This one's been on my Nikkei radar for awhile, and I just haven't made the trek out to bajo Belgrano to check it out. They do have a small outpost now in the little Italy section of Palermo, along Cerviño, which I didn't know about, and, given that upfront, I liked this place, I'll have to check out as it's walking distance from home. Pretty room, nicely lit, friendly service - although mixed feelings about that. Hostess, manager, waiter, all friendly, cheerful, etc. Food runners, dour and silent. With four dishes coming to the table, not a word uttered, just the plates dropped on the table, one after the other, and they turn and walk away without saying anything about what they're delivering, acknowledging the guests, or even making eye contact.
Sashimi - Really good quality, fresh, decent sized portions. I'd guess the white fish to be lenguado, but couldn't get an answer from anyone passing by, and by the time my waiter returned mid-dinner to check on me (once he took the order, he more or less ignored my existence other than to ask once in the middle to see if I wanted another drink, and once at the end how I liked the food), I'd forgotten about it.
Tako Maki - Really creative, excellent modern sushi roll with a cucumber and avocado filling, and then a topping of a little chopped mixture of octopus, prawn. The sauce is, ostensibly, a "panka miso", though aji panka is a dark reddish brown chili, not a bright yellow one (as I discussed in the linked post), so I think that this was actually an aji mirasol and miso sauce.
Kaniwan - Brilliant dish. More or less a sort of samosa, phyllo wrapped filling of prawns, peanuts, and cheese, and a dipping sauce of passionfruit and rocoto chili. Could have used a little more kick in the sauce, but I wouldn't pass this one up on a repeat visit.
Koiko Relleno al Panko Miso - Slightly less successful here. Maybe it was because in some ways, this one just mirrored the two previous dishes in flavor profile, and had I thought it through I might have gone a different route. Here, chipirones, little baby squid, filled with a mix of prawn, cheese, and cashews, served in a bubbling hot cast iron bowl, and brushed with the same "panka miso" (again, probably a "mirasol miso"), and a little hot salsa criolla. I found the dish a little oily and salty, and, not surprisingly, the filling too much a pair to the previous dish, just subbing in cashews for peanuts - the peanuts work better too.
Overall - like the room a lot. Like the waiter service upfront, but once you've placed your order, you're kind of on your own the rest of the time. For the most part, loved the food - yeah, I wasn't thrilled with the last dish, but it could easily have been palate fatigue for those flavors, and/or just a minor slip of the salt balance on the filling. It is expensive, but no more so than any of the other Nikkei type places in town, and easily as creative as places like La Mar or Osaka - with a 50 peso cubierto, a cocktail and a glass of wine, a bottle of water, and the above food, and tip, it came in at 1625 pesos, or $105. I do plan to check out their outpost nearer to here and see how it compares! read more
