Located at 249 València street, a few steps from the emblematic Passeig de Gràcia, is the Passeig Escribà Nikkei restaurant. Its location is excellent, but what is really surprising is its spacious subway dining room, accessible through a metal staircase. As you descend, you will discover a spacious environment divided into several areas: a main dining room with tables and a bar where cold starters and cocktails are prepared (the pisco is a star), a smaller room reserved for private events and a third space that will be set up in the future.
The interior design of the restaurant, which still appears to be under development, used to house the Japanese restaurant Miul. Initially, Joan Escribà considered combining the rice dishes of his successful Xiringuito Escribà with the Peruvian offerings of La Picantería Escribà. However, he soon realized that the fusion of paella and Peruvian cuisine was not viable. Thus, he decided to focus on Nikkei cuisine, a Japanese-Peruvian fusion in which both he and his partner, Mariana Silveria, have seen great potential.
Passeig Escribà Nikkei: high quality Nikkei cuisine
It is worth mentioning that to head the kitchen, Escribà chose chef Roberto Sihuay, born in Lima in 1981, known in Barcelona for his work at Ceviche 103 and Nikkei 103. Sihuay, who has spent the last few years in Eivissa managing his restaurant and advising establishments in London, Bahrain and Lisbon, now returns to Barcelona for this new adventure. In the kitchen, it has Marco Aliaga as head chef, and in the dining room, with efficient and friendly staff such as Alejandra Campaz.
In this regard, Roberto Sihuay explains that his conception of Nikkei cuisine has evolved and that his reference is Micha Tsumuru of the famous Maido in Lima. However, Sihuay adapts to the ingredients available in Europe, such as rubia gallega for a tasty uramaki, shrimp for a hot sea bass cebiche, and grilled Iberian prey with ramen sauce, aji amarillo and Japanese plum, accompanied by chaufa rice.
Variety of dishes
On the other hand, it is important to highlight that the menu of Passeig Escribà Nikkei offers a variety of hot and cold dishes, including sushi, temaki, tempura, Josper and wok dishes. Sihuay combines Japanese techniques and ingredients with Peruvian recipes, using miso, soy sauce and various tiger milks, as in the tuna tiradito with aji amarillo and achote or in the chicken causas with crispy purple potato.
Finally, it is worth noting that the menu includes nods to popular Peruvian cuisine, such as the cebiche carretillero with squid chicharrón, typical of street stalls, and the picarón, a pumpkin and sweet potato fritter with fig honey, prepared by his sister Carolina Sihuay, trained at Espai Sucre.
