Japanese food is one of those things that you either love or hate. Well, if you are of the first group and you are in Madrid, you should know that it is one of the best places to experience the most characteristic flavours of Asian cuisine. The capital is one of the country’s gastronomic hubs and for this reason it is home to a large number of restaurants. With so many options, it can be difficult to choose where to go, so here is a list of what we consider to be the best Japanese restaurants in the city. Start your tour of the most Japanese Madrid!
List of the best Japanese restaurants in Madrid
The one with the Michelin star: 99 Ko Sushi
Calle Marqués de Villamagna, 1
Telephone: 914313878
99 Ko Sushi is a restaurant located in the Salamanca neighbourhood that stands out for having always sought high quality. And it is thanks to this that it has become a Japanese restaurant for the most demanding palates. Its young chef, David Arauz, has managed to make the most of the most select products and cook them with the techniques of true Japanese culinary art. The restaurant offers two types of set menus: the Omakase and the Kaiseki, which differ from each other in that the latter has a few more dishes. Both options are perfect and allow you to enjoy the textures and flavours of brioche, sashimi or robata. Awarded a Michelin star, 99 Ko Sushi is one of the most exclusive Japanese restaurants in Madrid.
The most hooligan: Umiko
Calle de los Madrazo, 18
Telephone: 914938706
Umiko is a very daring and fun Japanese fusion restaurant, that’s how Umiko defines itself. Its chefs, Pablo Álvaro and Juan Alcaide, have managed to combine Japanese and Spanish cuisine, squeezing the best of each. Umiko’s cuisine is very focused on the raw ingredients, but always adding a creative touch with the craziest fusions you can imagine: have you ever thought of combining Cuban-style rice with sushi, or nigiri with socarrat paella? What’s more, the décor of the place is totally faithful to the essence of the restaurant: graffiti and manga-style murals that create a modern, underground atmosphere.
For all budgets: Yokaloka
ANTÓN MARTÍN MARKET, Calle de Santa Isabel, 5
Telephone: 610602722
Yokaloka is a small Japanese restaurant located in the Mercado de Antón Martín. Despite being a modest stall of small dimensions, it offers a variety of high quality dishes at an affordable price. Because let’s not be fooled… Japanese food is usually expensive. One of its specialities is ramen, although it is only served on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The rest of the menu is quite simple and traditional, but that’s the key: to offer few dishes, quality and at a good price.
The place to go: Balón Tokio
Calle de Echegaray, 29
Telephone: 914296509
Balón Tokio is a small bar-style restaurant where takoyaki is prepared. And what is takoyaki? Well, it is basically a fritter stuffed with a piece of octopus and ginger inside and served with different sauces. It is very popular in Japanese street food, but in Madrid there are still no places specialising in this dish. Balón Tokio is the first and only one, although probably not for long.
Cinematic sushi: Sushi Bar Hannah
Calle Marqués de Villamagna, 1
Telephone: 911049687
Eat sushi while you enjoy a film. Sounds like a great plan, doesn’t it? Sushi Bar Hannah has two cinemas inside and every fortnight they organise events where they show a film accompanied by sushi snacks and a drink. The rest of the days, it is a Japanese tavern where chef Janek Flemyng offers dishes that will not leave you indifferent. They are not simple, on the contrary. From the dishes to the crockery itself, they reflect a sublime delicacy and elegance.
Balanced and ethereal: Miyama Castellana
Paseo de la Castellana, 45
Telephone: 913910026
If you are looking for Japanese food in the financial centre of Madrid, Miyama Castellana is your restaurant. Odaka and Hiroshi Kobayashi are the ones who have managed to capture the true essence of the Japanese country and represent it in the form of dishes. In this restaurant you can enjoy a cuisine totally inspired by tradition, with few western accents but with a touch of fusion. In addition, Miyama Castellana’s menu offers options that go beyond the typical and recurrent sushi, which are still unknown to the majority of the European public.
And finally… the dessert: Wagashi Utanane
Calle Andrés Mellado, 43
Telephone: 919216921
For those who always leave room for dessert, Wagashi Utanane, a pastry shop with authentic Japanese sweets served with the best teas. Daifukus, Mochis, Chiffon Cake and Dorayakis are just some of the dishes you can try. Despite the popularity of Japanese cuisine in Spain, sweets continue to be its most unknown facet. If you are one of those who have not yet discovered it, come and let yourself be carried away by this refined confectionery that will stimulate all five senses.
Would you like to make some of the dishes from these restaurants at home?
Many of them buy the products, ingredients and raw materials in our shop in Madrid or online, imported directly from Japan. Among the most popular ingredients are noodles and oriental noodles (of which we have different varieties: wheat, rice, gluten-free…), numerous sauces to accompany them (teriyaki, soy, sweet and sour, oyster) and alcoholic beverages such as sake.
