Restaurante Japonês - SUSHI FISH — Restaurant in Peniche

Wow. I never, ever would've expected to have the best sashimi and sushi in my life in Portugal of all places...

After five years in Korea, and nine visits to Japan, including a very serious meal with a certain Mr. Maruyama and Travis Bingham at around US$300 pp, would I have expected to be blown away by a sushi restaurant in the Portuguese surf town of Baleal. But, it has happened.

Me being me, I had to convey this to the waiter, who then introduced me to the head chef. He was from Mozambique, and had been exclusively preparing sashimi for 18 years. Inticed to move from Japanese restaurants in Lisbon, he came to this coastal town several years ago to what I understand was a happy decision.

It's rare that you are emotionally moved by the food you are served, but this was one of those exceptional moments. Marco, the head chef, came and joined us at the table for a carafe of sake he proffered at around midnight after I'd made my appreciation of his craft known, along with a few exceptional treats he'd created to share with us, shown in the final photos.

Tomorrow night, he invited us to come for a degustation at 8pm in the kitchen to enjoy the craft he has spent his career refining. I cannot wait to see what he proffers.

Catarina and I discussed what makes such a simple thing as sliced, raw fish exceptional. Part of it is indeed the freshness of the fish being used, and 500m from the shore and the fishing boats is definitely a factor. But for those who revel in this particular fare, you know that it's not just freshness of the fish.

In Busan, Korea, my friends and I would often go to the Gwangan fish market where you'd choose the live fish you'd eat, they'd cut it in front of you, then you'd carry it upstairs for a chef to prepare minutes later for your plate. But it never held a candle to Japanese sushi. This always mystified us.

There's an art in the simple act of cutting. There must be, for we all remarked in Korea of how the sushi, or 'hwe', as it is known there, was not as good as in Japan. But this Mozambique man, in Portugal, has...

If I could give this place no stars I would. Perhaps it is because I have had a lot of sushi in the past and based on the good reviews for this restaurant, my expectations were too high.

It was completely disappointing and not worth a 10th of what was charged.

Overpriced. Poor and slow service. The worst part of all... it was awful sushi. I would be happy to pay the extortionate price for sushi that left me satisfied but I literally went to the Mexican place down the road afterward for a burrito. I left this restaurant hungry and €70 euros poorer.

I ordered the salmon sashimi - I had to ask for wasabi for this as it did not come with the meal? I also ordered both the tuna and salmon tetaki (not properly seared or crusted with sesame - basically still sashimi - and so was not what was advertised), the fish taco starter was very bland and without flavour, the gyoza were too salty and usually you can’t go wrong with gyoza. Chicken skewers were fatty and tough.

I did see some of the more scathing reviews prior to booking but I didn’t heed the advice and the regret this now. Please take my advice and do not go here if you are...

If you’re ever in Peniche and crave sushi, go to Sushi Fish. It was easily the best sushi I’ve ever had outside of Asia.

The taco was delicious and overall extremely well-balanced, and I loved the sashimis and nigiris. However, I feel like I should spend a couple of extra words on their tuna. I don’t usually like raw tuna as where I’m from, most Japanese/sushi places don’t get high-quality tuna, and it tastes so much like iron that it reminds me of the smell old dumbbells leave on your hands if you don’t bring lifting gloves to the gym, which is definitely not what I want in my sushi.

Well, I loved that place for their incredibly fresh fish, amazing tuna, and delicious eel (another sore spot for a lot of restaurants). Service was pretty quick and attentive without being overbearing. The restaurant itself has limited capacity, so booking your table in advance is a winning choice.

Also, this is not an all-you-can-eat place, but we ended up spending €78 in total for everything you see in the pictures + dumplings (not that amazing but good) + two...