Marine masterpieces

Idyllically situated on Herzliya’s picturesque waterfront, surrounded by yachts and an endless view of the Mediterranean, Nammos Chef Restaurant and Sushi Bar is more than a restaurant – it’s an experience.

Indeed, while the view alone is worth the trip to this elegant, upscale restaurant, the combination of its beauty and what may well be the best sushi in Israel makes it an unforgettable dining opportunity.

Featuring spacious indoor and outdoor seating, Nammos offers two menus: one for sushi and the other for meat fish. The latter general menu includes foie gras (NIS 85), beef filet (NIS 138), grouper (NIS 165), sea bass (NIS 135), salmon filet (NIS 110), corvine fillet (NIS 118), fruta de mare (NIS 115), as well as pasta and a beet salad (NIS 48), Greek salad (NIS 54) and Israeli chopped salad (NIS 48).

While the aforementioned dishes were tempting, my date and I went to Nammos for the sushi.

And we were not disappointed.

Shortly after being seated by a friendly hostess, we were served an inspired potpourri of delectable treats. On a long red tray that resembled a small canoe were dozens of combinations of sushi that looked more like modern art than food (NIS 560). With enough market-fresh salmon, tuna, shrimp, shiitake, white fish, crab, avocado and multihued caviar to match every color of the rainbow, the sushi tasted as good as it looked.

That is, if you’re not kosher.

We started with a deliciously fragrant and inventive dish – the salmon sandwich (NIS 69).

Comprised of an inspired combination of mixed rice stuffed with salmon, avocado, mozzarella and wrapped in slightly fried tempura, it was the most mouthwatering sushi I ever tasted.

As I savored each bite, my companion enjoyed the spicy tuna roll (NIS 69), with tempura flakes, avocado and cucumber wrapped with tuna wasabi and spicy mayonnaise. We then moved on to the spicy shrimp rolls (NIS 62) with cucumber, mayonnaise sauce, shrimp and teriyaki, which did not disappoint, either.

The moshiaky roll (NIS 69), featuring steamed salmon, tempura flakes, cucumber, spicy mayonnaise, mixed rice and avocado was outstanding. It was perfectly complemented by Futomaki Nammos (NIS 59), a delicacy comprised of mixed rice, cucumber tempura flakes, shrimp, takuwan, tobico, kanpyo and ebi.

Perhaps the most unusual combinations included the salmon mozzarella roll (NIS 69), with mixed rice and salmon wrapped with jalapeno, red onion and mozzarella that melted in my mouth; and the vegetarian roll (NIS 51), made up of sweet potato in tempura, tamago cucumber and kampio wrapped with avocado.

With barely any room remaining in our stomachs, we saved for last four different kinds of sashimi that tasted as fresh as if it were caught that afternoon, while savoring our glasses of Israeli Sauvignon Blanc.

With good service and a majestic ambiance that takes you away from it all, Nammos’s artful sushi is worth the relatively high price of admission for a special afternoon or evening out.

The writer was a guest of the restaurant.

Nammos Restaurant and Sushi Bar
Not kosher
1 Hatzedef, Herzliya
Sunday – Saturday 12:30 p.m. to midnight
Tel: (09) 951-1555