If you have a craving for Japanese cuisine, you will love Dashi. Everything about the restaurant brings to mind the special flavor of Japan: the décor, the atmosphere, and – of course – the exceptional food.
On a recent visit, we ordered the Omakase, a tasting menu with nine different dishes, to get an idea of what Dashi is all about.
Be advised that many of the dishes are prepared with raw fish, which may deter some diners. But the fish here is super-fresh, so there is nothing to be concerned about.
In Japanese, omakase means “I leave it up to you,” and when you choose this menu (NIS 560 for two), that is exactly what you do. It spared us from having to peruse a menu and figure out what to order.
Cocktail menu small but tempting
The cocktail menu is small but tempting. I chose a lychee-gin (NIS 46), a sweet/sour combination that quickly produced a warm glow. My companion virtuously chose a glass of soda water. Wine is also available at NIS 44 to NIS 52 per glass.
We began this banquet with three starters: tuna tartlets; salmon skewers; and rice rolled with salmon. The tuna tartlets were almost too beautiful to eat. They consisted of fluted pastry cases filled with chopped tuna and garnished with red pepper and a green leaf. The sauce was lemony, and the result was an unforgettable delicacy.
The second starter was a skewer of roasted salmon nestling on a piece of nori seaweed, which I had to roll up in order to eat it. Finally, we enjoyed a ceviche of white sea bass (lavrak), seasoned with lemon sauce.
The next four courses consisted of raw fish in various guises: tuna XP, which is considered the most desirable part of the fish, with a slightly sweet mango sauce; nigiri (rolled sushi); and volcano roll – more raw tuna with deep-fried seaweed, which was served warm.
By this time, we were feeling rather full but still had a main course to go.
We received skewers of lavrak and blackjack, the first cooked fish of the evening. Both are satisfying fish, and the “cream” sauce was especially tasty. (The restaurant also serves meat, so the quote marks around “cream” signal that it should not be taken literally.)
The dessert brought us back from the Far East with a vengeance, it being an old favorite: chocolate mousse, served with a tuile perched on top and fruit at the side.
We noticed a lot of takeaway orders being packed up for motorcyclists to deliver. Although the recipients enjoy the same high-quality food, they are missing out on the authentic atmosphere of Dashi. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the restaurant and recommend it with total confidence.
A special acknowledgment is due to the owner and the chef for turning their passion and knowledge of Japanese food into a first-class dining experience.
Dashi1 Herzl Street, NetanyaPhone: 077-938-6100Hours: Sunday-Wednesday, 12 p.m-11 p.m.; Thursday, 12 p.m.-midnight; closed Friday; Saturday, after Shabbat until midnightKosher, Netanya Rabbinate certification
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.