Tsukiji Lisbon - Japanese Cuisine of Paulo Morais

It’s hard to talk about sushi in Portugal without talking about Paulo Morais. He is the godfather of Japanese cuisine in this country. Restaurants like Midori, Bica do Sapato, Umai, Rabo de’Pêxe and Kanazawa all bare his fingerprints.

While the last of these is very much alive and well, he has outdone himself with his latest venture. Tsukiji is a spacious, comfortable restaurant that serves sushi, yes, but also sorts of classical Japanese dishes, signature creations, and Portuguese-accented specialties.

If you don’t want to go straight to the sushi and sashimi, there are three options. You can mix and match a variety of dishes from the a la carte menu, such as a decadent “ceviche” of fried and steamed uni with leche de tigre, shrimp tempura with ponzu sauce, or a “pasta” of braised squid, roasted fava beans, uni, and fermented soybean.

Or you can experiment with the one-of-a-kind otaku maki, named for the Japanese word for young people who are obsessed with their computers, video games, and anime. Morais likes anime too. He named each of the rolls after an anime character: the Toyko Ghoul is the white fish of the day, arugula, chopped tuna, and kimchi, and the Soul Eater is grilled eel with tempura koromo and tsukedami sauce. For all the precision of his cuisine, he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

The third option is one of the most unusual, cool tasting menus in town. You select a whole fish (for yourself or the table) and let Morais and his team turn that one fish into five separate courses. That includes the usual preparations, like sushi and grilled fillets, but also dishes like fish head soup, crispy skin, and even the scales, which are salted and fried and almost taste like popcorn.

The dining room is lovely, full of natural light and natural materials, particularly wood, stone, and rope. One of the dining rooms is a vivid maritime blue. Apart from the main restaurant, there’s a wine and sake bar with 150 references of Portuguese wine, French Champagne, and Japanese sake.