Nami is located in an old building in the warehouse district, in a space that previously housed a bookbinder. But the interior has been completely remodeled, and, as you enter, some decorative features evoke the sort of food that the place specializes in. There’s a large metal fish sculpture, a wall of large gray pebbles that might have been picked up from a rocky shore, and metal railings with a wavelike pattern. On your left is a large bar and seating area, its light patterned carpeting giving it a vaguely luxury hotel look. On your right is the main dining room, which features an ultra-modern, somewhat spare design with bare bamboo wood floors and techie lighting that also has a sinuous theme. In front are a large sushi bar and more seating. The design bespeaks sophistication and elegance.

We were told that the menu is in the process of being expanded, although I thought it more than adequate for lunch. In addition to sushi, there are a half-dozen or more each of cold and hot appetizers, several noodle soups (both udon and soba) and don buri and tempura choices. Combination plates are also available. Most of the hot dishes come with miso soup, salad, and rice.

B and I were accompanied by our girl friend and wife respectively, so we got the chance to sample more widely from the menu than is normally the case with our lunches. We started with vegetable and pork gyozas (dumplings). They were nicely prepared with the underside fried crisp. The pork filling was very good; the vegetable filling had an oily taste to it. We also had the tuna tataki, slices of tuna, rare except for an outside edge that was grilled medium. This came with a citrus-soy sauce that livened up what would otherwise have been a bland dish.

Amongst the four of us, we had the udon noodle soup with shrimp tempura, the vegetable and shrimp tempura, the sushi lunch special, the unagi don buri, and a side order of mackerel (saba) sushi. The don buri was my choice and it came in a bento box, with a large piece of grilled eel and some oshinko (Japanese pickle) slices resting on a generous serving of rice. This was all very good, the body of the eel moist and meaty with the eel sauce and the grilling resulting in a semi-caramelized coating. Not the leanest seafood one could eat, but it’s the good sort of fat after all.

I was especially curious about the sushi lunch. It came with five nigiri pieces, salmon, yellowtail, halibut, mackerel, and cooked shrimp, and six small maki pieces, three each of tuna and something else. The two sushi pieces I sampled, saba and halibut, were good but fell short of the Origami level. I thought the saba had a slightly bitter aftertaste (I was in the minority in this perception) and the halibut was a little stringy. However, the sushi rice was excellent and the pieces were served at the right temperature—below room temperature but not chilled. The composition of the sushi lunch special was similar to Origami’s, except that the latter has California roll as the maki portion.

The tempura was also slightly short of the mark, lacking the delicate lightness one hopes for. However, the more substantial batter and the greater absorption of oil resulted in a dish that was satisfying in an elemental way.

Wine, beer, and sake are available, although the prices are high and the sake selection is minimal. The beer list features several Japanese beers, including one I had not heard of before. When we inquired about it, our server informed us that she doesn’t drink beer! After this unhelpful initiation, the service was exemplary. Useful advice about the food was candidly dispensed and the server took the time to talk to us about the restaurant (almost as if she knew we were amateur critics!).

Nami is new and still in its startup transient phase. I expect—and hope—that it will emerge a worthy contender to Origami’s currently undisputed (at least in my mind) standing as the best Japanese restaurant in the Twin Cities.

A

Going to a sushi restaurant – in the close proximity of Origami – could be construed a heresy, especially since A and I venerate Origami; however, I am glad to report that Nami is a wonderful addition to the downtown dining scene. It is located at 251 1st Av. N., a space that used to house a "traditional" bookbinder, an establishment that I visited during an art-crawl a few years ago. Our waitress, a veritable fountain of knowledge, told us that the space had laid vacant for a while before being converted by a parents-daughter team into its current existence. The Japanese restaurant format can be divided into three categories: food (read sushi) is everything (Origami); moderately good food in elegant surroundings (Kikugawa); for the suburban hoi polloi, where the chef’s act on your table is the highlight of the evening (Benihana, Ichiban). Nami, I suspect, is trying to meld the first two categories, i.e., excellent kitchen married to a fabulous location. Does the food come up to the Origami standard? Not quite.

The restaurant itself is a study in contrast. It’s divided between a very posh bar and the dining area. All this is housed in a warehouse style location. I found the bar to be very elegant, as if a colonial bar (in say Hong Kong or Singapore) had been updated. In this opinion I was in the minority – the other people in our party thought it "corporate-looking", whatever that means! Along one side of the dining area is a long sushi bar that could easily seat 20 people. The décor includes smooth black stones – speaking of an ocean floor, with shell shaped human artifacts. The dining side is remarkably uncluttered with a simple wooden floor. The building that houses the restaurant has some pretty interesting artwork that you should check on your way to the communal bathrooms. I thought the female robotic telephone operator in the foyer a masterpiece!

We were told that the menu was still undergoing changes and they hadn’t arrived at the final product yet. The menu is extensive, especially for lunch. We started by ordering Japanese beer. I shared a 22-oz. bottle of Sapporo with my girl friend (We were accompanied on this lunch by A’s wife as well). I have always found this beer to be crisp and dry, just right for sushi. We were somewhat disappointed with the beer and wine prices; Budweiser bottles were being sold for a price that I’d expect to pay in London – where they think Budweiser is cool. There wasn’t enough variety of sake on offer either. For appetizers we ordered gyoza (dumplings) evenly divided between pork and vegetable on my insistence. I took some stick over this because the rest of the table preferred pork to the vegetable variety. I thought both were equally good, the vegetable having an interesting pickled taste. Our other appetizer was tuna tataki, thinly sliced tuna with soy vinaigrette. The tuna was served raw with its edges slightly seared. This was excellent with the soy vinaigrette and the chopped, spicy radish based relish. Some of the other appetizers on the menu: sashimi appetizer, sushi appetizer, salmon skin salad, kaiso salad (assorted seaweed), kani su (crab and cucumber), tako su (sliced octopus), ebi su (sliced shrimp), hiya yakko (chilled tofu), oshinko (Japanese pickles). Since another member of our party was ordering the sushi lunch special, I opted for a donburi: ten-don (shrimp and vegetable tempura over rice). This came served in a deep bowl, rice covered with deeply battered shrimp and vegetables. The rice was excellent as were the vegetables, I wasn’t as excited about the shrimp tempura which was perhaps too soggy. I would, however, compare the tempura dish favorably with the ones I have had at Origami. Alas! I can’t say the same about the sushi. It’s possible that my appetite had been sated by the tempura by the time I got to try the sushi (ebi (shrimp)) which, although good, wasn’t up to the high standard that Origami sets.

It is possible that with time the food at Nami will offer serious competition to Origami. I am convinced that the bar at Nami is more interesting and would make waiting for a table more pleasurable. The service was very good, with a few minor hitches – the waitress not being able to answer questions about Japanese beers because "she didn’t drink beer". The wait staff is young and fashionable with, what I assume are, the right tattoos.

In a recent review I had mentioned a disproportionate increase in the number of French restaurants, now the same point can be made about Japanese restaurants. I, for one, hope that Nami is one of the survivors because Minneapolis deserves such a chic place and Origami could stand some competition. The cost of our lunch (for four): $76.00.