UPDATE (February 2018): Mamasan has closed and I’m sad.
Last week I had lunch at Mamasan, a brand-new restaurant on 7th Street in Melville. (Mamasan is so brand-new that it doesn’t have a website or even a review on Zomato yet. But here is its Zomato page as a placeholder.) It was delicious and I have very high hopes for this joint.
This is a quick post to inform you of a good sushi restaurant in Johannesburg.
Having spent most of my life on the American east coast, where great sushi restaurants abound, I struggle to find decent sushi in Joburg. The fish is often bland and lacking in variety, there is too much mayonnaise, and the sushi rolls are uncreative. I suppose this should come as no surprise; Joburg is a land-locked city and there aren’t many Japanese people around. But similar to my quest for good Jozi Mexican food, my quest for good Jozi sushi is ongoing.
Up until 18 months ago, the east side of the southernmost block on Melville’s 7th Street (between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue) was a merry-go-round of opening and closing restaurants and shops. During the six years that I’ve lived in Melville I remember (just off the top of my head) a combination-cupcake-flower shop, a Scottish kilt shop, a bead shop (which moved around the corner), a pizza place, a bland café, an antique shop, a print supply shop, and a bridal shop (where I never spotted a single bride, or even a customer, in the two-plus years it was there), all open and close on that small stretch of street.
A few weeks ago I organized an Internations coffee gathering at Industry Bakery in Emmarentia. I had been to Industry briefly once before, but didn’t sit down to eat. This time I ordered a couple of coffees and a full breakfast, so I thought I’d give the place a quick review in 400 words or less.