Sushi, like any culinary discipline with hundreds of years of history, is an art. We saw it in the award-winning documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi: the protagonist’s own son spent years and years just to learn how to cut fish. And then I would go on to do something else.
The respect for dogma and tradition in Japan is very delicate and it is not always easy to take it to other countries, but in Madrid, in addition to must-try Japanese restaurants there are some good examples of restaurants where sushi is treated like the culinary gem that it is.
1. Yugo the bunker
Yugo the Bunker’s letter of introduction is its raw material, of extraordinary quality. It is impossible to find many of its products in a conventional (or specialized) supermarket. That alone makes it worthwhile. For that reason, of course, and for the Michelin star that guarantees its quality.
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📍 Calle de San Blas, 4 (Las Letras)
2. Migrant Koi House
At Migrant Koi House is the creation of Maqui, an Argentinean woman living in Madrid who wanted to merge cultures through this culinary and artistic project. Japanese food has been so successful, especially sushi, that good things have to come out of its encounter with other cultures. At Casa Koi, Asia and South America coexist in a balance in which Japan comes out on top with dishes such as the white fish nigiri or the smoked tuna tiradito.
📍 Calle Trafalgar, 12 (Chamberí) and Velázquez, 136 (Salamanca district)
3. Kabuki
Talking about Japanese food in Spain without mentioning Kabuki is like talking about Spanish cinema without mentioning the name Almodóvar. Nonsense. Kabuki, with a menu that hybridizes the best of Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine, is a classic among Madrid’s high standard Japanese restaurants. Although since chef Ricardo Sanz left the kitchen he no longer has a Michelin star, his former partner José Antonio Aparicio maintains the excellence.
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📍 Avenida presidente Carmona, 2 (Cuatro Caminos)
4. Mr. Ito
Although the best thing about Mr. Ito is not the sushi pieces (perhaps the best is the tiger prawn and piparra neem ), his constructions -called rolls- are an ode to the avant-garde of uramaki. How else to define a roll with tempura prawn, tuna, ricotta cheese and black tobiko?
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📍 Calle de Trafalgar, 7 (Chamberí) and Calle de Pelayo, 60 (Chueca)
5. Naomi
Miso soup, tataki, tempura and nigiri. This quadriunvirate has served Naomi well to consolidate itself as the sushi bar in Madrid most similar to a traditional Japanese restaurant. Namely: its bar, its low tables, its sliding wooden doors and its specialization achieved through repetition.
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📍 Calle de Ávila, 14 (Cuatro Caminos)
6. Yokaloka
Another sushi classic in Madrid: one of the oldest in the world Antón Martín Market and one of the first tenths of the fever that is nowadays Japanese gastronomy in the city. Carefully prepared and eventually some off-menu dishes (see the squid nigiri ) that make it a must.
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📍 Calle de Santa Isabel, 5 (Antón Martín market)
7. Musashi
If experience is a degree, Musashi is overqualified. Inaugurated in 1991, one of the first asian restaurants in Madrid offers a traditional product with little room for anything that is not done in the same way as 10,000 kilometers from Madrid.
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📍 Calle de las Conchas, 4 (downtown)
8. Ebisu by Kobos
If the goal of a restaurant is first and foremost to succeed, what’s the point of hiding? That’s the question one asks after visiting Ebisu by Kobos, located in the basement of the Matritum wine bar. Eels and tuna of outrageous quality. Purism and the highest level. Please note, however, that this restaurant is open and closed seasonally.
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📍 Calle de la Cava Alta, 17 (La Latina)
9. Kappo
At Kappo, as in traditional Japanese restaurants, you don’t choose what you want to eat. Your decision-making power comes down to which chair you want to sit in (and not always). The chef serves the client between 15 and 20 dishes. A restaurant that is only open at night, with capacity for very few people and with one of the most interesting proposals in the city.
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📍 Calle de Bretón de los Herreros, 54 (Chamberí)
10. Ikigai
At Ikigai they serve nigiris and gunkans of fish you never knew you could eat raw (sea bream, horse mackerel or sea urchin). Reasonable prices for the quality of the product and the certainty that every step taken is in the right direction: to become a classic Japanese restaurant in Madrid.
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📍 Calle de la Flor Baja, 5 (downtown) and Velázquez, 136 (Salamanca district)
11. Umiko
Umiko is a Japanese fusion cuisine that has been recognized by the Repsol guide has two suns– and of all the palates that have had the opportunity to taste it. And it’s no wonder that with chefs Juan Alcaide (formerly of DiverXO and Kabuki) and Pablo Álvarez heading the project, eating here is an experience. The classics on the menu are the paella nigiri, the guo rong porra, the tuna curry and the shrimp ramen.
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Calle de los Madrazo, 6 (downtown)
12. Tora
Tora is inspired by the idea of a contemporary Japanese tavern and has chef José Osuna at the helm of its kitchen. In addition, this is the first incursion into the hotel business of soccer player and businessman Mario Hermoso.
In the kitchens of Tora,traditional Japanese dishes are reinterpreted with a Spanish touch. Asturian black pudding gyoza with pears in red wine, nigiris fusion among which stand out the tuna with Wagyu fat and caviar, roasted bull with scallop or Wagyu A5 with marinade and sprouts that is completed with its temakiof lamb sweetbreads and tartar sauce.
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Calle de Padilla, 5 (Salamanca neighborhood)
13. Zuara Sushi
Zuara carries the weight of being in the place where DiverXO was previously located, but this does not discourage them and in 2022 they premiered their first Michelin star. David Arauz, who already earned a star in 2020 at 99 KO Sushi Bar (now closed), seeks to transfer the simplicity, quality and elegance of sushi to the entire experience of this restaurant.
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Calle Pensamiento, 28 (Tetuán)
14. Nanako
This restaurant in Chamberí you must come prepared to practice omakase (put yourself in the chef’s hands) to devour the signature sushi with Brazilian touches that Ariel D’Avila prepares with care and expertise. Paired with Spanish wines, in the dishes of a tasting menu which is well worth the effort, delicious flavors from Brazil, such as moqueca and farofa, sneak in. The eleven courses on the menu are one stroke of genius after another, but you can also eat à la carte, although we recommend always taking the chef’s advice.
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Raimundo Lulio Street, 24 (Chamberí)
15. Santoku
Santoku is the restaurant that claims to be the smallest restaurant in Madrid (it only seats eight diners) and is probably one of the smallest in the city more fashionable is. The combination of these factors, plus a good product, means that to book on a weekend you have to go to six months from now.
Here even the dessert has raw fish, they call it salmon cheescake because it is a classic nigiri with sliced strawberries and a sprinkling of cheese on top. But its star product is the makis stuffed with eel and flambéed duck liver.
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Calle de Lope de Rueda, 6 (Salamanca)
Japanese food is one of those gifts that globalization has given us and we would now find it difficult to imagine ourselves without it. Sushi is the epitome of fine cuisine. It looks simple, but there is a lot of craftsmanship behind it.