Moon struck

Living up to its hype, Moon serves world-class sushi, melt-in-your-mouth nigiri and spicy salmon rolls.

By SIGAL ABBATOVI
Moon sushi 521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Moon sushi 521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Although Tel Aviv has one of the highest concentrations of sushi restaurants in the world, it has only one Moon. Situated in a central location, a stone’s throw away from Dizengoff Center, Moon has been a top Tel Aviv sushi restaurant since it opened at the turn of the millennium.
Despite being a large restaurant with a patio section, reservations are still hard to get, especially on weekends but well worth the wait.
Alternatively, diners can eat at the bar, watch the sushi masters in action and choose fresh sushi displayed on the revolving sushi belt, which is certainly something you don’t see in every Japanese restaurant in town. However, the main attraction is the food.
Moon’s menu is innovative, unique and delicious. The specialties we sampled, such as the Shikoku tofu with shitake and nameko mushrooms, green onion and deep-fried tofu, have earned Moon devoted following and rave reviews.
That delight was followed by salmon fillet and avocado tartar with a mango and caper sauce dressing.
Black mamba was decadent, comprised of nori seaweed filled with rice, yellowtail topped with cubes of more raw fish and, on the side, a small bowl of teriyaki sauce.
Our meal also included spicy salmon rolls with a hint of lemongrass and mango instead of avocado, as it’s not in season. My fellow dining partner almost fell off his chair when he tried the Oshi Suban, one of my all-time favorites. It has layers of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, sweet potato, green onion and tempura, giving it a crisp bite. The roll was mouth-watering and left us both oohing with pure delight. All in all, these combinations of the subtle and the sharp, the clean and the precise, are exactly what lovers of Japanese food get most excited about. The seared tuna sashimi, arranged with exquisite attention to detail, was a definite stand-out dish.
Eating at Moon is a great experience. The menu is filled with page after page of heavenly, tantalizing pictures that will make diners order with their eyes and not with their wallets. You could easily eat NIS 200 worth of delicious food per person and still want more.
The decor is chic, with low lights and soft music. Every dish we sampled was fantastic.
The desserts were also wonderful, made offsite by a renowned pastry chef.
Something sweet is what you need after sampling raw fish bathed in soya sauce, ginger and wasabi. If you’re saving calories or cash and want to drink something delicious and sweet, try Choya, a Japanese dessert plum wine that is a great alternative.
My dining partner and I give Moon a five out of five rating. The service was impeccable, ambiance elegant and food sensational. We will definitely go back to sample even more of the delicious dishes and revisit some of the wonderful flavors we can still taste.
Moon
Not kosher
58 Bograshov, Tel Aviv Tel: (03) 629-1155.
Sun.-Fri. from noon till 12:30 a.m. Saturday from 7 p.m. until till 12:30 a.m.