In recent years the term omakase has been spreading in Spain, applied both to restaurants that are more or less faithful to the Japanese gastronomic philosophy and, in a more or less free interpretation, to proposals that, in some way, share elements with that cuisine. .
The concept, which can be translated as “I leave it in your hands” continues, however, to be relatively new among us, perhaps with the exception of Barcelona, ??Madrid or the Costa del Sol, places that already have a historical trajectory, in As for Japanese cuisine, for decades.
But beyond Hideki Matsuhisa, Masao Kikuchi and Spaniards such as Ricardo Sanz, David Arauz or Pedro Espina, the truth is that the different gastronomic formats of Japanese cuisine have been slow, in general terms, to jump to other cities, something that The hand of restaurants such as Kiro Sushi (Logroño), Momiji, Hosho o Toshi (Valencia), Purosushi (Vigo), Omakase by Walt (Ibiza) or Ta-Kumi (Marbella) has been raising the level of knowledge and demand of the public local in the last decade.
It is at that point that, not too many years ago, the expansion of the omakase philosophy bar emerged, of immediate cuisine, tailored to the best product of the day; a permanent dialogue between chef and diner, an exercise of responsibility and trust, respectively, which, thanks to the La Bombonera group, arrived in Seville approximately a year and a half ago with the Kinu restaurant.
Kinu is, from its very name -kinu is, in Japanese, a silk fabric- a commitment to attention to detail, delicacy and a tailored experience; an unusual place, a step away from the cathedral and the Reales Alcázares, in a beautiful corner of the historic city, hidden behind the small gate of the Almohad wall.
The contrast between the interior and its urban environment is evident and predisposes, from the moment you cross the door, to change pace and let yourself go. The bar, just six seats that are complemented by some tables in a small dining room at the back of the premises, is the center of the space and the experience, the place where you have to make a reservation.
At its head, a very young Maher Al Dali Montilla who, under the advice of José Cerdá, the Mallorcan man in charge of Hoze Sushiya, in Göteborg (Sweden), proposes a well-measured route, in which he strives to be didactic without hindering the diner experience that is put in your hands.
The menu begins with a series of otsumami, small bites that function as appetizers and that allow establishing a first dialogue with the cook and with the sommelier, Manuel Soler, who does a wonderful job proposing, in this case, an accompaniment based on sakes and Sherry wines.
From the first proposal, the white prawn tartar from Isla Cristina marinated in palo Cortado and finished with a touch of Gomae, it is clear that the restaurant’s commitment is not committed to an imposed purism but, on the contrary, seeks to integrate the product local seafood in preparations that, here and there, add nods to the memory of the local palate, such as the replacement of traditional rice vinegars with Sherry vinegars in the rice processing.
Zucchini noodles, lightly cooked in a dashi broth to achieve a melty but still crunchy texture, and served with white miso. Tuna belly tataki, chawanmushi, trembling and delicately flavored, seafood. This first sequence ends with a small delight, almost a candy in its simplicity, the tamago kake gohan, more typical of a lunch, although it also works well here, which in this case is made with koshihikari rice from the Niigata prefecture, sauce of lightly smoked yolk and nori seaweed powder.
As a transition to the second stage of the menu, a negitoro temaki is proposed, the part of the tuna that is scraped and not used in other preparations, with chives and osciestra caviar, a delicate, fatty, iodized and persistent bite that the sommelier accompanies with a young, unfiltered sake, a Katori 90 Namagen made with organic koshihikari rice, which helps refresh the palate before the most intense section of the route.
The nigiris sequence begins with a succession of white fish. Wild sea bass, lightly smoked amberjack and one of the best bites of the night, the engawa nigiri, the most gelatinous part, with a characteristic texture, of the turbot loins, where they join the lateral spines.
It continues with the tuna nigiris – akami or discharge, depending on whether you choose the canonical Japanese terminology or the traditional Andalusian cutting, chutoro or tarantelo and kama-toro or the cut of the belly closest to the head – in a crescendo of fatty presence that is accompanied with a Slow Fermentation Ximénez Spinola, a dry Pedro Ximénez, aged on lees for six months, complex, with a surprising acidity perfect for this point on the menu.
The seafood pass – Sanlúcar tiger prawn and Pacific scallop with sesame – which is, perhaps, a little in the shadow of the bites between which it is sandwiched, is accompanied by a pleasant miso soup flavored with the shellfish heads. , after which it arrives, an eel nigiri from the Ebro Delta, steamed and grilled, with kabayaki sauce made in the restaurant and sansho, which Manu Soler proposes with an Omiji Kijoshu, a blend of aged sakes (1978 and 2014 ) with slight oxidation.
In the sweet section, a gyoku tamago, a sweet omelet in which the traditional sugar is replaced by honey, and what is presented as a kimunusú, a version of tiramisu with the incorporation of umeshu liquor and matcha tea, smooth, without excesses of sugar, served with a kabusecha tea.
A mestizo tour, in short, with a structure and philosophy based essentially on Japan that is enriched with a whole panoply of local products: shrimp, prawns, sherry vinegars, tuna, fish from local markets, with the same philosophy that, If the diner wishes, the accompaniment of wines and sakes is focused.
Kinu’s is a proposal that makes perfect sense in Seville, a cuisine that does not play a single trick but rather seeks its personality at the meeting of two gastronomic worlds that, far from entering into conflict, understand and dialogue with one another with very interesting results. Its commitment enriches and diversifies the offer of a city as gastronomically complex and diverse as Seville, being capable of presenting itself as something new, in line with currents that go beyond the city, and, at the same time, of providing a truly interesting local accent. .
