OMU is an elegant Japanese restaurant that opened in Autumn 2018 in Santa Lucia, Napoli. It is located close to the waterfront walk at Via Partenope and is just minutes away from Chiaia, one of the upscale night life areas in town. The restaurant has about 15 tables and offers seated dining only. The interior is dominated by stylish tones of grey, granite elements and an indirect lighting concept. As the restaurant is new, it seemed like a good place to check out on a Saturday.
Moriawase Dinner
The menu seemed extensive and offered many options that are hard to find in other sushi restaurants in Napoli. The chef also offered a special menu around caviar, but this felt not entirely like what we had in mind for this night. So we opted for a set moriawase menu and explored the average dishes served at this restaurant. The first plate came with hamachi (yellowtail), maguro (tuna back) and sake (salmon) sashimi, maguro, sake, suzuki (sea bass) and tai (sea bream) nigiri. Both the sake and hamachi were excellent. The tuna was not very convincing however, which made us skip the o-toro options on the menu. The plate was followed by an uramaki (inside out roll) plate with sake and kani (crab meat) variations. The rolls were surprisingly good and all ingredients tasted fresh.
Afterwards, we tried a maguro (tuna back) tempura maki (deep fried roll) with sake (salmon) topping. This roll was excellent as well and had a very tasty sauce that added a sweet note to the dish. As fried dishes are very popular in Napoli, this was well in line with high expectations for fried food. We ordered some final pieces and finished our dinner with an uni (sea urchin) gunkan, unagi (freshwater eel) and blue ebi (shrimp) nigiri and piece of glorious wagyu beef striploin nigiri.
Sushi Guide Verdict
OMU is a fancy restaurant with stylish interior catering to upscale clients. The atmosphere is cozy but the bright color of the indirect lights installed in the restaurant can feel a bit cold. Due to the clean granite walls, the restaurant gets very loud even with few tenants present. The menu options are extensive and among the largest in Napoli for sure. The menu offers anything a sushi aficionado might look for and even has some special delicacies, such as 5 types of ebi. The food quality was very good for most dishes, but some basics clearly lack in quality. The tuna was just mediocre, which is a common issue in many sushi restaurant in town. However, overall the taste and texture of the dishes was good and everything felt fresh and prepared with care. The drink menu is also extensive and covers all needs for a long night out. The service was friendly and forthcoming and made us feel at home. The restaurant is nice addition to the few sushi restaurants that stand out in Napoli.
Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Review date: December 1, 2018