Nagomi is a traditional Japanese restaurant in the Japanese quarter of Düsseldorf. The name translates to inner peace and balance and indeed, it is a quiet restaurant. It has few seats available at the sushi bar and caters to its guests in bright and friendly atmsophere.
Walk In Dinner
Even though I had no reservation, I was able to gain a seat at a table on a weekday during the COVID-19 pandemic. With their limited capacity I considered myself lucky as usually most Japanese restaurant a fully booked these days on literally any day. Especially with recent closure of established restaurants such as Kikaku, it is getting tougher to find seats with our reservation. On the way to my seat I was able to get a look at the fridge on the sushi bar and like the suzuki (sea bass), aji (mackerel) and tako (octopus).
suzuki (sea bass) 
aji (mackerel) 
tako (octopus)
Specials of the day
I got distracted from my intention to sample the mackerel and octopus by the staff highlighting the bonito fish exclusive. So I ordered a plate of katsuo (bonito fish) sashimi which was served with negi (green onion) and shoga (ginger). It was a very nice composition and an amazing start to my experience.
The main course was a moriawase style plate that came with maguro (tuna back), chu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly), ebi (shrimp), hamachi (yellowtail), hotategai (scallop) nigiri pieces, a ikura (salmon roe) gunkan (battleship sushi), some maguro (tuna back) maki (roll) and sake (salmon) nigiri served with fresh wasabi. The scallop was outstanding and is one of my favourite pieces anyway. The tuna was also quite good but not as outstanding as I hoped it would be. All in all it was an excellent plate and even the salmon, that usually does not impress in other restaurants around, was excellent.
Sushi Guide Verdict
Nagomi is small and somewhat inconspicuous restaurant. It is easy to walk by and was not on my radar prior the recent increase in fully booked Japanese restaurants. However, the atmosphere is a bit sterile and too bright for my taste, leaving mixed impressions. The menu options are good but exhaustive. All basic needs are covered and some select exclusives present nice surprises. The taste and quality of the food is very good but in some areas there is room for improvement. The drink menu is basic but covers what one would expect for any dinner. The service staff was very friendly and forthcoming and made this an enjoyable stay. Overall the restaurant ranks among the average competitions but that is not a bad thing considered the number of decent Japanese restaurants in the area.
Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Review date: October 14, 2020