Okinami

This is a review for the bar. They seem to have a serious staffing issue. We arrived at the half empty bar at about 9.30pm on Saturday and were told they were full, and that those people already seated were going to wait an hour for their drinks. Seems like they either need more staff, or new staff…

The sharing menu is great and there is a real variety of excellent sushi. You definitely need to book at the weekend and however it is pricier than other Brighton sushi restaurants.

I had my first Oki-​Nami experience on Sunday lunchtime, having decided on a whim to try out their £5 lunchtime specials. The restaurant itself is beautiful in terms of décor, with a tasteful white theme peppered with little reminders of Japan in the restaurant.
Our waitress, having seated us (even asking us whereabouts we wanted to sit) was very attentive and quickly brought us menus and drinks, while we amused ourselves with the origami paper (wrapped around the chopsticks with instructions).
Two of us ordered shiitake tofu teri don, a teriyaki based dish with tofu, rice and vegetables, with a bottle of Asahi. The other ordered sweet potato and pumpkin tempura, which, although tasty, seemed more like a side dish than a lunchtime meal. He also ordered plum wine with soda water, which was really light and refreshing on a reasonably warm summer’s day!
We found Oki-​Nami to be a very pleasant experience, the food was delicious (I really loved the tofu– it can be hard to make it flavoursome at times.) and our server was really attentive and pleasant, which made it even more enjoyable.

Went there for lunch. Had to comment immediately on the bento and lunch sets about how the usual rate is 12 not 6 nigiri. Yes the portions are tiny but to the chef’s credit, he made the tightest rolls I’ve seen so far in the UK. The quality of the fish wasn’t bad, but the main thing that put me off is that they recycle the chopsticks. If they’re cutting corners like that, then who knows what’s going on in the back.

I am updating my review which I wrote upon my first visit. I have been back on two further occasions, and the quality has deteriorated significantly. On my last visit, we had poor service, despite few other patrons, and poor food, some of which was overcooked. I would not recommend Oki-​Nami.

I’m not ust following trends here. I had a very annoying and over-​priced lunch here with sirly service and sub-​standard food. Surely it can’t be that hard to get Japanese food right if thats what you specialise in? Everything was either over or under seasoned and I left hungry and £30 worse off!
The only reason I’m not giving it a one star is that the décor is really nice and I’m a bit of a closet Norman Cook fan.

I’m going to go against the grain of the other reviews here, and say that I quite liked this place. However — I haven’t eaten here. This review is only about the bar upstairs.
A friend hired it for their birthday, and for that purpose at least, it was great. A bar at the back with a great cocktail menu and friendly staff who would bring drinks to you rather than making you wait for them to make the cocktail, nice clean décor, a nice balcony for people watching over New Road and for the smokers. They didn’t have any decks but let us bring our own and put up our own decorations.

Unfortunately I have to agree wholeheartedly with the previous reviewer! Why is it that celebs think they can open a restaurant, deck it out in stylish décor and then neglect to address every other aspect of running a successful business? It’s really quite simple… you have to hire friendly, efficient people! When I had the misfortune of eating at Okinami, there was only one other table of two in the whole restaurant and they still couldn’t get the food out quickly. Latency annoys me in any eating situation, but in a sushi bar I REALLY don’t get it– there’s no cooking going on, so what the hell IS going on? Unless they’re fishing to order…
The sushi was okay, but not as good as at Sushi Garden. The atmosphere was totally lackluster, nowheres near as good as Sushi Garden. The place feels clinical and totally characterless. In short, next time I’ll definitely go to Sushi Garden and I urge you to do the same!

Walked into Oki-​Nami without knowing anything about it and was pleasantly surprised with the food. What we ordered:
Wasabi Peas — just like what you get from a tin, as such it’s a bit pricey.
Edamame — boiled and salted, very standard, again a bit pricey for the serving size
Nikku Gyoza — was decent gyoza, not mind blowing though would order again because I like gyoza
Age Tofu — very good dish, all it needed was benito flakes to make it excellent
Sashimi Platter — tasted fresh, good textures
Tempura Dish — can’t remember name — squid, prawn and softshell crab, enjoyable dish
Steak Dish — can’t remember name — we ordered this rare, beef was a bit chewy but tasty. The bed of soy stir –fried veggies that it sat on made it seem more chinese than japanese though. Lacked the lightness of Japanese flavours
Yuzu & Orange Drizzle Cake — Didn’t taste any particularly Japanese flavours here but though it tasted good all the same.
Tempura Icecream — Though this was well made as the tempura was very crunchy and well presented.
Read a review by some guy from the guardian, thought he was way harsh. Or perhaps Oki-​Nami have lifted their game since he dined. For me, waitstaff were friendly and attentive, restaurant had a good ambiance. I would definitely recommend this place.

‘I want to praise you like I should…’ are not the words I would bestow upon this place. Owned by the famous Fatboy Slim, I popped in for a spot of lunch only to be really disappointed with their service. It really is a shame that Norman Cook is not paying more attention to this place because it has the potential to be really nice. I like the décor, I like that the chopsticks come in wrappers with origami instructions that the customers make and leave on the mantelpiece. It looks nice and yes, even in the recession, they are offering a meal deal in the evenings. However it took them about half an hour to notice that the tea on the counter was for me and even longer to serve up the food. And we had to ask when it would be ready. Which is pretty poor form. Right here, right now? I beg to differ. When asked when our food would arrive, the waitress gave the most gormless fake smile and asked when we had to go. A couple walked out soon after and unfortunately our food arrived just in time for us not to walk out. The food itself was so-​so. Honestly, I had much better and for a lot less. It’s a good thing that Fatboy Slim is so successful musically speaking, because he definitely cannot rely on this place to bring in the bucks.

It was a great Saturday afternoon meal yesterday — we thoroughly enjoyed the food — gorgeous and fresh — fab soups and great lunch boxes.
Atmosphere was good and staff more than helpful and very pleasant.
Thoroughly recommend everyone to visit whilst in Brighton.

We originally went there because most of the other restaurants nearby only had hard, uncomfy seats and we wanted somewhere with nicely padded comfy seats. We were surprised to find that there’s a restaurants downstairs with a bar upstairs (the bar has their own food menu too). Anyway the seats were comfy, food were authentic and delicious. One thing I love about this restaurant is the chopsticks sleeve, which can be unfolded to reveal a piece of Origami paper and instructions to create a sailing boat, a frog or other shapes. It’s a really interesting (or frustrating) way to kill some time while you wait for your order to arrive. Highly recommended (but attempt the Origami at your own risk)

I love going in here, everything you need to immerse yourself in Japanese cooking. Even sells beautiful kimonos and cookware. They also have a little sushi restaurant upstairs.