When dining with The Boy I’m always a little worried about turning Japanese on him. I’ll admit, it’s a passion. Nothing beats the beauty of a perfectly presented plate of delectable sashimi that melts in your mouth, or a mere forkful of sizzling beef that is somehow supposed to satisfy a full blown man. But it was our ‘One Year Anniversary That’s Not Really Our Anniversary’, which entitles me to dinner out. Delightfully enough he’d booked us in to Kobe Jones, a lovely East meets West restaurant without the up-market pretension of so many other top end fusion eateries.
As the name suggests, Kobe Jones serves up a mix of Japanese and Western food and style, with the decor warm yet stylish and chic, and the service impeccably attentive yet discreet. The yelling between staff as each new guest arrives is a little disconcerting at first (just call it a cultural thing) but it serves as a great conversation starter over pre dinner drinks and an ongoing guessing game of what it could mean.
We’d decided to test run the cocktails before dinner which proved to be an excellent choice with the Japanese Mojito ($16) stealing the limelight. Muddled lime sugar and shiso (Japanese mint) with Bacardi Rum sounds simple enough yet the perfect combination between sweet and sour made this cocktail outstanding. The Boy has a particular talent for picking the best off any menu, so it was with a little buyers’ remorse that I sipped away at the Kobe Jones Sunset ($16), which, to its credit, was also refreshing if a little sweet.
Faced with a daunting menu of what seems to be an endless list of mouthwatering dishes, Kobe Jones is not a restaurant for commitment-phobes. Having said that their extensive menu is accompanied by a warming offer of a pre-set degustation for those who can’t decide, and the assistance of trained staff for those who want to try. Besides, our helpful assistant informs us, if we are still hungry after our self constructed 5 dish dining experience, we can always order more. Sold.
We started with Edamame ($8) – soy beans blanched and salted. Crisp and fresh these tasty little beans have a juicy blast and best of all can be eaten with your hands. Next came Tuna Sashimi ($23) – 5 pieces of seafood heaven, perfectly sliced just-out-of-the-ocean tuna on a bed of shredded ginger and served with soy sauce and wasabi. The pieces were a beefy pink, thickly sliced and simply melted in the mouth. I was in love.
Chicken Teriyaki ($28) and Beef Katsu ($35) were next on the list, brought out in quick succession. The Boy was reluctant to get the chicken at first – teriyaki is teriyaki, right? Wrong. We’d been recommended the dish the day before and I’m pleased to announce it didn’t disappoint. Presented with a side of seasonal vegetables – carrot, tomato, bok choy and baby corn – this char grilled chicken is baked with the smoothest teriyaki sauce imaginable. Buttery goodness melds with the traditional salty tang of a teriyaki sauce, creating a perfect union of cooking cultures and a fresh new look at an often overdone dish.
The Beef Katsu was quite a large dish for Japanese dining, with the individual slices a little too thick to manage delicately with chopsticks, however the crumb was crisp, and the sautéed eggplant and wasabi mashed potato were a pleasant surprise. The miso citrus sauce was more creamy than tangy, though overall it worked well, especially when the beef was dunked in a little wasabi soy.
For the finale we had ordered the Number One Special ($19). This crab salad with avocado centre, wrapped in snapper and baked with Kobe Jones cream sauce was perhaps the most surprising meal of the evening, and a true blend of cooking styles. The dish is presented as two pieces with each portion individually wrapped in Nori and has a unique texture of shredded crab and creamy mayonnaise. Baking the dish caramelises the sauce creating a delicious blend of cream and sweet salty seaweed. Rich in taste, the Number One Special is definitely meant to be shared and savoured over adoring looks of foodie passion.
Overall, the food was good and reasonably priced; however the service was a little too prompt to settle in for a relaxing dinner. Dishes are brought out quickly and consecutively with tables filling up fast under the weight of a number of plates. Diners barely have time to savour their first mouthful before additional dishes are rushed in so feel free to order one to two dishes at a time to space out your meal.
With a view over Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour, Kobe Jones has semi-private dining for groups, plus both indoor and outdoor seating. If you decide to brave the outdoors (I’d suggest you specify indoor seating when booking in winter) you will most certainly get an unobstructed view of the harbour lights, but might want to rug up to avoid the inevitable wind tunnel that races across the balcony. On the whole Kobe Jones is a great place for a quick and classy after work dinner, and definitely the place to go for prompt service and food.
The Facts:
King St Wharf
Shop 13
29 Lime St
Sydney 2000 NSW
P: (02) 9299 5290
W: www.kobejones.com.au
Opening times: Mon-Fri noon – 2:30pm / Sun-Wed 6pm – 9:30pm / Thu-Sat 6pm – 10:30pm
Cards: MC, V, DC, AMEX, EFTPOS
Licensing: Licensed – cocktails, sake and wine (bottle or by the glass)
Seats: 300
Private Rooms: Semi-private area, outdoor seating available
Cost Range: around $75 including drinks (per person)
