Steffen Henssler, a very renowned chef due to his TV show in Germany (yes, you need to book in advance), calls his team’s style as ‘Cuisine Pacifique’. He aims to unite traditional Japanese cuisine with contemporary, innovative sushi creations inspired by California and the rest of the world. Henssler considers Hamburg as being geographically halfway between California and Japan and proclaims that this culinary merger illustrates the restaurant’s philosophy and raison d’etre. Guess this explains why Hamburg’s harbor is such a special place for their restaurant Henssler & Henssler since 2001.
The entance sets the ‘visual’ tone early on. Industrial elements meeting with a ‘brave but not overly saturated’ red provides the unique facade. Wouldn’t mind it being a little bit more subdued, though. We were there for the evening but we’ve been told the terrace is the the place to be when the weather is nice.
Whole restaurant consists of one large dining hall with an open kitchen and sushi bar. Red, black and white are the only colors. Other than the large prints on the walls and the circular lamps up on top, design of the restaurant can be considered a little dull. Wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t intentional so the attention remains on the food.Starter of the Omakase menu, tuna sashimi with tomato and anchovies toppings, was absolutely fantastic. tuna was melting in the mouth and the taste of olive oil and anchovies was matching it perfectly.Grilled fish with Japanese herbs on top. Herbs reminded us of the Shiso herb that we loved so much, maybe that’s why we liked this course so much.Taste of the tempura was very good and very clean; not too greasy but also not too blend. Its texture was perfectly crunchy and three sauces matched it really well.Potato and cucumber dish was the least memorable of the evening.Henssler Henssler Sushi-Sashimi Mix was another great dish. Especially inside-out maki and its sauce was excellent.Omakase menu’s main course was Salmon served on mango cubes with vegetable emulsion.Omakase menu’s inside-our makis were really tasty. Reaaly appreciated the fact that there weren’t much cream cheese in it which I find makes all other tastes too bland.Even though the design could be considered industrial, servers and the cooks managed to make the ambiance pretty friendly and cozy. On a side note, the restaurant was slightly smelling of Tempura. Well, only in Japan they can cook Tempura half a meter away from you and the smell doesn’t stick to your clothes.Steffen Hennsler after the end of the shift. Really appreciated him taking time to pose for us with his kitchen crew.
Address: Große Elbstraße 160, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
