Sushi bar · twelve seats at the bar
One piece
at a time.
A sushi bar with twelve seats at a hinoki wood counter. Chef Kenji makes every piece before your eyes, with fish that came in that morning, and places it in front of you. You eat it straight away.
On the wall today
- Madaisea bream
- Hirameturbot
- Sabamackerel
- Iwashisardine
- Akamituna, loin
- Chutorotuna, belly
An evening at the bar
Fifteen courses in five parts. Each grain is one course.
-
I
Otsumami
small dishes to start
Clear dashi with this season’s young vegetables, three slices of sashimi, something from the charcoal and a soft egg custard.
-
II
White and silver
the light fish first
Sea bream, turbot, mackerel and sardine. Fresh, salty and sour: that wakes up your palate.
-
III
Red
from lean to rich
Three pieces of bluefin tuna: the loin, the belly and a piece Kenji briefly sears.
-
IV
Shell and roe
soft and briny
Scallop from the charcoal and salmon roe steeped in dashi, in a band of nori.
-
V
To finish
miso and egg
Miso soup with small clams and tamago, the sweet omelette that tells you a sushi chef’s skill.
Omakase €85 per coversake pairing €39tea pairing €29How the omakase works
Arrived this morning
The fish changes every day. If the mackerel is gone, there will be something else tomorrow. This was on the board this morning.
- Madaisea breamLine-caught, BrittanyAged on the bone for three days
- HirameturbotUrk fish auction, MondayA night between kombu
- SabamackerelScheveningen fish auctionSalted, twenty minutes in rice vinegar
- IwashisardineBrittanyWith grated ginger and chives
- Akamituna, loinBluefin, line-caught southern SpainBriefly marinated in soy
- Chutorotuna, bellyThe same fishServed at room temperature
- HotatescallopNorway, hand-divedBriefly seared over charcoal
- Ikurasalmon roeAlaskaA night in dashi and sake
“Everyone looks at the fish. I look at the rice.”
Kenji learned the craft over ten years in Osaka. For the first three years he was only allowed to wash, cook and cool the rice. Now he cooks two pans himself every afternoon: one for each sitting, so the rice never gets too cold.
He seasons the rice with akazu, a red vinegar made from sake lees. That makes his rice light brown and rounder in flavour, as it used to be in Tokyo.
More about Kenji and the barHow you can eat at Kawa
House rules of the bar
A bar with twelve seats only works if everyone sees it that way. These are our house rules.
- Sittings
Wed to Sat at 18:00 and at 20:30. The first course is served to everyone at once.
- Deposit
€25 per person when you book. That amount comes off your bill later. Cancel free of charge up to 72 hours ahead.
- The fifteen minutes
Be there at ten to six or ten past eight. We wait fifteen minutes, then you join at whatever course the others are on.
- Allergies
Let us know two days ahead. Then Kenji can really adapt the menu, not just leave something out.
- Perfume
Preferably not, or very light. At a bar for twelve you smell each other, and the fish too.
- Groups
More than four? Give us a call. On Sundays you can hire the whole bar, for eight or more.
Or call Loes:06 12345678
Tuesday to Saturday from 14:00