7 Trendy Places In Moscow With Japanese Cuisine

2023 Author: Amber Richards | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 00:24

What do you know about Japan? The land of cherry blossoms, a mysterious world hidden from prying eyes with a special heritage and culture, Kurosawa's films, fresh fish and sushi. Japan beckons to itself, and in Moscow (as, by the way, everywhere) restaurants with Japanese cuisine are opening at a breakneck speed. A new trend is closed establishments with a laconic menu and an impressive check. Marie Claire asked restaurant reviewer Alexander Ivanov to share his personal to-go list.

Bubby Sumosan

A democratic project of the legendary Japanese restaurant Sumosan, opened in Moscow in 1997. In total, you can find four establishments in the capital, which are conveniently located on the city map - in the business city, on the cultural Tsvetnoy Boulevard, in the lanes of the aristocratic Nikitskaya and near Yandex offices on Lev Tolstoy. The menu contains all the classics of Japanese cuisine and exquisite additions to it. An absolute hit - the legendary green lobster salad. For a snack, have crispy crab and crispy salmon. A layer of crispy breading hides tender meat that literally melts in your mouth. Vegetarians can pamper themselves with a tofu steak and their favorite spinach salad with peanut sauce. The quality of seafood and other ingredients is beyond question: fish is delivered by plane directly from the Faroe Islands and the Maldives, rice is brought from Japan,and the noodles are prepared by hand.

The interior of each sushi bar is attractive in its own way: Nikitskaya is suitable for families, while on Tsvetnoy Boulevard and in Khamovniki, after a stuffy office, you can relax with friends and enjoy signature cocktails.

FumisawSushi

Arkady Novikov's project embodies the desire to get closer to the atmosphere of authentic Japanese bars, where you will be served salmon sashimi right from under the knife. The interior is minimalistic and even noir. The prices are quite high, but they pay off ─ twice a week, fresh fish is delivered here from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Not so long ago, the restaurant changed its chef: now the kitchen is headed by Jun Kondo. He has studied at the most famous Japanese culinary school ─ Hattori Culinary University, and then years of practice in the sushi genre, in the raw bar, in molecular and organic cuisine. The restaurant team is not afraid to make far-reaching plans and constantly come up with new culinary delights.

J'pan

It serves a variety of authentic Japanese dishes, some of which you won't find anywhere else. The menu is famous for its meat dishes - gyudon: marbled beef petals with a spicy onion egg and chicken soup with Somen noodles. Great attention is paid to breakfasts, an important element of the daily routine of a metropolitan resident - you can choose air pancakes with peanut sauce or traditional Japanese omelettes with rice.

As for the drinks, I advise you to try the latte based on green matcha tea, which is very popular now and invigorates no worse than the strongest espresso. For dessert, take a slice of pancake pie, also from matches, whose sweet layer is ideally combined with spicy green sprinkles. And take home sweet fish from sweet dough, making a wish before you eat.

Neko

Initially, the bar list of the establishment consisted only of cocktails - based on yuzu, wasabi, rice milk with the addition of fruit vinegars, and everyone's eyes dashed from the huge selection of sake. The entire bar menu is made on paper folded in a fan shape - a beautiful presentation in the spirit of Japanese origami. Under the already established concept, the main menu was invented, the main place in which is fish. All dishes do not mix with the texture of the drinks, but only complement it. The chefs at Neko are passionate about the ingredients and play with our taste buds: juicy tuna tar-tar, salmon in shrimp or trumpeter with coconut sauce. Chef Pavel Maletskiy in the autumn menu emphasizes nutritious dishes and adds aromatic sauces with a dense texture to them. So, crab is baked here under two sauces - creamy with shallots and Japanese,with a citrus tint: the contrast of flavors does not interfere with enjoying the crab.

Inside, the bar looks modern: a marble counter that will look perfect for your cocktail (here's a photo for Instagram ready), warm light from small bulbs and comfortable wooden chairs. A simple and uncomplicated interior, while not devoid of taste, disposes to stay.

Marukame

"Marukame" is a solid chain of Japanese eateries, a good analogue of Asian noodle shops. This is a place where you can eat tasty and budget meals and spend time with your family. There are six restaurants in Moscow. Homemade noodles are what we love Marukame for so much ─ they are prepared with different fillings: from simple vegetables and seaweed to fried salmon. If you are coming with your family, dine on the delicious "Kamaage udon" (traditional udon with dashi fish broth sauce). The portions are generous with lots of sauce and herbs. All the main ingredients are sourced from Japan, so you can rest assured about the quality of the soy sauce or tuna flakes, which are often overlooked by such establishments.

Totoro

The first Japanese experiment by Alexander Rappoport ─ with both food and stylization. The emphasis is on sashimi: there are more than 30 types of them on the menu. The serving is bright and although the portions are small, they are still filling. Connoisseurs of Japanese cuisine will appreciate stewed shrimp with Grand Marinier sauce and yuzu zest, spinach salad with Japanese sardine fry, which were imported for the first time in Totoro. Desserts are obligatory with fresh fruit and delicate textures; here they also serve a Japanese dessert rare for Moscow - watercake, transparent jelly with a subtle sweetish taste.

The entire interior is tied to the image of "Totoro" - a large and cute character in the cult anime Hayao Miyazaki. Waitresses wear Sailor Moon costumes and Japanese schoolgirls, and excerpts from famous Japanese cartoons are projected onto the wall. All this resembles kitsch, but at the same time, it looks original and fresh.

Akita

Small Japanese restaurant, as if defying modern foundations. At the entrance you have a sign that confronts you with the fact ─ “Very tasty and very expensive”. The interior resembles a Japanese courtyard where sakura grows and swallows chirp. The space is filled with a mini-room and an open kitchen. The lighting seems to be dim ─ blue-pink hue. There are no separate dishes - the institution offers 3 sets to choose from, the price of each of them is 15,000 rubles. The prices are explained by the location of the restaurant: Patrick is one of the most expensive places in Moscow. One can argue for a long time about the recoupment of the restaurant and make up legends. The concept is quite fresh and expensive, but hardly suitable for the Moscow audience - few are interested in sets for fabulous money.