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14/20Critics' Pick

Nori Maki

The “CholesteRoll” with monkfish liver, toro, salmon roe, chive and truffle paste.
1 / 7The “CholesteRoll” with monkfish liver, toro, salmon roe, chive and truffle paste.Chris Hopkins
Inside Nori Maki on Bourke Street in the CBD.
2 / 7Inside Nori Maki on Bourke Street in the CBD.Chris Hopkins
Nori Maki’s chawanmushi custard hides eel and crab meat.
3 / 7Nori Maki’s chawanmushi custard hides eel and crab meat.Chris Hopkins
Japanese hand rolls are made fresh to order with crispy nori.
4 / 7Japanese hand rolls are made fresh to order with crispy nori.Marcus Lee
Sashimi plate.
5 / 7Sashimi plate.Marcus Lee
Salmon in sour miso sauce.
6 / 7Salmon in sour miso sauce.Marcus Lee
Inside the restaurant.
7 / 7Inside the restaurant.Marcus Lee
14/20Critics' Pick

Nori Maki

Japanese$$

Highly focused and surprisingly affordable, without skimping on quality.

Behold! A sushi restaurant with high-quality fish, a handsome room and an affordable price-tag. Nori Maki might be the perfect middle ground for fans of raw seafood. The focus is on hand rolls – not the tightly rolled, premade kind, but a looser formation using premium nori wrappers and less rice.

Beyond the standard salmon/kingfish/tuna options, find snapper that’s bracingly fresh and firm. Raw prawn, its sweet flesh almost creamy, is accompanied by soy and frizzled onion. The “CholesteRoll” packs in monkfish liver, toro and salmon roe. Sit around the horseshoe-shaped bar and watch chefs prepare your rolls, ordered a la carte or in one of four omakase menus.

There are few other choices: just what style of sake you’d like, and whether to add chawanmushi with eel and crab hidden in its silky depths. Hardly a question at all.

Best for: A date where you want a luxe setting and a little theatre, but you don’t want to break the bank.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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