Kai Lisboa
Some excellent opportunities can be seized in complicated situations, even during a pandemic like the one we have been experiencing.
It was this thought that led to a change of executive chef at the Japanese restaurant Kai Lisboa, in Torre de Picoas, and consequently a change in the dishes.
With the departure of the former chef (who ended up staying in the USA due to the pandemic), the kitchen was trusted to Chef João Francisco, who has an enviable professional career that has taken him some of the best restaurants in Lisbon such as Eleven, Bica do Sapato, Arola, Midori, and, recently, Tarara.
One thing is already certain, thanks to this renewed culinary vision and skills, the reopening is an amazing success to the point of being considered one of the ten best restaurants in Lisbon by Forbes magazine. A huge feat considering it reopened to the public in August.
This is the most outstanding quality of traditional Japanese cuisine that you can experience in Lisbon. Hands down. Everything that is chosen and cooked in this restaurant is designed to provide the best gastronomic experience for sushi lovers while demonstrating the enormous quality of national products since most of the ingredients are purchased from local traders in the 31 de Janeiro market.
There is a sense of greatness when you arrive. The luxurious decor without being tacky, the layout of the counter where you can observe the work of the chef while eating freshly sliced and prepared sushi. There are also uni, oysters, spicy tuna and crab tacos, calf and tuna tataki, tempura shrimp salad and black cod yakitori with miso. Every single dish is cooked with passion and presented by the chef with a rare effortless sensation that this is a person who loves what he does.
It's easy to talk about something you loved so much as I did after a sumptuous meal at Kai's.
Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself.
Oh and if you wanna be even more captivated just look at some of Chef's João Francisco Instagram stories!