October 2024
Dashi Restaurant is not just another pretty face on Netanya's Atzmaut Square. Dashi is an international level specialty restaurant offering authentic Japanese cuisine. This is a restaurant for the culinary connoisseur, or for the connoisseur in you. Dashi is about combinations, sauces, presentation, and more. No plastic packaged sauces at this restaurant. You are in another place.

It's not just about the chef, but it is mostly about the chef. Chef Tomas Belardi is known internationally by his nom de cuisine, TomySushi. The Chef comes to Israel with his Israeli wife, from a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Europe. He has more than 20 years in the Japanese culinary arts and traditions, including years at acclaimed European restaurants and in Japan. On his arrival in Israel he teamed up with Chef Daniel Biton to create Dasi Restaurant.

Chef Daniel is a celebrity chef in his own right. With 15 years experience in the Japanese culinary arts, Chef Daniels His expertise is in catering tailor-made sophisticated Asian cuisine and organizing private events. Chef Daniel and his brother Raphael aspired to open a superior kosher Asian restaurant in Israel. Chef Tomy Sushi's arrival in Israel was the catalyst that made this vision possible. This is s match made in heaven, as under Chef Daniel. Dashi Restaurant caters their superb foods for home events and smachot in Israel and abroad.

It's not just about the food, but it is mostly about the food. Chefs Tomy and Daniel don’t just prepare the foods, they start by processing the raw ingredients. The chefs use a great variety of fish including red tuna, red tuna tataki, yellow tail, white fish, and processes like koji, Nikkei fusion, and rice vinegar marinate.  The fish is salted multiple times to get the desired texture. It is then cut into sections, with each section a different color, flavor and texture. A tuna dish, for example, will have several slices of tuna, each from a different part of the fish, with the richest marbled wagyu slices at the top. You’ll want to savor each slice. But first take in the beautiful presentation. Each dish is a work of art.

There are tricks to eating these foods. Manager Yisrael showed us how to place a piece of fish and rice between a folded sheet of seaweed, for a one-bite piece of heaven. The sashimi, he showed us, should be flipped over and eaten in what seemed upside down but was definitely the right side up.

Faithful to Japanese tradition, each dish is served with its own sauce, and a big part of the food preparation are the sauces. Jerusalem Artichoke cream sauce was one of, but not our only, favorite. Other fish are served with carrot sauce or a mustard cream sauce. Each dish has its unique flavor and is so beautifully presented it cries to be photographed and displayed.

Although the restaurant opens from 1pm for lunch, the full menu of chef's specialties is only available for dinner (from 6pm). Omakase is the signature dish at Dashi. This is a top-of-the-line 9-course meal for two, available only in Japanese gourmet restaurants. Each course is a beautifully presented bite size but shareable portion. As you and your dining companion complete each dish, the next one is served. The courses build to a crescendo from processed uncooked fish to grilled fish. Omakase fish is NIS 440 for two diners, and slightly more for the meat Omakase.

The dinner begins with a cold tuna appetizer, followed by a cold crevice of mixed white fishes served with seaweed crackers. Maitre D Yisrael showed us how to fold the seaweed cracker in half, fill it with the fish and pop the mini-sandwich into your mouth. Delicious. A hot salmon brochette in teriyaki is next, with a specially prepared wasabi salad. After this comes a beautiful plate of Nigiri Nikkey, with gem-like white fish and small balls of rice. The final plate is a Krisha Roll, with salmon, avocado, and a yellow sauce for dipping. To an unsophisticated diner such as myself, the Omakase menu is reminiscent of a very elaborate tasting menu.

Another outstanding dish available only in the evening is the Free Style Sashimi. This is a strikingly gorgeous platter with 18 slices of fish and 6 different sauces (NIS 160).

On our visit to Dashi Restaurant, we focused on the fish dishes, but the restaurant also has a full meat menu that includes slow-cooked meats and meats grilled on the bamboo coals. There are specialty foods like goose liver, and Entrecote served with grilled bok choy on garlic cream and truffle potatoes (NIS 89 per 100 gram). There are also simpler dishes like the green salad with wasabi sauce and a piece of white fish cooked on the Japanese barbecue (NIS 47).

Dashi Restaurant is open for just half a year. It is gaining popularity and experiencing great interest from people in the know about Japanese cuisine. Reservations are a must, and don’t be surprised if the prices have gone up by the time you get to the restaurant.

Note: The restaurant caters events at your location, including locations outside Israel.

From the Menu: *Omakase for 2 (fish menu) NIS 450. Evening only * Freestyle Sashimi NIS 160 (3 pieces and 5 pieces NIS 45) *Teriyaki salmon skewers. 3 salmon skewers Togarashi rice and nori 40₪ *Ban 2 pieces. White fish in tempura 76₪ *Tuna tartlet appetizer 44₪ *Blackjack salmon steak with teriyaki sauce,rice and asparagus ₪140 *Nigri XP 6 pieces white fish, tuna, salmon with Koji ponzu NIS 72