Tatami Sushi & Sake Bar

I’d like to think I’m not a food snob for the most part.  I would be equally content if a guy took me to either Nandos or Nobu on a first date.  I am tempted to say that the Amul 10 rupees vanilla ice cream cups are up there on the list of my top desserts. However there are a few foods are the exception. A perfect example of such would be sushi.  While the quality of fish used obviously ranks as first priority when differentiating good & subpar sushi, the amount of filling used is the next key criteria.  The closer the sushi rice & filling amount veers towards a 1:1 ratio, the more likely I’m going to go back.  Unfortunately I’ve only come across a handful of restaurants in Mumbai that fit the bill including the likes of Fenix, Wasabi & Saizen.  When fellow food blogger & friend Ayushi suggested trying out Tatami on Linking Road in Bandra, I was more than game. 

Tatami is a revamped version of the Japanese restaurant originally known as Kofuku.  With a selection of 18 different sakes, Tatami now presents itself as Mumbai’s first sushi & sake bar. While it’s currently in the soft launch phase, the owner mentioned that official launch will happen as soon as their sake license comes through. Upon walking in, I had mixed reactions. The decor and ambience both gave the restaurant an overall authentic feel.  However I was a bit taken aback to see an empty restaurant.  Fortunately as we progressed in our meal, the restaurant slowly started filling up. And now for the important bit: the food! Although Tatami has hired a new chef, I had high hopes since I quite liked the food at Kofuku.  And boy did it fit the bill!  Without much thought, we started our meal with an order of the Miso Eggplant & Seaweed Salad:

Ready to be scooped out & melt in our mouths, the chef nailed the eggplant.  I find that miso-based dishes can sometimes be overly sweet but fortunately this had the perfect balance of sweet & tangy flavors.  As for the seaweed, it only reinforced one thing: Japanese salads are the BEST!

Ayushi being a vegetarian and me wanting needing my salmon fix, we sailed in opposite directions when it came to the highlight of the meal: the sushi! 

As much as I adore vegetarian food in general, I personally find vegetarian sushi a bit meh. Maybe it’s because we are spoiled for choice when it comes to non-vegetarian sushi rolls, but it’s difficult to get excited over a cucumber maki (essentially sushi rice with a cube of cucumber).  That being said, I was SO impressed with Tatami’s selection of vegetarian sushi. Ayushi rolled with the:

• Superfood Roll: spinach, avocado, carrot, cucumber, beetroot
• Tatami Vegetarian Roll: Silken tofu, pimentos, tanuki, and chef’s sauce

She gave both rolls two thumbs up, especially the tempura batter crumbs that topped off the Tatami Roll.

Given my eyes seem to naturally gravitate towards the salmon options on a sushi menu, I went with the: 

• Upstream Samurai: Samurai sliced salmon topped above a a power roll
• O.M.G. Roll: Torched multilayered sushi roll with salmon belly, tuna & avocado 

I mean, LOOK AT THAT RATIO! Tatami could not have selected a more fitting name for the O.M.G. Roll.  Each bite was a total explosion of textures and flavors, especially thanks to the smokey flavor that the torched finishing added.  Tatami sources both the fish & avocado from Chennai, and that was definitely reflected in the freshness of ingredients. 

We rounded out the meal with a scoop each of their Homemade Ice Cream: matcha green tea for Ayushi & strawberry for me: 

Although I’m more of a vanilla girl, the rare occasions when I do eat strawberry ice cream always take me back to being a kid.  When I was in 8^th grade in Nigeria, I went through a phase of drinking strawberry-flavored Yazoo milk every morning during the car ride to school.  Aaaand end tangent. 

We also got an order of their Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream, again homemade & again delicious: 

Although we were too stuffed to try out any of their main dishes this time round, I’m looking forward to eventually trying out the Yuzu Seared Scallops & Kimchi Fried Rice along with the off-the-menu Spicy Korean Ramen which the chef raved about…even if it means crossing the Sea Link. For those of you who are not too familiar with Mumbai, crossing the Sea Link means sitting in the car for at least an hour, sometimes more depending on the traffic situation.  And to whoever is in charge of the music at Tatami: I’d like a copy of your playlist, please & thank you!

What’s your go-to sushi order? Salmon-avocado every time for me!