Would you believe I have lived in Orlando for almost six years, and I had not been to Icon Park? The tourist destination is full of shops, attractions, and restaurants, the latest of which, Nomikai by Sushi Saint is in soft open and is the reason I finally checked out the hotspot.
Nomikai is a small, rather casual restaurant with a small outdoor patio and bright neon colors inside with electronic music pulsing. While it isn’t exactly intimate for deep conversation, it is an inviting space.
They have good service and a nice selection of specialty cocktails and Japanese whiskey. But the real star here is the food. So many restaurants these days don’t live up to the hype, but Nomikai really does.
Starting with the flavorful compressed melon, the cute lobster and toro toasts, and the totally irresistible Hamachi truffle potato, we were instantly impressed. The Hamachi is one of the best things I have eaten in awhile. It might sound strange with a slice of raw fish wrapped around haystack potatoes, but the flavor and texture combination is inspired.
The crab and wagyu sushi roll was a big hit and beautiful in its presentation, while I could practically live on the melt in your mouth otoro sashimi.
From there it was on to the main event, A5 Japanese wagyu because I always order that when I see it on a menu, alongside the crispiest beef tallow fries, coated in parmesan and furikake, ultra creamy spinach, and grilled asparagus with yuzu bearnaise.
Somehow we found room for dessert. Honestly, the kakigori was by far the most disappointing thing we ate. It arrived to the table mostly melted, and it did not live up to the hype of some of the other local versions, particularly that at Omo by Jont. The madeleines more than made up for it. Coated in sugar, they were irresistible, though if they were warm they might be even better.
If you have the chance, you should definitely check out Icon Park and Nomikai, a welcome addition to the area.
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