The incredible value for money Japanese restaurant in the CBD

Press PLAY to hear Kara Monssen’s full review

Nori Maki

7/235 Bourke Street, Melbourne

If you fed me Nori Maki sushi blindfolded, I’d easily mistake it for being from one of those fancy Japanese degustation restaurants.

Nori Maki is an incredible value for money and unlike those top-end restaurants, doesn’t come with an expensive price tag. I’d say it’s one of the best-value restaurants of its kind in Melbourne.

The hidden sushi restaurant opened along Bourke St, opposite Kmart, last December.

It’s an intimate 24-seater, defined by low-slung ceilings and a blonde timber horseshoe counter, and may remind some travellers of Tokyo.

Here, sushi is folded like origami before your eyes and seafood blow torched in an almighty spectacle.

Nori Maki is an omakase style sushi counter, headed by master sushi chef Keisuke Kita (formerly Nobu). This means you can choose your own adventure and not be strapped into a hours-long degustation of rice and raw fish.

Instead, tick off your faves from the bingo-card style menu and eat your way through Japan.

Sushi is rolled fresh to order, and takes moments to land at your table.

Hand rolls are the main play here, and start at $6.50. Maybe you’ll try the scallops, served raw, tumbled in a glossy mayo that’s indulgently creamy.

The snow crab, another Japanese delicacy, is unlike the seafood extender type meat found in sad food court sushi. Instead both white and brown crab flesh are used, to create a sweet and meatier expression.

Don’t worry, Nori Maki isn’t all raw fish and rice. The chawanmushi, a jiggly egg custard, is loaded with white fish, roe and smoked eel. Oishii, indeed.

Miso soup, made from scratch without a packet in sight, is brewed from a scallop and crab stock, bubbling with seaweed, eel and pork rind for a savoury twist you didn’t realise you needed.

And if raw fish isn’t your thing, you can always try one of the luxe handrolls (for a bougie $25-$29 each).

The wagyu, using premium-grade beef, is sliced thin like ham, blow-torched until charred and crinkly, before folded into a taco-style wrap with rice, truffle and soy. Talk about an explosion in the umami factory.

For booze, it’s strictly sake and Kirin beer ($15), while sparkling water, soft drinks and tea round out the alch-free options.

Executive chef Kita also plays a hand in curating the sake menu– which starts at $16.50 a glass.

The ‘premium daiginjo’, a clean wash of tropical fruit and marshmallow musk, has a fruitier and fuller profile than the leaner, drier styles and is matched with what I order.

If decision fatigue hits, one of the four set-menus are sensible options and start at $34.

Between the food court fodder and exorbitantly priced degustations, Nori Maki finds an approachable middle ground with its sushi in Melbourne without compromising on quality.

If you’re not getting to Japan anytime soon, know you’ll get your fix here.

Images: Supplied/Nori Maki