Sumire
A few steps from Moscova metro stop there is a Japanese restaurant that bears the name of Sumire ("violet").
Open for several years now, it has undergone a change of style following a relatively recent renovation that transformed it from a cold and unwelcoming place to a Japanese tavern with an intimate and minimalist sushi counter with soft lighting, frequented by many regular Italian customers of the area and by the Japanese themselves.
Sumire's soul is the owner Taka, a true host who carefully followed the entire dinner with great kindness and professionalism. The rest of the staff is also attentive and helpful, although the service is occasionally brisk.
The menu is very broad and ranges from numerous traditional Japanese preparations.
I dined at Sumire's over two years ago and I have a vague memory of sushi, but this time I want to get advice on what are the real house specialties. Here, in fact, the cuisine is specialized in the Osaka tradition and this is evident above all from the handwritten menu of dishes out of the menu in Italian and Japanese - which, among other things, I strongly recommend you to opt because, in my opinion, it contains the better choices.
The dinner begins with a small welcome based on seaweed which goes very well with a generous portion of excellent cold sake from Akita prefecture.
The first course is one of the specialties really impossible to find elsewhere: mixed kushikatsu, or the typical fried skewers of Osaka.
There are of many qualities, I tried those with daikon, cuttlefish, octopus (perhaps the harder one to chew than the others) and the aubergine and bacon one (the most contemporary and appreciated recipe by the Japanese, according to the owner's notice, and indeed very tasty and pleasant). Depending on the type of skewer, different toppings are served, such as the special secret sauce of the house or salt and lemon juice.
I then continue with a delicacy from Nagoya, namely fresh homemade udon served in an elegant traditional pot with red miso, meat, egg and shrimp tempura. Mouth-watering! Maybe because I love red miso, but this dish is delicious especially if sprinkled with shichimi togarashi (spicy mixture of seven spices).
The second main dish tried consists of Japanese curry rice with shrimp and fish, according to Taka's family recipe. Another apt dish, no doubt about it: the fish is fresh and the curry is tasty and creamy.
Finally, dinner ends with a bowl of three-flavor ice cream (black sesame, azuki and matcha - unfortunately not homemade) topped with azuki jam, all accompanied by umeshu with ice.
The portions of Sumire are all very generous, so make your choices according to your hunger.
There are still many dishes that I would like to try, such as those based on raw fish so I think I will come back in the future to have an even more complete opinion on Sumire, but until now I can safely say that hot dishes are what you should come and have dinner here.
The prices are medium to high, i.e. in line with the type of cuisine but, above all, with the area where the restaurant is located. For lunch, on the other hand, convenient lunch sets are available.
🌎 http://www.ristorantesumire.com/pages/home.html
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