Ubon is one of those places which is far more enjoyable when you know you are not picking up the bill; the adage of ‘mouth watering dishes at eye watering prices’ fits perfectly. It does however serve the ultimate fish dish (if not the best dish full stop) I have ever eaten, in the Miso Marinated Black Cod. My mouth is actually watering this moment at the memory of tasting that sublime fish. 

Ubon is the sister restaurant of Nobu and has the stunning views (up and down the river from Docklands) and the beautiful staff you’d expect from a restaurant charging the prices they do. We went with the cheaper Omakase Chef’s choice menu at £70 per head (the more expensive one costs £90 per head) and several cold sakes, served in bamboo flasks. 

It was a rather inauspicious start, as two of our party of nine did not receive our first dish of Salmon Tartare, which was disappointing. We then had to ask where they were and then wait about 7 minutes for the remaining two dishes to appear (my stomach was producing earthquake style rumbles at this point). The Salmon Tartare was delicious and was served in wasabi sauce on a bed of ice, with a Yamamomo Japanese Mountain berry to cleanse the palate (which is delicious on it’s own). 

Seared Tuna Sashimi was next, served with a cherry tomato tempura and with Matsuhita sauce (Masterchef Matsuhita is the founder of the Nobu chain). The tuna melted in the mouth and the sweet matsuhita sauce a worthy accompaniment. 

At this point, our first, additional to the tasting menu, serving of Black Cod arrived, in about 25 bite size pieces. It was demolished in approximately 30 seconds and several of us locked chopsticks to get the last piece (I lost, unfortunately). 

The Seabass part of the Seabass and Prawn ceviche was definitely a winner, the refreshing and tart taste complimenting the prawn and sea bass meat perfectly. The prawn was fine,  but not spectacular.

Our expected pieces of Black Cod arrived, in the form of fillets, served with pickled ginger root or hajikami. I wish I could have taken a bit more time to savour my portion, such is the amazing savory and sweet taste of the dish, but my chopsticks were in overdrive and I was soon bereftly looking down at an empty plate. Fortunately, the paying party must have had a similar experience to me, as yet another order of Black Cod for the table was sent to the kitchen post-haste.  

A sizzling platter of Toban Yaki Wagyu beef was up next and was delectable; extremely tender and in a slightly sour sauce with enoki mushrooms. 

The platter of selected sushi was aesthetically very pleasing, as sushi always is, and was only disappointing in that it tasted ordinary in comparison to some of the stunning dishes we had already eaten. I probably would have been singing it’s praises if I had eaten it on it’s own another time. 

Our third and alas, final, portion of Black Cod arrived, again in bite size pieces and was again obliterated in seconds. This was despite of the fact we had been stuffing our faces and downing sake like there was no tomorrow for the previous 2 hours. 

A palate cleansing bowl of miso soup was brought before the finale of Chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream arrived in it’s own bento box. The fondant had a delightful melted chocolate centre and was cooked on the outside almost to the point of burning, but this taste went sublimely with the green tea ice cream. 

A visit to Ubon is a stunning experience and despite the prohibitive costs, something definitely worth saving up for. If you do not want to go for the Chef’s choice menu, then you can always just go in for a portion of Black Cod (£24), as you have not existed until you have tried this unbelievably amazing dish.