Okome
Large sashimi platter
Okome is a hidden gem tucked away amongst the apartments of Enfield Street in Eden Terrace. It originally started out selling lovingly crafted onigiri (rice balls) and fried to order curry pan (crumbed curry buns) to neighbouring office workers and those who WFH. In the last year or so they started opening at night and have really hit their stride at dinnertime.
Salmon sushi roll
By night they are an izakaya style restaurant with solid menu of the usual suspects such as sushi rolls, sashimi and chicken karaage but they have an extensive, ever-changing specials board to keep the locals coming back. The specials were some of the best things we ate when we came. Few other restaurants on the same street are full at night but Okome was packed to the gills when we went, couples and groups like ours filling the mismatched furniture.
Potato salad with smoked radish
I’ve never been a fan of potato salad (which I sometimes think should be renamed as mayo salad with potato) but the neighbouring table leaned over and insisted we order the potato salad with smoked radish from the specials board. This was one of the best dishes of the night and I’m glad we ordered two; a fluffy, not overly dressed mixture of potato chunks and mash with a surprise smoky hit and crunch from the smoked radish, an ingredient completely new to my palate. Topped with spring onions, crispy shallots and some jammy eggs, this was a flavour and textural treat and a great introduction to the rest of dinner.
I was a bit reluctant to order the crab croquettes, another dish from the specials board. In my mind I imagined pink and white dyed mystery meat otherwise known as surimi in a crumb-coating, but again this image gave away to a creamy and delicate béchamel enveloping crab meat, held together by a crispy, hot shell. It was beige-coloured bliss.
Tuna taku roll
Slow cooked beef stew
Those familiar with the term ‘aburi’ will know upfront that an aburi salmon sushi roll will be delicious and it was. Delicate raw salmon gets a light kiss from a blowtorch adding a hint of smokiness and colour but the salmon remained medium rare and juicy, topped with a sprinkle of tobiko (salmon roe). The large sashimi plate ($35 for 15 pieces) was very reasonably priced and had a good variety of fresh fish.
The Japanese have adopted an eclectic range of dishes from the Europeans (hamburger steak, for one) and slow cooked stews is commonly found in menus in Japan and was also a special of the night. Unctuous, fork tender beef in a rich gravy arrived on a cast iron plate and although it won no points for presentation, it ticked all the boxes for texture and flavour. Homely and comforting.
I personally wouldn’t order the truffle dusted fries again, but we had a gluten-free person who needed something fried that night. The beef tataki was as expected and the thick cut pork katsu special could have been juicier.
Truffle fries (top) and crab croquettes (bottom)
The last two dishes of the evening were fantastic, simply grilled saba (mackerel) and the tuna taku roll with raw tuna and smoked radish. I’ve never seen smoked radish anywhere, be it on a menu or as an ingredient in store but it is my new favourite thing. It brings so much flavour, pizzaz and crunch to whatever it is in, elevating what would otherwise be just a tuna roll. My husband and I recently went pescatarian for all of August (‘Fish-gust’) and have a newfound appreciation for oily fish which doesn’t get enough love from Kiwis. Simply served grilled, perfectly seasoned with the skin on and a wedge of lemon, it was perfectly cooked, the meat soft and delicate. It was a pleasure to slowly dismantle the flesh from the bones (yes you do have to look out for those). It really was a meal highlight. The kitchen surprised us with a complimentary bowl of the house miso soup at the end, a varietal of which I’d never had before and blew all other miso soups I’ve ever had out of the water. The waitress explained it was a seafood-based soup which was much clearer than usual miso and had a rich bouquet of flavour without it being specifically fishy.
Beef tataki
I highly recommend if you’re from the Mt Eden and Eden Terrace area to pop in to Okome. The service may be a little haphazard (it’s just one person on the floor for the whole restaurant) but the food is cooked with love and you can really taste that.
30 Enfield Street
Mt Eden
Auckland 1024
Ph. 022 174 6593