Daruma

"The name Daruma comes from the traditional Tumble Doll, on which a face is depicted, represents the “Will to persevere”, – if knocked down seven times it will stand up eight times. When a person has identified a particular goal to strive for, one of the pupils may be inked in. Only on achievement may the second pupil be added to the doll." Daruma Japanese Restaurant

Eat Out magazine says:

Cuisine: Sushi, Continental, Japanese
Ambience: Authentic Culture
The elegant restaurant’s walls are adorned with wooden panels and Japanese artworks, and chairs curl around three teppanyaki stations. Plush carpets and tables screened off from one another allow for discreet dining."

Last night we visited Daruma restaurant on the Durban beachfront. There is also one in Pretoria. It was undoubtedly such a great experience. Real authentic Japanese food, fresh sushi and the amazing experience of having it cooked Teppanyaki- " for those not in the know this mean right infront of your eyes!" The Chef used natural flavours right throughout the night. There were no hidden sauces/ bottled sauces added to the dish, simple ingredients such as garlic, chillies, lemon juice and of course soya sauce were used to create what was a delicious healthy meal.


The enetertainment aspect is that the Chef is right in front of you and you can chat to him ask him what he feels like making and what he thinks the best meals are. Depending on whether you're a table of 2 or 20 he will accomodate you.

We started with a Meerlust Pinotage which is quite a deep red wine rich and flavourful
Starters was 4 piece salmon california roll, 4 piece prawn california roll and 2 piece octopus sashimi. This is my language. The fish was fresh and the sushi made by a Japanese man which made it the real thing. The rice was perfect not too sweet as it is at non-sushi specialty restaurants and the fish inside was a generous amount.
As a mains the Chef consulted us as to what we felt like, my boyfriend opted for steak and i opted for fish, we shared one portion of egg fried rice which was more than enough along with stir fried vegetables which were prefectly crisp. The fish was nice and fresh with a delicious sauce which he made on the grill containing soya sauce, chilli, sugar, and garlic. Also served with a fresh Japanese tartare sauce. The steak was so tender and soft and served with a sweet soya sauce also made on the grill from fresh ingredients.
The mains portions were so large we could hardly finish and dessert was out of the question.

Whats nice about this menu is that there is a whole array of appetizers: tofu, chicken, beef, salmon served in a variety of ways. Then they have tempura veggies, chicken, beef, fish and a whole lot of sushi platters and a la carte! They also have teppanyaki set menus from R185 per person which have starter mains and dessert, and a seafood platter which looks delicious as well. So delicious it was hard to decide and it is definately a restaurant worth going back to again and again to try something new! And if you're courageous try the saki warm, it'll give you the knock but round off the experience in true fabulous Japanese style.