japanese with accent
São Paulo’s devotion to Japanese restaurants is well known. The history is long and has already added up to more than a century of relations between the two countries. Today, Brazil has a larger Japanese community outside Japan and the result of this is presented in various forms and flavors, if a conversation for gastronomy. The por Koji is an example of this. It opened almost a decade ago at the Estádio do Morumbi and quickly became noticeable. The second house opened at Hospital Albert Einstein and the brand now arrives in Lisbon at the hands of Koji Yokomizo, the chef that gives it its name, and Michel Weber, who after living in São Paulo did not want to do without this cuisine in Lisbon. Behind the counter is Shinya Koike, the chef who has been at Bonsai since 2018, a city classic.
Despite being open for less than a month, the restaurant that opened on Calçada Marquês de Abrantes is full. There was no communication, just a word-of-mouth between neighbors and friends. Tourists haven’t arrived much yet, except that supplying from Brazil and who already know the restaurant on the other side of the Atlantic – is a safe bet for quality sushi.
“I live here and I think there was a lack of a restaurant like this in Lisbon. There are several sushi restaurants, it’s true, but I don’t think there is any like this one”, says Michel Weber, managing partner, telling that, after 30 years living in Brazil, he decided to move to Lisbon. “In Brazil, I met Koji about 25 years ago. And I always followed him everywhere I worked because I liked his food. So when I moved here about ten years ago I missed his food. ”
Longings that were being filled with visits to São Paulo to the two restaurants in Koji. “There I always told him to open in Lisbon. After many years of insistence, I managed to convince him”, he adds proudly.
The space where Koji is located already belonged to Michel. It was only necessary to adapt it, creating a sober atmosphere, where an elegant wood that covers the ceiling and part of the walls stands out. On one side they are like tables, on the other a large counter overlooking the kitchen, separated between the hot and cold areas. Although there are hot dishes on the menu, such as shoyo ramen (18 €) or grilled salmon with only salt or teryaki sauce (16 €), it is for sushi that all fees are covered. There is no fire of sight or fusion that overwhelms the flavor of the fish, which in large part comes from the Azores.
This is the proposal of Koji Yokomizo: “An excellent raw material”. “It is true that the raw material is available to the whole world, but there is a lack of more qualified labor. And that’s what we have here”, says the Brazilian, son of Japanese parents and who in the 1990s decided to spend a season in Japan to improve his knowledge and technique.
Koji is in Lisbon just passing through, to make sure everything goes as planned. But he’s rested when it’s time to go home. The kitchen work could not have been better delivered, in the hands of Shinya Koike, born in Tokyo, with part of his life made in Brazil. In São Paulo, he commanded the Sagakura A1, which awards the magazine’s award Greediness to the best Asian in Brazil in 2015. In Lisbon, he was at Bonsai, one of the first Japanese restaurants in the city, succeeding Lucas Azevedo. “Credentials are not lacking”, defends Michel Weber.
Despite the fact that it is small, the menu is shared with the two restaurants in São Paulo, and the possibilities of combining sushi are many. By order, there are two menus where you can give yourself in the chef’s hands: the standard (60 €), with two starters, nine slices of sashimi, six types of sushi, sunomono and dessert; and the special (80 €), with three starters, nine slices of sashimi, six types of sushi special, two types of special gunkan, sunomono and dessert. In the standard version, there is a vegan option (40 €).
In addition, for lunch, there are three more affordable options that are a good sample of what the restaurant has to offer: the sashimi menu (20 €), which, in addition to the starter of the day and 12 slices of assorted sashimi, includes gohan ( unseasoned Japanese rice), a miso soup, a salad and ice cream; the sushi and sashimi menu (€22), which includes the starter of the day, six slices of assorted sashimi, six niguiri, three batera, miso soup, salad and ice cream; and the teishoku menu (18 €), which, together with the starter of the day, offers three slices of assorted sashimi, a hot main course, a miso soup, salad and ice cream.
As happened in Brazil, the objective is to grow and open elsewhere, but all in good time. “We have a very aggressive expansion plan, but we are taking it easy. We have to settle down first. ” Judging by the reservations, especially at night, when it is starting to be difficult to get a seat, it won’t be long before Koji travels to Lisbon again.
Calçada Marquês Abrantes, 138 (Santos, Lisbon). Tue-Sat 12.00-15.00 / 19.30-23.00
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