Mon-Sat 12:30-3:30, 7:30-11pm
How Much: A lot, as in 60-100 soles per person, or more for a large tasting menu. I got out of there for about 80, but didn’t have anything fancy, or a cocktail.
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