Last month I was in Gijón because we were playing at Gijón Sound Festival. We arrived the day before the gig, so I had time to try a nice restaurant called Kausa Nikkei.

I’m so glad I went to that place. Last time I tried something involving Japanese in Gijón, I remember I didn’t like it at all. I am a sushi addict, and not being able to like any of the pieces of sushi I ordered really made me sad.

This is not the case. Kausa Nikkei was perfect. I loved it. Sometimes when I write “reviews” (that I actually call experiences) of restaurants that I’ve tried, I usually try to avoid criticising little details that I understand as one-time things. If something lacks salt, but the rest of the meal is well seasoned, it’s probably a one time thing.

Again, this is not the case. Kausa Nikkei was perfect. When I entered the room I find that I really like the informal decoration. It looks like a nice restaurant in which they’ve taken everything into account, but also, you could go and have some cocktails with your friends after work. I like that kind of environment.

The menu had a lot of options, ans it was a good thing that they had a glossary of terms explaining what was everything. I didn’t need it, but I find it perfect for people that have never tried Peruvian or Japanese food. I think this is much better than having a waiter explaining every single dish, like it has recently happened to me. I already knew what was everything and I felt like somebody was telling me what bread was. So, again, well done Kausa Nikkei 🙂

The service was incredibly nice and quick. We sat at the bar, just next to the open kitchen. I ordered Albariño wine because I knew I would order fish.

Appart from a set menu, we also ordered a tiradito. The menu consisted of a causa, a ceviche and a wok. The fish in the ceviche was tuna, so we chose a salmon tiradito.

I’ve only tried another causa in my life, and I thought it was boring. This time, I loved it. The colours were amazing (because of the beetroot) and the texture of the vegetables on top (I think mainly carrot and courgette) were perfect. They were very finely chopped and had the perfect crunch to match the potato base. Flavourful, balanced with the basil sauce and looking extremely beautiful. They won me with the first dish, so I was really looking forward to trying the ceviche.

I think you’ve already noticed, because I constantly talk about ceviche, it’s one of my favourite dishes. This one was very similar to the one I prepare, which is a great compliment because everyone loves my ceviche. Although I use choclo and sweet potato instead of cancha. The seasoning was similar, although the quality of their tuna was better than the one I use. It was creamy and melted in my mouth. The leche de tigre was perfectly balanced and the red onion was the perfect topping (not too strong, but with enough flavour).

The tiradito was different, but equally good. I loved the different textures of the avocado and the cucumber together. Those are two things that I really love to combine. The leche de tigre was a little bit more sour, which is nice because of the fattiness of the salmon. Although I think liked the ceviche a little bit more because of the fish itself, the tiradito was amazing. Really, they were both dishes with a 10 out of 10.

The wok was really nice. Although I’m very used to eating noodles, the flavours were very good and they offered a good balance. The texture of the pasta was nice, perfectly cooked, and the shrimp were soft and nice.

I really regret I had the gig that same day so I couldn’t order dessert, they only had ice cream on the menu. I went for the coffee, but I bet the desserts are as good as the rest of the things I’ve tried. The wine was also nice, and I would have loved to order a pisco, but maybe next time.

I’m really glad the kitchen was open, I could watch them cook while I waited (not too much, because service was quick and good) and also, I could thank them for the amazing meal.

Have fun!