The restaurant Isabel Coixet chose for her series Foodie Love a recurrent (and pioneer) in the mentions of the rise of the gastronomic quality of the madrid markets or directly one of the best Japanese of the city. There are many ways to approach Yokaloka, the restaurant managed by Yoka Kamada a few meters underground and that after more than fifteen years (it opened in 2007) has come out to the street.
This week, Yokaloka opened its second location just a few steps away from the market itself: at number seven in Plaza Matute. “We haven’t left the market; for me, antón Martín market is more like home. However, we face many limitations on the kitchen side. We are growing and we need a bigger and more professional kitchen,” Yoka Kamada tells Madrid Secreto.
A new restaurant
A new space calls for new possibilities and consequently a new menu that Yoka Kamada herself defines as a “fire menu” since the new cuisine allows access to techniques that are not available on the market. Some of them: charcoal, fryer, oven or griddle.
The menu incorporates some new items and the owner says: “the menu includes a wider variety of sake, Japanese tapas, fish and charcoal-grilled chicken skewers, sushi with tempura, among other options. We are creating many new opportunities in these two months.”
The crossroads between modernity and tradition
This new Yokaloka also wants to conquer from the visual and not only from the gustatory point of view. This is the reason why the decoration is firm and consistent: “the decoration is inspired by a Japanese house from the Meiji and Taisho eras, approximately 100 years ago. It was a time when European culture began to influence Japan, creating a mix that fascinates me. The new location is in a building from that era, so we thought of a design with a Madrid body and a Japanese heart,” says Yoka.
The new or old and renovated restaurant is understood as an evolution of the previous one. A form that is understood from the mixture between tradition and innovation -something that is exemplified through the decorative. A new location that “not only reflects our growth as a team, but also allows us to experiment with more advanced techniques and equipment, such as charcoal cooking, to further delight our diners.”