Jun Sakamoto restaurant is the highest rated Japanese restaurant in the country currently holding 2 stars from the Guia Quatro Rodas, and probably one of the toughest reservations to get in Sao Paulo. There is a spontaneous tasting menu offered for about $150 dollars available only to 8 people that sit on the small sushi bar and are served by the sushiman himself. The rest of the 36 seats in the restaurant is a la carte only and that is what we ate. This restaurant takes their sushi seriously and it is easy to see, first they have their own house-made Shoyu, which we found slightly sweeter then the store bought and very good. They pickle their ginger and mix wasabi in house. Also, the servers carried palm pilots to take down our orders which were wirelessly transmitted to the kitchen. To drink during the meal, we had their house sake, which was very good quality and cost $10 dollars for a glass.
To start the meal we were served grilled Salmon in a Miso sauce with Nabu salad. the sauce was very nicely balanced and the salmon was amazing quality cooked to a very tender medium rare.
I then ordered probably his most famous creation: the Tuna tartare with foie gras and japanese mustard and wasabi, salmon roe marinated in sake and a gelatinous demi-glace sauce. The foie gras enhanced the fattyness of the tuna and the dish reminded me of O-Toro on steriods, because it had more tuna flavor then O-Toro and just as much fatty flesh. The sauce was slightly sweet and very pleasent, my only complaint on the entire dish is it was a little one dimensional texturally and I would have enjoyed something other then creamy and gelatinous.
Next, Santa Catarina Oyster platter with ponzu sauce, flying fish and salmon roe. The oysters were very fresh and meaty. The roe went well with the briny oysters.
We then asked our server to bring us 8 of the most unusual sushi that they have, and we were presented with: on the left, Jellyfish and on the right, Shirauo or whitebait. The Jellyfish was slightly sweet and chewy with something that looked like seeds that added some crunch. The Shirauo was melt-in-the-mouth texture but a bit bland overall.
The other four were: on the left, Eel and on the right, Shark fin. I've had Eel before but this one was by far the best I've ever had. It was extremely meaty and lacquered with a glaze that had a faint anise taste and topped with a ground japanese herb. the Shark fin had the texture of gelatinous noodles, we were recommended not to use Shoyu on it to enjoy its natural taste which was mild.
I liked the combination of Tuna and Foie Gras so much that I decided to order some more of it, this time in a sushi form. from left to right: Tuna and Foie Gras sushi x2, Salmon roe, and Octopus. the Tuna and Foie Gras sushi is probably one of the best mouthfuls of food I've ever had!
The picture below shows how the sushiman snuck the foie gras under the slab of tuna:
Next, I ordered a Scallop and Shrimp fried roll with Port-ginger reduction. The rolls were crispy and served warm but I found it pretty average and unremarkable.
A Great dessert: Grilled Mango with Mint sauce and Lychee ice cream. the Mango was perfectly ripe and served warm and the Lychee ice cream was fruity and refreshing.
Jun Sakamoto Restaurant
R. Lisboa, 55 (Pinheiros)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
(11) 3088-6019
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