Simple and savory, Nagomi Bento brings a new cuisine and dining style to the Mass. Ave. restaurant row between Harvard and Porter squares. The bento-to-go spot, which also has a few tables, notches the second locale for the concept Nagisa Ikemura launched in 2022 at the Bow Market in Somerville.
Nagomi packs a tight slate of bento bowls that are — in a single serving — everything you need for a balanced lunch or dinner. That makes sense: The Japanese word “nagomi” roughly translates to “balance.” Each rice-based meal comes with your protein of choice, including tempura-fried tofu, shio-koji marinated salmon, karaage fried chicken thighs, and crispy eggplant. Most come with seaweed salad, sautéed burdock and carrots, tamagoyaki (cold Japanese omelet), and pickled vegetables delicately pared into stars and other pleasing shapes.
All the bowls I sampled were meticulously prepared, but I found myself partial to the marinated salmon; a meaty skin-on filet, flaky and firm with umami accents from the shio koji marinade (fermented rice) that enriched the fish without overwhelming it. I’d describe the sauce atop the tofu dish as a scallion pesto made of meaty, lightly stewed, scallion slices and bolstered by a creamy green reduction with mustardy and pickled notes.
The beef that tops the gyu-don is wafer-thin and similar to the brisket in classic Vietnamese pho. It’s fatty, but delicious, juicy and tender as if it were steamed, with a pleasing spicy pepper bite. The juice and marinade soaks its way into the rice, and as you make your way towards the bottom of the dish, the meal agreeably morphs in flavor and texture.
For sides or starters, you can get stripped-down versions of the tofu and scallion sauce, karaage fried thigh, and the katsu cutlet. You can also get onigiri — Japanese-style rice balls shaped into triangles, wrapped in nori and stuffed with scallions, spicy tuna or pork — and miso soup. The matcha lemonade’s not a bad way to wash things down.
Ikemura, a native of Japan, came to America for college and stayed to work as an accountant for one of the Big Four accounting firms. But his heritage, love of healthy food, and budding desire to share that love grew until eventually, opening a restaurant in Bow Market — where local food vendors get the low-cost opportunity to try out ideas in the pop-up space — seemed like the right segue. That was four years ago. This newest Ikemura in the old Wrapro Falafel spot is a lean, no-fills cafe and a perfect neighbor to Ramen O’ Bowl, especially during these dog days of summer where a warm bento bowl or plate of cold vegan noodles with sesame sauce is satisfying without leaving you sluggish. The staff at Nagomi is beyond friendly and polite — the food that will put a smile on your face is served with a smile.
Nagomi Bento
1670 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Also at 1 Bow Market Way, Somerville
$ (out of $$$$)
Have a favorite dish or dine out spot that we’ve not covered and you think we should? Email Tom at tmeek@cambridgeday.com.
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