Sushi Namba Hibiya

Sushi Namba Hibiya (鮨 なんば 日比谷)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Hibiya

📓 Visits: 5 (2021-2023)

There's a great review of Sushi Namba on Eric Yu's blog The Pursuit of Food Perfection.  If you don't know too much about Sushi Namba I thoroughly recommend reading that review and I won't repeat the history here.  I'll get to the point with my review: other than Hatsunezushi (which we'll come back to) Sushi Namba Hibiya is the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo right now.  I was pretty skeptical going to Namba.  I was aware of the move in 2018 but bitter at failing to get a reservation at the original location and I didn't want to pay 30K for sushi that had simply gone up in price with the Ginza move.  But reviews and ratings were going up - a Tabelog Award went from Silver to Gold in 2020 (and has been retained through 2023) and from what I was reading, the sushi being served at the Hibiya location was several levels above the sushi Namba-san was serving years ago in Asagaya.  My first two meals at Namba in 2021 were amongst the best sushi meals I've ever had and the most enjoyable sushi meals that year.  Up there with Saito (review here) and Sugita (review here) and in many respects better.  It would take me a year to get back in.  Since my 3rd visit there have been a few changes.  Inevitably the price has gone up.  With no drop in quality, Namba-san's assistant, Takanashi-san, prepares many of the tsumami now.  The size of the meal is not consistent: 8 tsumami and 14-15 nigiri in 2021, 11-12 tsumami and 15-16 nigiri in 2022, 8 tsumami and 15 nigiri in 2023.  Whether or not it's possible to request additional items seems to vary.  I don't think it's ever been possible to request additional nigiri as Namba-san can't prepare them to his satisfaction.  On my first two visits you could add a makimono but that wasn't offered on visits #3 and #4.  On visit #5 we added an optional mini donburi.  There's possibly more flexibility if you're in the second seating at lunch as after the first seating Namba-san largely disappears into the side room.  There's been less conversation more recent visits.  On my first two visits Namba-san talked non-stop about sushi.  If you can speak Japanese (no English is spoken) you can really learn a lot by listening to him, more than at any other sushi restaurant I've been to.  The 9-seat counter is straight so it can be hard to initiate conversation unless you happen to sit close to Namba-san and Takanashi-san only talks to customers he knows but Namba-san addresses the whole room when he speaks.  The atmosphere is relaxed but be warned that if Namba-san hears you talking about other sushi restaurants he might tell you off!

Compared with Sushi Saito, Namba-san uses a wider range of neta but still uses top quality tuna.  On visit #2, tuna was from a 165kg fish from Oma, one of the first of the season and was incredible.  On the downside, not every meal includes otoro, whereas every meal at Saito does.  Compared with Sugita there's not quite as wide a range of neta but Sugita doesn't serve much tuna.  Your meal will take longer than at Saito but not as long as Sugita.  The full course (and there's only one now at Namba) costs more than at Saito but not as much as Sugita once you add extras there, as almost everyone does.

Historically, unlike Eric, I've generally preferred the nigiri to the tsumami.  I had thought Saito's and Sugita's tsumami were generally better.  For me, the nigiri were pretty much perfect.  Eric lamented the small size of the nigiri.  The shari is quite small, but Namba-san actually varies this according to the type of the neta (larger for tuna).  The neta are certainly not huge, but I wouldn't say they were small.  The shari is indeed relatively strong.  Namba-san is known for his obsessive attention to temperature control and indeed, everything is at the perfect temperature.  You usually get a menu (in Japanese and English) of the nigiri being served that day and the temperature, though not on every visit.  Particular highlights with the nigiri have been the hirame kobujime: almost melt-in-your-mouth rather than chewy; kanpachi so incredible it had made me close my eyes in pleasure; saba on visit #4 which was odourless; Kyushu aka uni and botan ebi, all 10/10.  On my most recent visit the tsumami were exceptional and had the edge over the nigiri.  The sayori really was tiny and I've had better elsewhere.  Kobashira was pretty standard.  Toro was only 9/10.  So fewer 10s with the nigiri on my most recent visit but nothing less than a 9.

The thing that sets apart Namba from his peers though is his creativity.  Dishes like ankimo paste on toast, awabi kimo chocolate; tamago topped with dried Shiba-ebi, seasonal vegetable specials as good as any kaiseki restaurant like nasu puree in October, soup from sweetcorn harvested the same morning in August, matsutake bigger than the size of your hand in October.  But you go to a sushi restaurant for fish.  Namba-san's ankimo is the best I've had anywhere.  Namba-san trims his ankimo at the counter, discarding about 80% of the liver and only serving the heart.  The portion is at least twice the size as the ankimo served at Saito or Sugita.  By contrast, the ankimo I had on a visit to Sushi Arai in 2021 was cut from a piece of a smaller overall size, a smaller portion, not trimmed and not nearly as good.  The video below (sped up 3x) shows Namba-san preparing his ankimo.

The awabi has deepest flavour of any awabi I've had at any sushi restaurant.  You'll get just one piece and you'll be craving for more.  Kuruma ebi was only served on one of my visits.  Instead, Namba-san usually serves an indulgent botan ebi either topped with the eggs or ebi miso.  Kinki-ni, served on every visit, was fatty and excellent - I wanted to eat more.  I rated six of the eight tsumami 10/10 on my most recent visit: I just don't think plain hotaru ika can ever be 10/10 and I prefer my anago shirayaki.  But the taco was as good as Saito's this time and the kinki was extra fatty and even better than usual.

So not everything is perfect.  Iwashi maki on visit #2 was less good than the saba maki on visit #1, this a bit woolly too.  Tachiuo yakimono on visit #2 was a bit dry and too salty.  Anago was a bit strong on visit #1.  On visits two and three anago was served as 'omuchirashi'.  While good, you don't get much actual fish and this feels more like something for the assistant to pass his time.  On visit #3 there was a dish of aged ikura and nori.  This tasted like a used condom.  The kohada has been very inconsistent.  It's these inconsistencies that stop me from giving Namba the perfect score but the highs are higher than at Sushi Saito and there's more excitement than at Sugita.

If you can't get into Sushi Namba the next best thing is probably Sushi Nishizaki.  You won't get the most expensive neta but the signature shiro ika and ankimo are a close second and the obsession with temperature control is the same.  It's half the price of Sushi Namba and the chef is a Namba alumnus.

At the beginning I said other than Hatsunezushi, Sushi Namba is the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo right now.  Hatsunezushi is really unlike any other sushi restaurant, specialising in aged sushi and serving many unique signature items.  As I mentioned in my review (updated January 2023), most people will not agree that Hatsune is the best.  Eric doesn't even feature Hatsunezushi in his top ten.  What's his number one?  Sushi Namba.

There's no other sushi restaurant I regularly visit in Tokyo with as much anticipation as Sushi Namba Hibiya.  If you're paying 30-40K for sushi and it doesn't rock your world then you're paying too much.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130102/13219857

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.95

📱 Booking: 🟥 Along with Amamoto, possibly the most difficult sushi reservation in Tokyo that isn't introduction-only.  The restaurant hasn't been open for general reservations for a couple of years.  Without a connection the only way to get a seat is via a cancellation on Omakase.  There are probably a handful of same-day or next-day cancellations that come up in a year and they are filled within seconds: I got my first two reservations this way, subsequent reservations have been with a regular.  Despite now having been five times I'm still not permitted to make my own reservations.  (Grrr!)  There are two starts at lunch (12pm and 1pm) and dinner.  If you get the later start you'll be seated in the side room.  Namba-san moves to the side room for the nigiri part of course but tsumami is served by the assistant and Namba-san isn't visible for the first hour.  While you don't get to see any of the preparation and might miss the chance of rubbing shoulders with another chef, I wouldn't pass on the side counter because the food is exactly the same and at least you get to see Namba-san for part of the course, unlike in the side room at Sugita.

📍 Location: 3F Tokyo Midtown Hibiya

📶 Free WiFi? ✅ Yes

📅 Visit April 2023

Taco
Kinki-ni, sansho
Hotaru ika
Ankimo
Karasumi
Botan ebi
Shiro ika (nigiri)
Kasugo
Awabi (tsumami)
Aji
Torikai
Anago yaki (tsumami)
Makogarei
Sayori
Uni
Kobashira
Katsuo
Akagai
Kinmedai, crushed crispy skin
Akami
Toro
Kohada
Anago
Kinki akadashi
Kegani donburi +3000
Tamago

⏱️ Time taken: 2h30m (course: 2h15m)
💴 Damage: 42,000 incl. bottled water

📅 Visit October 2022

Taco
Kinki ni
Ankimo
Hot ankimo paste on toast
Saba maki
Nasu puree, uni
Hotate, coral
Hokkigai
Mushi awabi
Awabi kimo chocolate
Shiro ika dashi
Shiro ika (nigiri)
Kasugo
Makogarei
Sawara
Hokkigai
Shima aji
Kawahagi zuke, kimo
Akami
Chutoro
Kohada
Otoro
Botan ebi
Saba
Kujira
Anago
Sanma, matsutake (+4k?), ikura omuchirashi
Akadashi
Tamago

⏱️ Time taken: 2h30m (course: 2h10m)
💴 Damage: 43,000 incl. bottled water

📅 Visit August 2022

Taco
Sweetcorn
Kinki-ni
Kurage, kuri
Ankimo
Hotate, dried coral
Hot ankimo paste on toast
Iwashi futomaki
Awabi
Nori, ikura, shari
Anago
Awabi kimo, chocolate, nihonshu pairing
Shiro ika dashi
Shiro ika (nigiri)
Hirame
Katsuo
Tairagai
Aji
Kasugo
Kujira
Saba
Botan ebi
Kinmedai, dried skin
Akami
Chutoro
Kohada
Kyushu aka uni
Anago omuchirashi
Tamago

⏱️ Time taken: 2h45m
💴 Damage: 39,000 incl. bottled water

📅 Visit July 2021

Junsai (sakizuke)
Taco
Botan ebi
Kinki (ni)
Hokkigai
Tachiuo
Ankimo
Iwashi maki
Tachiuo owan
Shiro ika (nigiri)
Hirame kobujime
Katsuo
Kasugo
Aji
Kanpachi
Akami
Chutoro
Kohada
Otoro
Awabi
Uni temaki
Omuchirashizushi (anago, tamago, tare, sansho)
Anago, kuri
Tamago

⏱️ Time taken: 2h30m
💴 Damage: 33,000 incl. bottled water

📅 Visit January 2021

Taco
Botan ebi
Kinki (ni)
Ankimo
Saba futomaki
Anago shirayaki
Hirame dashi
Shiro ika (nigiri)
Hirame
(Hokkigai)
(Sayori)
Kuruma ebi
Kasugo
Kanpachi
Akami
Toro
Kohada
Otoro
Hamaguri
Bafun uni
Anago
Kanpyo
Tamago

⏱️ Time taken: 1h45m
💴 Damage: 33,000 incl. bottled water