An All or Nothing Dinner at Jap One

On one of the rare occasions to go out for dining during the COVID-19 pandemic, we stopped by for a late dinner and were in luck to get the last two seats of the night. Based on previous experiences and starving from the search for an appropriate restaurant, we decided to share some of the exclusive dishes on the menu. To say the least, it was worth it. After a small amuse-bouche in form of a taki yaki ball (deep fried octopus) and a sophisticated maguro (lean tuna back) tartar with avocado and kanji (crab meat), we were presented with an amazing ise-ebi (lobster) plate.

The lobster did not just look amazing but was an absolute delight. Seared in an excellent creamy sauce with some grilled seeds and bedded on wakame (dried lobe-leaf seaweed), it was a mind-blowing dish. The lobster had amazing texture and still melted in our mouths. The dish was crowned with the amazing teriyaki sauce on the side, that pushed the taste arrangement over the top for me.

Afterwards we had an omakase style plate of their sushi exclusives, which was also outstanding, even though it was hard to impress after the ise-ebi (lobster) dish. The plate came with sake (salmon), suzuki (sea bass) and hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi, sake (salmon) and mazara ebi (shrimp) nigiri, maguro yaki (grilled tuna) uramaki (inside out roll) with ibodai (butterfish) topping, sake (salmon), suzuki (sea bass), maguro (tuna back) futo maki (big roll), ebi (shrimp) and maguro (tuna back) uramaki (inside out roll), sake (salmon) tempura maki (fried roll) with quail egg and sake (salmon) tempura maki (fried roll).

Especially the mazara shrimps were outstanding and I cannot recommend them enough. If they are on any menu, they should be a must have. the grilled tuna roll with butterfish topping was also amazing and only surpassed bu the fried salmon roll with quail egg topping. Even though this rather feels like an Neapolitan composition than a Japanese delight, it was amazing and a signature dish of the restaurant in my perception.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Jap One is an amazing restaurant and deserves its rank among the best in Napoli. The menu is extensive and covers all basics and exclusives one would wish for. The taste and quality of the dishes is excellent and way above average in comparison to other Japanese restaurant around. The drink menu is also quite good and offers a nice selection of cocktails and both regional and international wines. The service staff was friendly and very forthcoming, but due to the layout of the restaurant we felt a bit left alone in the basement area. In any case, I highly recommend Jap One as one of the best restaurants in Napoli.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: October 9, 2020

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An Amazing Dinner Experience at Urubamba

The opulent dinner experience started with a nice starter plate with a composition of maguro (tuna back) tartare with crab cream and quail egg, which was an absolute delight, even if it was not particular Japanese or Peruvian for that matter. It was an outstanding start that was followed by some amazing gunkan (battleship sushi) pieces with Mazara ebi (shrimp) – a regional delicacy – and hamachi (yellowtail) with caviar topping served alongside fresh wasabi and ginger. To say the least, the ebi was amazing and if available, Mazara ebi is must have from any menu in Southern Italy. Also the hamachi was excellent and very well matched with the caviar topping. As if this was not amazing enough, we continued with the main dish of the dinner experience.

It came with some flambéed sake (salmon) and maguro nigiri with seared onions. Even though maguro usually is not that good in regional sushi restaurants in Napoli, the composition with the onions compensated for this fact white well. We also had some ebi tempura (fried shrimp)with flambéed cheese and sake (salmon) with suzuki (sea bass) topping uramaki (inside out rolls). There were some maguro (tuna back) maki with guacamole, some maguro (tuna back) with sake, few more ebi (shrimp) and lastly sake (salmon) with avocado and hotategai (scallop) uramaki (inside out roll).

The flambéed pieces really stood out and also the ebi (shrimp) uramaki (inside out roll) with mayonaise and fried sweet potato had a nice Peruvian touch to it. We also really enjoyed the sake (salmon) uramaki (inside out roll) with suzuki (sea bass) ceviche topping. But the most delicious highlight was the sake (salmon) uramaki (inside out roll) with avocado & hotategai (scallop) topping. It was breathtakingly delicious. Even though we would have loved to sample more items from the menu, we had to come to a close after this huge plate of the restaurant’s finest pieces.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Even though the Peruvian twist makes Urubamba a less Japanese restaurant than we would like, it ranks among the best options for sushi in Napoli. It is a very modern restaurant with stylish atmosphere that fits the target audience of posh night life customers in the area. Menu options are excellent and we especial appreciate the focus on sustainable sourcing of their fish and other ingredients. The Japanese and Peruvian cross-over seems well balanced and compensated well some taste deficiencies especially in the tuna range. The overall quality and test of the raw fish is excellent and among a short list of outstanding sushi restaurants in Napoli. The drink menu is extensive but focusses heavily on cocktails and night out drinking rather than fine dining. Overall this was a very nice experience and the restaurant can be recommend as an excellent choice for a nice dinner.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: July 24, 2019

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Moriawase Dinner

In a group of 7 people we went for an extensive dinner and sampled all premium dishes on the menu. The meal started out with some lights starters, a sake (salmon), suzuki (sea bass) and hamachi (yellowtail) zuke (marinated) sashimi plate and a hata (grouper) tartare. Especially the suzuki and hamachi had excellent taste and texture. They easily surpass the average options at most sushi restaurants around. The hata tartare was amazing and is certainly a rare find, not only regionally but even on an international level.

As a next plate, we opted for a premium sashimi selection that came with tai (sea bream) and o toro (fatty tuna belly). Although the selection seemed a bit disappointing at first, both the tai and the o toro were of good quality. Although the o toro most likely was Yellowfin tuna, it was nice as toro is generally hard to find in Napoli. The subsequent moriawase plate came with maguro (tuna back) sashimi, cooked maguro (tuna back), shiromi (white fish) and kani (crab meat) with ibodai (butterfish) and truffle topping uramakis (inside out rolls) and some more sake (salmon) sashimi. The makis were not particularly interesting and overall we were a bit disappointed with this plate. Especially the strong focus on the maguro resulted in a rather bland experience. This is a common theme in Neapolitan sushi restaurants.

Tabi Signature dishes

We decided to try some of the signature “Tabi” dishes offered and sampled the gunkan (battleship sushi) selection. The red ebi (shrimp) with ikura (salmon roe) and white ebi (shrimp) with green tobiko (flying fish roe) were absolutely amazing. Another large plate of premium pieces came with red ebi (shrimp), cooked maguro (tuna back) uramakis (inside out rolls), sake (salmon) maki tempura (fried roll) with sake (salmon) tartare and quail eggs as well as some o toro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri and hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi.

Considering our previous dishes, all of this felt a bit repetitive, but still most of the items were quite good/ Especially the combinations of sake (salmon) and quail egg as well as red ebi (shrimp) with caviar topping were a nice surprise . After the delightful selection of o toro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri we ordered our last dish, a wagyu beef tartare, for which we had very high expectations. It was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary.

All in all it was huge meal with a great variety of fish and interesting combinations of flavours and accents. The quality and taste was good, even great for some very select items, but was not matching the overall expectations and the reputation that precedes the restaurant.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Tabi is a medium size restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It’s modern interior design might be appealing to some, but could feel a bit sterile to others. Compared to other posh sushi restaurants in the area, the atmosphere and overall vibe is less interesting and ranks more among average sushi restaurants. The restaurant is located close to major tourist attractions, probably resulting in a different clientele then other fancy alternatives. The menu options are extensive, however, the plate combinations are a bit too similar and lack in interesting surprises. The quality and taste of the fish is good and definitely ranks the restaurant among the better ones around. However, compared to the top alternatives, it still lacks behind considerably. The drink menu is adequate but compared to other premium locations with a high focus on cocktails and highballs, it is rather average. The service team was forthcoming, but there were too many waiters involved in our service and the team felt a bit disconnected from everything. Overall, Tabi is a above average Japanese restaurant and can be recommended with some hesitation, especially in consideration of the prices and the reputation of the chefs. If you are looking for the top location in Napoli however, other alternatives come to mind.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: May 14, 2019

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Amazing Moriawase Dinner

The dinner started out with some light appetisers, such as edamame and absolutely amazing gyoza dumplings. Although the gyoza were very nice and had an excellent texture, the wakame had strangely perfumed taste, almost as if it was marinated in meat stock. But even before we could think to much about it, we were served the sake (salmon) carpaccio with ikura (salmon roe) and caviar. The salmon was smooth and very tasty but the caviar was uninspiring. It felt more like a collection of buzz words than a well composed dish. So all in all the appetisers were nice, but not amazing.

Then we had some gunkan bytes, all of which were absolutely great. The ebi (shrimp) maki with caviar was very intense and way above average ebi around. The sake (salmon) maki with ikura (salmon roe) was nice but easily surpassed by the breathtaking suzuki (sea bass) with hotategai (scallop) with green tobiko (flying fish roe). It was simply amazing. The kappa (cucumber) roll with kinoko (mushroom, and I don’t remember what kind) was also a nice piece to try.

When our main moriawase plate arrived, we were presented with amazing ebi (shrimp) tempura maki (deep fried roll) with quail egg and caviar topping. It was outstanding and set the bar very high for the entire plate.

And what an amazing plate it was. It covered all we could hope for. We had some maguro (tuna back) uramaki (inside out roll) with caviar, maguro (tuna back) uramakai (onside out roll) with ikura (salmon roe), some sake (salmon) maki with caviar topping, ebi tempura (fried shrimp) uramaki (inside out roll) with green tobiko (flying fish roe). We were really impressed by the tarabagani (king crab) maki (roll) with green tobiko (flying fish roe) as well as with the simple but great sake (salmon) nigiri. Then there was ebi tempura (fried shrimp) uramaki (inside out roll) with ikura (salmon roe), sake (salmon) maki tempura (deep fried roll) with ibodai (butterfish), some maguro (tuna back), sake (salmon) and hamachi (yellowtail sashimi) as well as some ebi tempura (fried shrimp) and sake (salmon) foto maki (big roll).

Sushi Guide Verdict

Dining an Jap One is an amazing experience. The sushi bar is absolutely outstanding and offers very limited seats at the bar and various table on two floors for groups of different sizes. The menu options are extensive and cover all basics and some exquisite dishes to choose from. The taste and quality os very good and outstanding for some select options. The drink menu is excellent as well as the restaurant also features a nice and chic cocktail bar. The service was very friendly and forthcoming but remained a bit detached, something that I felt as the main loss compared to my experience in the previous location. All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant as one of the best in Napoli.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review Date: February 21, 2019

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