temakinho {brazilian sushi in rome}

Did you know that Brazilian sushi was a thing? Well, I didn’t. And even if I did, I certainly didn’t expect to run into it in Rome.

As it turns out the biggest population of Japanese living outside of Japan happen to be in Brazil. The first Japanese arrived in 1900, in search of fortune. This picked up after WWII, when many Japanese families looking to emigrate from war ravaged Japan, landed in Brazil after the borders of North America were closed to them. Today, after about a century, over a million and a half people of Japanese descent live in Brazil.

In recent years as Sushi seems to have conquered the world, it’s natural that a kind of Brazilian flavored sushi would happen.

Temakinho is a sort of Italian child of this strange marriage. Taking the ideas of fresh fish and local ingredients, this restaurant offers sushi with things like porcini mushrooms , branzino and olive oil that find their way into flavorful and fresh temaki and rolls. With, of course, pineapple wallpaper and samba music playing in the background. The owners already have two incredibly successful restaurants in Milan, so this is their third to open in Italy

Temakinho translates roughly as small temaki, or hand roll. And this is what the restaurant claims as their namesake specialty. This cone shaped hand roll is filled with rice and toppings and is filling enough for a meal. Delicious, but not so easy to eat easily or daintily (at least in my opinion) and impossible to share. The two times I went last week I opted instead to order rolls, which not only come brilliantly displayed, but are easy to split with the table and so enable you to order a few different kinds to share. In addition to the rolls and temaki there is also tartare and ceviche.

I went twice last week, once for lunch and once for dinner. Everything we had was perfect, fresh and delicious. I also loved the fact that not everything was available, which meant that the fish was indeed as fresh as it seemed. The rolls were all freshly made, so that the nori was still very crisp, and the rice still slightly warm. The tartare which we ordered, made from sea scallops atop a bed of perfectly ripe avocado, was sublime. I also loved the rolls we ordered made with porcini mushrooms and peanuts. I know it sounds weird, but it really worked.

The service is cheerful and helpful, and they also have the cutest little chopstick thingies. If you can’t decide what to order, just ask for help. In Italian, English or Portuguese. 

Did I mention that they have caprinhinas? In different fruity variations, we went for the traditional and it was sinfully good. Made with high quality cachaça and  fresh limes, they are muddled to order and go down pretty easily.

And cake. They have cake. Cheese cakes topped with exotic fruit, and old fashioned chocolate coconut layer cake. With thick, rich white frosting.

Sushi + Cocktails + Cake. What more could you want?

Temakinho
Via dei Serpenti 16
They only accept reservations online 

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