Ukkō is the trendy new modern restaurant in Nicolway Centre; a welcome addition to the Joburg food scene. The restaurant serves up tantalising plates including Mediterranean Tapas style foods as well as Japanese influenced cuisine. Ukkō also has a large vegetarian offering making them an ideal dinner spot for just about everyone.

I finally got around to visiting Ukkō last week. The restaurant itself is beautiful with a warm and modern interior boasting a gorgeous featured bar area. We started with some cocktails as we enjoyed a stunning South African sunset. I opted for the ‘Ocean Eyes’, a refreshing concoction of gin, blue curaçao, elderflower, lime juice and fresh mint. It was simply superb and the perfect choice for a warm summer evening. For our meal, we selected an assortment of tapas and small plates (always the best way to taste a little of everything). Our tapas included the Camembert in Phyllo, the Chicken Dumplings, the Squid Heads and the Crispy Prawns – all fantastic options. The camembert was served with a balsamic reduction and a honey citrus; absolutely amazing. The squid heads were crispy served simply with salt and pepper and a lovely rich and smooth aioli. I loved the chicken gyoza which boasted traditional Japanese flavours including spring onion and ginger. The crispy prawns were also a generous treat served alongside an incredible paprika aioli. We also enjoyed Ukkō’s signature sushi, Dynamite, which consisted of tempura prawn, avocado, torched spicy salmon, jalapeno and sriracha yakitori sauce. For dessert, we opted for the pistachio ice cream to share – vanilla ice cream rolled in crushed pistachio and topped with chocolate fudge sauce. Loved this utterly fresh and well balanced dessert boasting both silky smooth and crunchy textures.

Thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Ukkō. The food and the cocktails were amazing and the service was absolutely brilliant. Smanga, our waitress, was fabulous and her cocktail and tapas recommendations were right on the money ;-) Looking forward to visiting Ukkō again soon.