Nori Maki

Tivoli Arcade
7/235 Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC 3000

I feel so bougie heading into Nori Maki on a weekday. But man have these guys got affordable, accessible luxury down pat. I mean, a fancy sushi hand roll omakase for $69 that fits into a long lunch break? I am so here for it, especially in this economy. But although Nori Maki is set up like a super serious sushi bar, the vibe at lunch is pretty buzzy and cheerful. But then again, why wouldn’t it be? If you’re treating yourself to bluefin tuna and sea urchin on a weekday, life can’t be going too badly.

Rating: 14/20 – cozzie lives luxury.
FYI: the items here from the Omakase ($69) and the Nori Maki Set ($89), with about 50% overlap. You can also get most of the items a la carte, and those will be the prices I’ve documented here.

A perk of the Omakase is the Sashimi Plate, which consists of a vibrantly fresh combination of salmon, bluefin tuna, and kingfish. And real wasabi too!

The Salmon & Avocado ($9) hand roll here is nothing like your Sushi Sushi offering. The rice is warm with individually plumped grains, and the seafood freshly sliced to order. But what makes the biggest difference is the crisp nori, tying everything together with its nutty aroma.

The Nori Maki Set offered a more decadent take on the salmon with the Aburi Salmon and Ikura hand roll, which showcased the delicate briny pop of the fish eggs against the fatty flame-grilled fish.

Getting into the fancier stuff, the Hokkaido Scallop ($9.5) contained a lovely combination of fresh scallops mixed with crunchy ikura. With that said though, I felt like the natural sweetness of the scallop was overwhelmed by the nori, and although the scallop was chopped up to make it more appropriate for a hand roll, I would rather have them whole in sashimi or nigiri form.

The Torotaku ($9.5) however was an elevated take on one of my favourite flavour combinations, which you see quite frequently in Japan, but not so much here. The contrast between the fatty tartare-styled tuna with the salty crunch of radish pickle is just delightful and oh-so moreish.

The Zuwai Crab and Kani Miso ($9.5) is really, really, really ugly. But the chef was not lying when he told us this was his favourite. Think tuna salad, except make it delicate crab meat, held together with a rich dressing of miso and crab roe. This takes something from comfort food territory, and elevates it to something for a special occasion. Just don’t open the roll up to look at it.

The premium special of the day – the Trust Me ($25) – is a quality piece of A5 wagyu, grilled until the fats have caramelised and start soaking into the rice. And if you look closely, you’ll notice just a touch of truffle paste to really amp up the depth of flavour.

If you get the omakase, you will be treated to a Chawanmushi ($9) and some Miso Soup ($5) before your final roll. The chawanmushi is amazing, with the lightest, silkiest egg custard, generously studded with a variety of seafood, and topped with a scoop of ikura. The miso soup is very light, and whilst it makes sense as you don’t want it overpowering the chawanmushi, I did find myself wishing for a more robust flavour.

The last roll in the omakase is a daily special, and today it was Aburi Flounder Fin with Tuna. This was so decadent and rich it gave the A5 wagyu a run for its money, and the clever addition of truffle paste provided the fatty fish with more savoury substance. Though they’re not prescriptive about how you eat most rolls, you should definitely take the chef’s advice to have this with a bit of wasabi – you need it to cut through the richness.

But flounder fin has nothing on the CholesteRoll ($29). Arguably the signature dish at Nori Maki, and easily the most decadent by a mile, this roll is piled with everything good on the day, as well as the piece de resistance: monkfish liver, aka foie gras of the ocean. This is so obscenely rich I don’t even have words to describe it. But the layers of flavour come together to form something even more decadent than the sum of its parts – the buttery monkfish liver showcased against the clean fattiness of the chopped toro; the sweetness of scallop and crab held by the firm, fresh salmon, and of course, the overture of earthy truffle, keeping it all grounded. This will sate even the most hedonistic of seafood lovers.

After the craziness of the CholestRoll, the Matcha Daifuku ($6.5) was sweet relief, both metaphorically and literally. Instead of a dense, gluey confection, the chewy mochi was stretched plumply over a dollop of matcha-scented cream, and a centre of nutty-sweet red beans. It was so good it made me crave mochi for the whole of the next week.