Japanese gastronomy is, without a doubt, one
of the most appreciated
in our country.
Madrid has an extensive list of magnificent restaurants where you can enjoy excellent raw materials, backed by extremely precise techniques when treating them, very careful presentations and, above all,
surprising flavours
.
A decade ago talking (let alone eating) of raw fish was almost a martian.
What to meet for dinner in a Japanese, only an occurrence of a few.
Fortunately, today things look very different.
In recent months there have been
interesting openings
in Madrid where reserving a table for the coming months is quite complicated;
there are some with a purer or fusion style, also clandestine and exclusive bars, spaces that have become meeting points in the city, even premium delivery that allows you to enjoy sushi just as if you were in a restaurant...
Not all of them are included in these lines (99 Sushi Bar, Kappo, Miyama, Soy, Pilar Akaneya, Umiko), because on this occasion we have chosen the new ones and some that, although not as well known, are well worth a visit.
Nigiri from Ebisu by Kobos.
EBISU BY KOBOS
Word of mouth has turned its new clandestine bar - with capacity for seven people, a lucky number in Japan - into one of the most desired spaces in the capital;
It does not have a gap until Easter, which is until when reservations are open.
"I offer an experience to travel to Japan without leaving Madrid", explains Kobos (31).
With sushi and the most purist nigiris as hallmarks.
"
There is no fusion here
."
He likes to explain to diners what they are going to eat.
"I cut the tuna in front of people and explain the different parts."
He talks about the fish he works with, but he also prepares the rice on sight - to which he certainly does not add any sugar - and comments "the types and their influence on Japanese culture.
I give a little veneer
", he jokes .
He has been in the kitchen for 11 years, where he arrived when he had to lend a hand to his mother.
Her link with Japan has more crumb.
She left with a one-way ticket for a gastronomic trip.
There, after eating at a sushi bar "and paying 300 euros without a drink, I freaked out. I had never eaten like this in my life."
Without thinking about it, she asked to "
do the dishes" at the premises.
"I wanted to see and learn
."
He started going two days a week;
so he met the one who would be his 'sensei', the 'itamae' Norihito Endo.
When he joined full time, it was like a master's degree.
"
I worked 17 hours a day. I was like that for 11 months
."
With the pandemic, he was unable to return to Japan from Bali, where he was on vacation, and returned to Madrid.
"I was dying without working."
He used everything he learned to shape his delivery.
"I made three or four little boxes a day."
Success enveloped him and thus came the bar in the purest Japanese style that he inaugurated in December.
"
The location is not provided until we confirm reservations
."
The wow factor is part of the charm.
Open from Thursday to Saturday.
Menu price: 155 euros without drinks.
Hugo Muñoz, chef at Ugo Chan.
UGO CHAN
The first contact with Japanese cuisine was Hugo Muñoz (44) at the Zuma restaurant in London.
Later he worked in Kabuki with Ricardo Sanz, where his name began to be heard, and the last stage before Ugo Chan was developed in Carbon Negro.
Before all this, he ended up in Viridiana, where he has great memories.
"
Abraham García is the best chef I have ever worked with
. He is unique and unrepeatable, a genius."
This Japanese is without a doubt one of the openings of the season.
"We were going to open just before the pandemic, but we couldn't find a place. And luckily we didn't."
They also have a full agenda until May.
"
Maybe this is the least Japanese Japanese you've ever been to. It's a free and personal version
," she explains.
The tripe gyoza, the fried eggs with Japanese al pastor crumbs or the cod tempura with roasted pepper dashi are some of the dishes that define his concept.
He plays a lot with the ones that are not on the menu, with products that are always in season and on the market.
With capacity for 25-30 people, from where he works he has practically all the diners within reach.
"I'm very interested in seeing the reaction, the human part of all this."
She started Caminos y Empresariales before getting into the kitchen.
"My grandfather paid me for a private school because I was left without a place in the public one."
In fact, the name is a nod to the nickname her grandfather gave her.
Address: Félix Boix, 6. Telephone: 91 350 65 78. Average price: 60-90 euros.
Ikigai Autumn Dashi.
IKIGAI
Little is said about this small restaurant located near Gran Vía with a proposal focused on hot Japanese cuisine and nigiris.
Ikigai means "the reason for living" in Japanese and that is the essence of Yong Wu Nagahira's space (33).
"The beginnings were very hard. I opened and had a table."
In two years he didn't take a day off.
"
The sacrifice did not matter to me because I enjoyed what I did
."
Become a 'Japanese' reference in the city, it invites you to try its omakase menu.
"You won't find miso soup, sashimi, or rolls here; you won't find tartare here," he says humbly.
He likes to work on hot dishes more because "it allows me to create more".
He comes from a family dedicated to hospitality.
"I always wanted to run away from this world because as a child I suffered the consequences of endless hours...".
He was born in France, but as a child he came to live in Spain.
After studying Business, he realized that office life was not his thing and he went back to basics.
He learned the basics of traditional Japanese cuisine from "a teacher who was working in Ginza and Rowata at the time."
Before opening Ikigai in 2018, he worked at La Candela Restó, which he closed after achieving a Michelin star.
In its omakase menu, the fusion of techniques and ingredients is a constant.
The autumn dashi with chanterella mushrooms, shimeji, enoki and kombu with quail eggs is a declaration of intent;
In their nigiris, the squid with ponzu gele and basil oil, the espardeña with its own pilpil, the grouper and the sardine shine.
Address
: Flor Baja, 5. Tel: 91 6 22 63 74. Average price omakase menu: 80 euros.
Tori-Key's room.
TORI-KEY
At this Chamberí venue,
yakitori cuisine
is king , centered on grilled chicken skewers.
At the head is Hiroshi Kobayashi, who previously worked seven years in Miyama.
They opened five years ago with the idea of introducing the hot cuisine of their country.
The chicken meatballs and the onion salad with katsabushi are top.
They have 25 varieties of all kinds of skewers on the menu.
Address
: Plaza del Descubridor Diego de Ordás, 2. Average price: 40-50 euros.
Yogo Nigiri.
YOKE
The
excellence of the raw material
is the axis on which the experience of this
restaurant
pivots, which in 2019 achieved its first Michelin star.
At the helm is Julián Mármol, who searches for the most exclusive products around the world: Alaska, Japan, Portugal or the Ebro Delta. They have two gastronomic menus: 'Naked' (175 euros) and 'Roots' (135).
One of its rooms recreates a
World War II
bunker .
Address
: San Blas, 4. Menu from 135 euros.
Kyoshi bull.
KYOSH
Considered the pioneer in our country of the fusion of Japanese cuisine with the Mediterranean, Ricardo Sanz, the most traditional 'sushiman', has just started a new stage outside the Kabuki group.
In this space he offers a cheaper version of his kitchen.
He values the raw material above all else and is one of those who thinks that
products should be touched "as little as possible"
.
His nigiris are sublime bites.
Address
: San Agustín, 3 (Hotel Double Tree by Hilton Prado).
Average price: 70 euros.
Zeitaku snack.
ZEITAKU
Near El Retiro Park, this small place has just opened and is already receiving very good reviews.
Zeitaku combines two concepts: luxury and extravagance.
At the time of sitting down at the table, this translates into a
synergy of Japanese gastronomy and gastronomy associated with Western luxury
.
They emphasize the purity of the flavors and the cut of the raw fish.
The smoked eel nigiri from the Ebro delta is essential.
Address
: Antonio Maura, 20. Average price: 80-120 euros.
Marinated black cod wrapped in Zuma hoba leaf.
ZUMA
The Zuma universe landed in Madrid a couple of months ago with a concept based on Japanese izakayas,
traditional food with a somewhat more current vision
.
Chef Javier Blanco, previously head chef of the brand in Mykonos and London, has brought some of the iconic dishes, such as the spicy beef tenderloin with sesame and the marinated black cod wrapped in a hoba leaf.
It is the trendy place in the capital.
Address
: Paseo de la Castellana, 2. Average price: 60-70 euros.
Tuna nigiri from Homie by Sergio Sanz.
HOMIE BY SERGIO SANZ
Behind this adventure is chef Sergio Sanz (29) (99 Sushi Bar and Yugo).
The business was born in a pandemic as a delivery and since September they also have a place where they also organize dinners in a small clandestine.
"It has capacity for 12 people and we only offer four weekly services."
They offer two menus, 13 passes (55 euros) and 17 (75).
"We have 'Japanese' cuisine, but also from other parts of Asia."
Average delivery price: 35 euros.
Nigiri from Red Project.
RED PROJECT SUSHI
This project was born a year ago by and for delivery.
"We offer a premium sushi made with luxury raw material," they say in the brand.
Nigiris, sashimi and rolls are their specialities, although they also offer gyozas, brochettes, tiraditos or miso soup on their menu.
"We have a 'packaging' conceived so that the orders arrive in perfect condition at the destination".
They carry out deliveries within the almond of the M-30.
Average price: 40 euros.
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