Different from New York, Los Angeles or some other megacities outside of Japan, Paris has never been the best place to have top-notch sushi. Here, you will find plenty of unimaginative sushi belt restaurants or takeaways, but usually, their quality is poor and they have little in common with Japan. The mediocre sushi trend has been slowly reversing though, and not only thanks to such traditional Japanese cuisine veterans as my favourite, Takara. With his first international venture called Jin (6 Rue de la Sourdière, 75001 Paris, tel. +33 1 42 61 60 71), chef and Sapporo native Takuya Watanabe replicates the type of high end sushi shop you will find in Japan. Omakase is served from behind a minimalist counter, all designed by Paris based architect Jun Yonekawa.
Fish quality at Jin is stellar, I must say. Apart from the yellowtail, which is imported from Japan, all the rest of the fish is sourced locally. Rice is where usually Edomae sushi chefs can really leave their footprint. Chef’s Taku rice is quite distinctive, much more vinegared and salty than one might expect.
Here was the omakase served for lunch…
