Secrets Itinerary: The Best Sushi Places To Taste Japan ♦ Japanese food is the new addiction and one of the most amazing cuisines we can taste. You either love it or hate it… either way between niguiris, temakis, sashimi ou hot rolls you have plenty to chose from. Lisbon and Porto are growing and the restaurants are following this growth. Secrets From Portugal brings you some of the best restaurants to taste the Japanese influence at your table. The best of all? The options we bring are plenty, and there is no excuse for you not to try it. Keep reading to check our top choices.
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Tsukiji, Lisboa
Chef Paulo Morais does not stop surprising Lisbon. This sushi master, while not abandoning the mythical Kanazawa, one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, where only eight people sit at a time, now opens Tsukiji, a restaurant where fish continues to play a leading role. The degustation menu is made fresh and always around one fish, from which the chef enjoys everything, even the scales. In the menu, there are also seafood, meat and three vegetarian dishes.
Terra / Earth – Porto
Can a restaurant with good Japanese food have a non-Japanese name? Sure it can. Earth (English for ‘earth’) is split into two floors with completely separate concepts. If you’re handy with chopsticks and like good sushi, stay downstairs. Here, patrons sit before the sushi maker and can watch him prepare the fish. Or you can go upstairs, where more Mediterranean-style fare is served. If you took our advice from last year (didn’t you?) And tried the lobster cream and the sweet egg pastry, you will love the new lobster risotto, recently added to the menu.
Yakuza First Floor – Lisbon
Lisbon’s Yakuza First Floor is the restaurant for discerning eastern lovers who expect a special ambience and impeccable exotic flavours. Set on the first floor of the former Royal Silk Factory, next to the Royal Prince, Yakuza First Floor is an oriental decor space inspired by the Japanese mafia. Yakuza First Floor features unique creations that amaze you with the best East-West fusion has to offer. At the sushi bar with a balcony or a table overlooking the garden, you are presented with a creative, eclectic and top-quality menu. From sushi to sashimi, more traditional or reinvented, from makizushi and gunkans to tempuras, from pasta to salads, there is nothing short of this letter. And you can still get lost with the proposals coming from the robata, the Japanese grill.
Avenida Sushi Cafe – Lisbon
In the heart of Lisbon, next to the most cosmopolitan artery of the city, Avenida is a space with avant-garde architecture and designer pieces, where style and sophistication prevail. With the highest quality standards, Avenida offers a unique journey through the best flavours of Japanese cuisine. A genuine experience with a touch of creativity and sophistication, both in detail and presentation. The trendy and cosmopolitan atmosphere makes the restaurant a unique and unforgettable space. You can choose from 4 different spaces according to your mood: The terrace, the bar, the Japanese area or the undulating area! An exclusive kitchen in an innovative and memorable space.
Romando Privé – Porto
It belongs to one of the oldest and most prestigious gastronomic houses in Vila do Conde and it was the great bet of Nelson and Patrícia Pena who devised and created Privé, after testing the concept based on traditional Japanese food at Romando Sushi Caffe. The Privé experience is divine and once you see the huge windows of an imposing building from the street in a place without great prominence you immediately realize that the night has everything to be special. And so it was! Just imagine this: medium-light ambience – were gold and black stand out, a beautiful backlit onyx marble cocktail bar that, beyond beauty, delights any human and sophisticated décor that strikes us from the first moment. To this, combine top-quality ingredients in a sublime way and a caring team that welcomes us as if we were from the house. Et voilà, the night begins and begins in the best way! We can say that there is an intense love triangle between quality food, elite cocktails and a lot of comforts!
Wish Restaurante & Sushi – Porto
The Charter features various dishes of Mediterranean cuisine, sushi and new creations by Chef António Vieira. Between exquisite flavours and delicate aromas, the symbiosis between Portuguese cuisine and the refined taste of a chef that surprises even the most disbelieving results in a set of dishes that satisfy not only the appetite but also the heart. Venison carpaccio, spicy horseradish root cream, capers and croutons, codfish confit with al Pil-Pil cocoa has, crabmeat and piquillo peppers and a thousand caramelized banana leaves with caramel ice cream and toffee popcorn are some of the dishes that give life to the Wish letter.
Kanazawa – Lisbon
The menu, which changes every month to the rhythm of nature and the taste of seasonal products, is divided into five, seven, eight and nine-course menus. Either option is valid because the chef guarantees a balanced amount – the meal always satisfies – but the more dishes you have, the greater the variety of flavours and the better. Take a look at what included the August menu, a month dedicated to fish. Sakizuke, a light and pleasant dish with natto (fermented soybean, which is the staple of Japanese food) and toro (tuna belly), together with homemade tofu, okra, dried tuna zest, dashi sauce and onion; mokuzuke, a sashimi with five to seven varieties of fish and shellfish, normal soy sauce and a fresh one, soy with sea urchins and citrus, and an intense chewable wasabi; among many others.
O Japonês – Ritz Four Seasons Hotel Lisboa
Following the success of sushi at the Ritz Bar, Japanese cuisine takes centre stage in a new space at the hotel: O Japones. In addition to the exclusivity of just eight tables, the proximity to the sushi chef invites guests to emerge in the ritual of preparing a Japanese meal. To enrich the meticulous presentation of each dish will not go unnoticed, and sake and matcha are the perfect partners for this dining experience.
