Rating: ***
Address: 415 Manukau Road, Epson, (09) 630 2511
Open: Dinner - seven days; lunch: Wednesday - Sunday
Website: sakebar.co.nz
Winter has delivered pleasure and pain in equal measure. At this point I'm elbow-deep in the annual film festival, which is surely the best place in town at the moment if you want to have fun in the dark without removing your clothes.
Unfortunately, it has coincided with an uncharacteristic visit of some nasty virus, about which I know only two things: it's not H1N1 and it's bloody hard to shake. So I've spent the last week either in bed (trying to convince the Professor that it is not man flu) or sitting in movie theatres sucking lozenges. And you'd be astonished at how difficult it has been finding anyone to feel sorry for me.
A screening at the Lido in Epsom prompted me to renew my acquaintance with this Japanese place just a few doors away from the cinema. I've dropped in often over the years before or after a screening for a flask of sake and a plate or two of the morsels that they do so well (does Japanese have a word for tapas?) so I knew what to expect. And the Professor had distinguished herself by responding to my pathetic febrile cry by finding the paracetamol, so I thought she deserved a night out and booked a booth.
First-timers should be warned about the boisterous reception that awaits them here. The food is prepared in an open kitchen, which runs the length of the place like a bar, and the chefs' duties include hammering a drum above their heads and bellowing welcomes and farewells when diners arrive or depart. On occasion, engrossed in their work, they may miss their cue and all hell breaks loose: waitresses holler reminders from all over with such good-natured ferocity that the thump of the drum is almost inaudible in the melee.
You get the picture. Sake Bar Nippon has ambience by the bucketload. And with the food, too, enthusiasm rather than refinement is the watchword. We started with the sashimi boat which seemed rather ungenerous for the price the fish got lost in the bed of shredded white radish. While that was being prepared I inhaled a small flask of very dry sake (whose medicinal properties were so miraculous that I was forced to order another).
From the menu which contains helpful pictures; you can see it on the website we ordered more than half a dozen small dishes, most of which cost less than $10. But they arrived at the table in an order that seemed to be dictated by the kitchen's production logistics rather than any coherent sense of a meal. Thus a bowl of steamed (but perfectly cold) broccoli and some spicy (also cold) seaweed arrived (and were eaten) before there was anything to actually eat them with. I sloshed some more sake into the bowl and reflected that life must be bleak for Japanese vegans.
But pleasures awaited: two pieces of nigiri sushi topped with chargrilled eel and small shells of yakitori scallops drizzled with a tangy, creamy dressing were highlights. On the debit side, the mussel tempura lacked the requisite crunch and the little skewered slices of beef tongue were over-salted. But these were small flaws. The service may be a little random at Nippon but it's always as enthusiastic as that drumbeat welcome. Just make sure you book if you want to make the movie.
THE BILL
$122 for two
Sushimi $30
Eel $7
Tongue $7
Scallops (2) $16
Edamame $7
Tempura $10
Seaweed $5
Broccoli $8
Rice $2
Sake $20
Ambiance: Japanese
Vegetarians: Scant options
Watch out for: The drum
Bottom line: Cheerful and cheapish
