The last couple of months have been hectic. My working schedule during this time of the year is draining me, I have been travelling for work and several projects, including the Luxembourg Nightlife Awards jury and the organization of my birthday party, have been keeping me busy. So, during week ends, the only thing I wanted was to stay in, have healthy food and do some sport – and sleep.

Finally last week end, even if I was coming back from an overloaded week in Zurich, Mary Ann was able to convince me to go out and we took the occasion to book at Kobe, a new sushi restaurant right in the city center, which journey I have been following on social media since the day 1. While on one side I am definitely very glad restaurants are starting to anticipating their openings on the net, on the other side I am afraid this might award places with the best social media manager and eventually not those with the best food, so I was very curious to try it.

At Kobe, you can book your table online: our reservation was at 8.45 pm and the place was full – a couple trying to sneak in before us was sent back.

The location, as said, is right in the city center, few steps from the Grand-Duke palace, with a minimal, clean and bright décor, mostly wooden, with sushi preparation on display and also seated places around the counter.

The menu has a pretty interesting list of starters, three combination platters (for one, for two and veggie), single portions rolls (signature, maki, spring rolls, nigiri, sashimi) and bowls.

We went for a portion of Japanese oysters (prepared with ponzu sauce, ikura, scallions, chili pepper and vinegar) as starter, followed by the mixed sushi – sashimi for one person (“The Lone Samurai”) and a portion of signature rolls “Fuego” (prepared with crayfish, tuna tartare and spicy sides).

As for drinks, we had a bottle of Sake suggested by our waiter – dry, but an intense, pleasing floral note.

Pictures of our dinner, followed by my impressions, as usual.

What I liked about Kobe:

• Our food was amazing. I would say that to me currently this might be the best sushi in Luxembourg. I loved the fact the Japanese style is kept, without too edgy mixes, and you can still feel the fish in each and every rolls. Our mixed platter had a fair balance between types, with classic numbers and special combinations. The oysters were OMG – I just wished I knew it ahead so next time I will order two portions (maybe three).
• You have a great selections of cocktails, wines and sake, for different budgets. Our total bill reads 145 euro, of which the biggest part was for the sake bottle. Our platter for one portion was huge – I would say that if you don’t have a big appetite the portion for two that we saw on other tables might be too much. So you don’t definitely have to splurge, if you don’t feel to (this is normally not my case when it comes to alcohol, but just for you to be aware 🙂 ).
• Service was really nice and polite, on the informal side and this makes the place really relaxed, I would say even good for lunch after shopping errands, as well as for a week-end date.

What I liked a bit less about Kobe:

• I think if you know me a bit after all my reviews, you can already guess the reply from looking at the places from outside: tables are bloody too close and this is normally for me a bit turnoff. At the same time, we perfectly understand that with city center rents it might not be much different and food was outstanding, so I will easily ignore it this time. Still, it might not be the place for a business dinner discussion.
• Our dinner was very pleasant and I loved the place and the food. If I only have to find one negative point, but you know I am very picky, the temperature inside was really too hot. Just in case, wear light clothes 🙂

In conclusion: Kobe is a new, informal sushi place right in town. Their sushi is really raising the bar for sushi restaurants in Luxembourg and I would definitely indicating it as my favorite sushi place in town so far. Perfect for a girls night out, friends’ gatherings, informal dates.