For people who haven’t visited, what can they expect?
From the moment you walk through this door you will be wowed by how you are received, how you’re seated, the drinks served, the quality of the food. Something that I believe we do very well is attention to our client. I have a very attentive staff and management and we jump for our clients. We can also guarantee value for money.
What would you recommend from the menu?
You can try our Dynamite, which is a signature sushi dish. The burrata salad is beautifully done and fresh. Our oysters are always fresh and presented with a mignonette or fennel and lime dressing. On the meat section I would recommend the chicken dumplings. It’s the biggest seller on the tapas section: a little crispy on the one side and steamed. On the large plates our whole fish is a winner. It’s about 500g of whole fish prepared on a flame grill with olive oil, lemon and thyme. Then I’d recommend the mussels. They are not overpowering in terms of the taste, just enough garlic, cream, spice and lemon. In terms of drinks, you can try one of our cocktails. Our Ocean Eyes is a winner and we also have a Glenfiddich Whisky Sour that’s served with a little bit of drama.
• For the full list of winners, visit the Eat Out website.
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Ukkō restaurant is Joburg’s latest rising culinary star
Opened at the end of 2021, the restaurant has received a 1-star rating at this year’s Eat Out Awards
Since it opened at the end of 2021, Ukkō restaurant in the Nicolway Bryanston centre has managed to turn heads and light up Insta accounts. Now it’s been listed as a 1-star restaurant in Johannesburg at this year’s Eat Out Awards which took place last weekend, earning it a spot among the likes of celebrated restaurants Les Créatifs Restaurant, Marble, Modern Tailors, Séjour and The Shortmarket Club Johannesburg. We spoke to owner and founder Mun Manal to find out more.
Ukkō was named a star restaurant at this year’s Eat Out Awards. What does this mean for you and the team behind Ukko?
We are very proud and extremely excited to receive such an award. It’s definitely a big deal. Less than 10 [restaurants in Gauteng] made it as a [1]-star restaurant and we were one of them. It only means that we are going to have to keep our game up and it means that the focus is on us right now and we have to deliver. The word is out there and when clients walk through the door they walk in with expectations. So, we are going to keep our game up.
What is the “it” factor that you think set you up for this kind of success?
I noticed that there was a disconnect in restaurants when it comes to aesthetics — look and feel or ambience, food quality and service. You will always come across restaurants with beautiful Instagrammable spaces but they lacked on service and food quality. You've got other restaurants that look like it was cheaply done or there is nothing wow about the set-up of the restaurant but they will give you an amazing plate of food and good service. I think a lot of restaurant operators and restaurant owners struggle to get all three elements together. I’m not saying that we've got all three 100% right but I believe we’ve paid attention to all three elements: there’s a look and feel, good food that’s consistent every day and definitely excellent service to top it up.
The restaurant [also] relies 100% on the human element. The employees and management are the backbone of the business and we have to pay attention to their behaviour, to their needs. We’ve got to make sure they’re incentivised, they’re happy, they are encouraged every day. You've got to keep up with staff. As much as [the human element] is the biggest challenge in the restaurant business it is also the biggest factor.
What drew you to first starting Ukkō?
I’ve been in the restaurant business for just over 22 years but I haven’t had one concept that was only by me. I wanted to do something alone that is different from everything else. When you are in a partnership with other people everybody has an idea and you bring things together, which is great, but I wanted to do something different.
We opened the restaurant at the end of [the] Covid-19 [pandemic]. I wanted to take out money to open a restaurant and everybody was like: “You’ve got to be crazy to do that.” The thought behind it was I wanted to do something different that I couldn’t really do with other people because they were either sceptical or they were scared of the market and they were feeling insecure because of Covid-19. I wanted to build something. If I succeed, I will say it’s me and if I fail, I will say it’s me and I’ll take it in, no problem.
For people who haven’t visited, what can they expect?
From the moment you walk through this door you will be wowed by how you are received, how you’re seated, the drinks served, the quality of the food. Something that I believe we do very well is attention to our client. I have a very attentive staff and management and we jump for our clients. We can also guarantee value for money.
What would you recommend from the menu?
You can try our Dynamite, which is a signature sushi dish. The burrata salad is beautifully done and fresh. Our oysters are always fresh and presented with a mignonette or fennel and lime dressing. On the meat section I would recommend the chicken dumplings. It’s the biggest seller on the tapas section: a little crispy on the one side and steamed. On the large plates our whole fish is a winner. It’s about 500g of whole fish prepared on a flame grill with olive oil, lemon and thyme. Then I’d recommend the mussels. They are not overpowering in terms of the taste, just enough garlic, cream, spice and lemon. In terms of drinks, you can try one of our cocktails. Our Ocean Eyes is a winner and we also have a Glenfiddich Whisky Sour that’s served with a little bit of drama.
• For the full list of winners, visit the Eat Out website.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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