Whenever we need to decide what to eat, we don’t have to play Cara|Coroa.
The choice is easy: Sushi!
Whether it’s a weekday or weekend. Lunch or dinner. Restaurant or take away. Hot or cold. Sushi is our holy grail.
The proposal of this post e quite simple. We want to show you our favorite sushi restaurant and the one that is the most popular/favorite in the Zomato app in the city of Porto. And also, we decided to subscribe to Zomato Gold, because both of these restaurants (and many more) are in the list.
Our favorite: Kanpai Marina Afurada
Where: Vila Nova de Gaia | Price per person: 15/20 € | Zomato score: 4.3
We have been frequent clients of Kanpai for 4 years now. It is well known in Porto, and has several restaurants in the city. Our ultimate favourite is Kanpai Marina, located in the Douro’s Marina, at Rua da Praia (Vila Nova de Gaia), mainly because of the beautiful view of the marina and the sunset on the Douro River (if you go at dinner time).
If leaving a restaurant still feeling a little hungry terrifies you, then this is the place to go. Here you can literally eat as much as you can and pay a fixed price. This is called “Rodízio” and it is possible to enjoy everyday of the week. At lunch its 16,90 € per person and at dinner is 18,90 € (both don’t include drinks). Friend advice: Book your table in advance (a few hours should do it) by calling them (+351 912 308 494).
The restaurant
The appetizers
The appetizers give the “Rodízio” the perfect touch. Always different, sometimes with gyosas, cheeseballs with mango sauce, and so many others. The temakis… OMG the temakis! If a salmon and philadelphia cheese temaki is your thing, then you and this temaki will be a perfect match. We can guarantee you that! They come with the appetizers, always one per person, with the option to remove the philadelphia if you want.
The main course
Since the time we first visited Kanpai, their plating is always on point. The sushi pieces haven’t changed a lot throughout the years, but the fish is always super fresh and we think it has a great variety of pieces: hot philadelphia, tamagos, dragonfly, salmon sashimi, nigiris and many others (we are no experts, so we don’t know all the names!). Our favourite is always the salmon gunkans (no matter where we eat).
The dessert
We usually don’t order dessert, but now with the Zomato Gold subscription, by ordering one dessert, the second is free. We didn’t stuff our faces as usually with the sushi pieces, so we left some room for a sweet dessert. We ordered a petit gateau with fresh vanilla ice cream and berries topping, and also a green tea and cocoa cheesecake (that we ate so fast we forgot to take a picture). Best-choice-ever!
We left with a full stomach and heart. Kanpai never lets us down! We’ll be back again and again and again (with or without Káká’s bike eheh).
Favorite on Zomato: Subenshi Baixa
Where: Porto | Price per person: 25/40€ | Zomato score: 4.6
Subenshi first opened in the north of Portugal in Aveiro, which is about 45 minutes away by car. We had never been there, but even though being super curious we were always saying “next weekend”. But lucky for us, they opened a new restaurant in Porto! The location is just perfect, right in the heart of the city, next to Piolho at Parada Leitão Square. It is a totally renewed building with three floors. On the ground floor is the bar, on the 1st the main dining area and on the 2nd is a typical japanese restaurant with a beautiful terrace and a great view of the city (which we really want to try next time).
The restaurant
We called to book a table to the 1st floor restaurant (specialized in fusion sushi), which is divided in small rooms with only 4/5 tables per room. This way you feel like you’re at a more private environment. Friendly advice (again): book a table in advance, maybe the day before is the best option (+351964097707). Unlike Kanpai, Subenshi doesn’t have the “Rodízio” all you can eat option, so you pay for all the set of pieces you order. All this with a premium service, and due to the few tables per room, you have a waiter always attentive to your needs. You can also find a device with two buttons, one that asks for the bill and other that calls the waiter to the table, in case you want to order.
The appetizers
For the appetizers we felt like choosing one of each. After a lot of reading and re-reading of the menu we ended up choosing the vegetable gyosas, mochi tempura, tempura shrimp with laminated almonds and salmon temakis (we’re suckers for temakis, as you notice by now). And to drink? an amazing red fruit champanhe. DE-LI-CI-OUS. The best we’ve ever had.
The main course
The main course was the benshi XL with fusion sushi (our favourite, but you can also choose a more traditional sushi). The plating of the sushi was impeccable, you could tell right away the inspiration of the chef with the selection of pieces on the plate: sashimi, cabbage gunkans with black tobikko, hot philadelphia, tamagos, salmon gunkans and many others that we don’t know the names! But it doesn’t matter, every single piece was unique and very different in flavours and textures. It was truly a gastronomic trip to Japan.
The dessert
For dessert we ordered a Benshi Ló (a mini pão de ló (typical portuguese sweet) with mint and apple flavour. The perfect end for a perfect meal.
It was a little expensive, but it is a great choice for a special occasion. We will visit again, no doubt in that!
And you? What is your favourite sushi place? Which one of these two would you like to try the most?
Life is full of choices,
When in doubt, flip a coin.
Cara|Coroa
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