“Spanish people, I don’t know how, but they do Japanese food very well,” says Matcha Samurai, a popular Japanese content creator based in London, in a video that has already racked up more than 300,000 views. With 2.3 million followers on TikTok and 1.6 on Instagram, this British-Japanese tiktoker specializing in Japanese culture has made it clear that, when it comes to eating good sushi, yakitori or wagyū, you don’t need to cross the whole world.
In one of his videos, Matcha Samurai launches himself without hesitation: “I can say that the food in London sucks, but all the Japanese I’ve tried in Spain are literally on point“.
His most recommended stop is Pilar Akaneya (Calle de Espronceda, 33), a restaurant in the capital that has not only managed to seduce him, but also convince him. “I’m not lying to you guys. I’ve been to Pilar Akaneya and it’s very good,” he says. Judging by the comments he receives, he is not the only one: many users have celebrated this kind of gastronomic brotherhood based, they say, on two cuisines that share a respect for good products.
Pilar Akaneya, sumibiyaki and Kobe Beef Madrid-style
Pilar Akaneya opened its doors on July 17, 2020 with an unprecedented proposal in Madrid: to be the first sumibiyaki -a kind of Japanese barbecue- in the city. It is also one of the three restaurants in Spain serving authentic Kobe Beef and the first in Europe to offer the Japanese muskmelon Crown Melon.
The restaurant has also managed to enter a very exclusive club: it is one of only 150 establishments outside Japan with an official license to sell Kobe Beef. A commitment to authenticity that was recognized with a Sun from the Repsol Guide in 2024.
The dining experience at Pilar Akaneya involves choosing from three menus. The first, the Akaneya Menu (€79.90), is ideal for a first immersion in sumibiyaki: wagyū meats, fresh fish and grilled vegetables. For more adventurous palates there is the Fukuroi Menu (€119.90), which includes Crown Melon muskmelon and Matsusaka Beef. And for those who want to go all out, the Chef’s Menu (€390) where white charcoal Kishū Binchōtan and Ito Ranch tenderloin become the protagonists of an ode to the product and simplicity.
Inside, Pilar Akaneya keeps a secret: eleven barbecue tables of her own manufacture, raised above the floor of two adjoining rooms, as if the whole space were a small theater for meat and fire.
Matcha Samurai, Japan’s unwitting ambassador.
Beyond his viral sentences, Matcha Samurai has become a curious cultural bridge. With humor and rigor, he explains Japanese customs and dismantles clichés for a Western audience eager to know (and to eat well). Incidentally, his recommendation of Pilar Akaneya confirms something we sensed: when the Japanese validate Japanese food made outside the home, it is worth listening to them.
Because Spanish food may not have a good global amplification (paella abroad is still an unpunished crime), but Japanese food in Madrid, at least, has plenty of legitimacy.
Other Japanese restaurants serving Japanese food in Madrid.
Madrid has been able to embrace Japanese gastronomy in all its diversity, beyond the best known sushi. Today, the capital has restaurants that respect the Japanese essence and are committed to quality, tradition and innovation. From specialized grills to slow-cooked ramen, the best Japanese spaces in Madrid show that respect for the origin makes the difference. Proof of this are restaurants like Ikigai or Ugo Chan, but in this article on the best Japanese restaurants in Madrid you have a few alternatives.