After 6 short months since opening, Sushinho has picked up its first major award: Two AA Rosettes. Helen Hokin drops in for lunch.
The weekend. Summer. Another flash flood. Out of the chaos we plunged into Sushinho and instant calm. Its 'funky lounge' vibe is low-lit and cool with bare brickwork, bamboo screens and a warm brown colour scheme. We chose a snug table with comfy banquets.
To whet our appetites, we order cocktails- a house special of Umeshu plum and a 'Bluebell' (blueberries, bilberry liqueur, vodka and Champagne and the Umeshu's lush lychee aroma entices me to a few sneaky sips, but my own well-blended tipple sets me up just as nicely for the arrival of the first batch of dishes.
Seaweed salad is an expertly executed version, with three distinctive, vibrant piles served with a generous helping of divine, creamy gomu ponzu dressing- fans of tahini will eat this by the spoonful.
The Palmito salad is awesome: chargrilled, asparagus-y palm hearts and sweet little confit tomatoes are nestled amongst frilly, red tinged lettuce and bathed in a punchy, unexpected tarragon dressing. A big bowl of Shichimi crispy baby squid with lime, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin, with a feather-light, crunchy coating.
Next we tackle the ethereal sweet potato gyoza on shitake & oyster mushrooms with shaved black truffle- and a very generous amount of black truffle, at that. In fact the 5p-sized slices almost eclipse the dish from view. The crispy little dumplings themselves are stuffed with a velvety, truffle-infused puree, which makes another appearance underneath the earthy, slippery mushrooms. It's a winner.
Tempura lobster tail with ponzu dipping sauce looks high-falutin', and tastes just as good. Beneath the substantial crunchy jackets, generous nuggets of meat are tender, sweet and rich. Little tempura tomatoes nestled in the shell are a tasty and unexpected surprise- gooey little flavour-packed bombs.
The Spider roll: now this is a stunner. Tempura soft-shell crab legs are aloft, book-ending five inside-out rolls filled with substantial hunks of crab, cucumber, and the insanely addictive, crunchy tobiko- glowing radioactive orange. It's served with a slightly smoky soy sauce.
Hot sushi? Now there's a concept and one we were converted to instantly. The trademark Sushinho roll is a shining example of the genre- a panko'ed, fried sushi roll filled with salmon, crab, and delicious melting, oozy cream cheese. Unctuous in the extreme, it brings to mind Italian risotto balls.
But the mains are where the Brazilian element really comes into its own- both the slow cooked pork belly on feijoada puree with chilli and mango, and Crispy sea bass on Sushinho salsa with avocado puree and confit tomatoes.
Pork belly comes as five slabs, cooked to shredding softness, on a black bean puree my companion describes it as tasting like 'the butteriest mashed potato ever'. The crackling's cracking- you can hear this stuff crunching in your skull. Remember how your Sunday roast pork used to actually taste of pig? Order this, and get a nostalgic tear in your eye. Chilli mango brings a fruity dimension to proceedings, but this dish is really all about the meat.
The bass is fried just enough to achieve dry, crisp perfection, poised on a bed of vibrant chopped salsa and accompanied by a seriously fruity avocado puree- however they've done it, it tastes like banana and works to stunning effect with the fish.
For puds, the Warm chocolate fondant with mango heart and coconut ice cream is dark and intense and the molten mango centre is a match made in heaven- or the Sushinho kitchen. We also try Tapioca with coconut, yuzu and passionfruit: cold tapioca set in a ring mould with coconut cream- topped off with yuzu sorbet and anointed with a tangy passion fruit coulis. Forget any school memories of 'frogspawn'- this is gooood.
We agree the Passion 'crumble' with toffee ice cream and sesame tuille
is the standout- it comes as a little glass filled with layers of passion fruit cream, burnt-sugar caramel with sesame seeds, chocolate mousse, toffee ice cream and a sesame tuille- a truly sexy combination.
Just like my indulgent Peanut butter batida- a naughty concoction of cachaca, condensed milk and crushed ice, we also sample the intriguing Muay Thai-ini fittingly listed in the 'Curiouser and curiouser' section of the cocktail menu. Russian Standard vodka, coconut cream, Drambuie, fresh green chilli, ginger, lime and lemongrass is certainly original.
More than replete, we're ready to face the rain. I could comfortably stay longer- as it is, we've been three hours. I suspect this place comes into its own after dark- the 'funky lounge' vibe with plenty of bare brickwork, bamboo screens and warm brown colour scheme screams out for low lighting, hip music and a crowd. With food this good, topped off with excellent service it’s no surprise Sushinho has won two AA rosettes.