SUTO (*) – Barcelona, Spain

For the second meal of my Spain trip, and the first in Barcelona, I had lunch at SUTO, a (nominally) sushi omakase restaurant that opened in 2019 in a former bar by chef Yoshikazu Suto. After having had a tough time of it over the COVID years, SUTO came out the other end relatively unscathed, and as of 2024 sports a Michelin star.

The restaurant is typical for sushi omakases, in that there is a wrap-around counter that serves up to seven guests (which was the capacity for the lunch service that I attended), but it also has a couple of tables next to the counter, no doubt as a means to fill up the additional space.

I used the word "nominally" at the beginning of this review, because I found the nigiri sequence to be largely disappointing. While the produce was generally of a good quality (almost all of the fish and seafood was from Spanish shores, with a couple of exceptions, such as the caviar coming from a German producer), with the otoro in particular being a nice cut that always makes for a good nigiri, there wasn't much in the way of finesse to the sushi; soy sauce was left to the customer to apply, and there was no variation in terms of shari, or flavour profiles in general; further, the structural integrity was inconsistent.

The flip side of the coin is that the non-sushi dishes and most of the desserts were exceptional. This is perhaps owing to the chef's training in a French kitchen, as the saucing at SUTO stands up there with Albatross Death Cult (UK) as the best I've had this year; Exceptional saucing in the most unlikely of places! The sauces all ran acidic, due to the use of ponzu (such as in the velvety smooth, creamy tomato and tofu dish), sake (which was used in the beurre blanc that accompanied the grouper), and other citruses (such as the bright pop that lay in the broth that the delectable udon were nestled on top of). On top of the sauce-heavy dishes, the sirloin was ever-so succulent, and the desserts were refreshing and fun, the first being kakigōri, where shaved ice (made in front of us via a hand-worked ice shaver) lay atop raspberries, and Hojicha was poured over the ice to infuse it with flavour. The matcha love heart to end the meal was bursting with flavour; a fun and quirky end to proceedings.

After the nigiri sequence, I was struggling to see how SUTO had been awarded a star. Then the other dishes came out, and it started to make sense. Your mileage for SUTO will vary depending on what you want out of it. I wouldn't recommend it if you hold that – like myself – nigiri is the highlight of any meal. But if you aren't so exacting over this, and like to see some French influence in a Japanese setting, then I am sure you'll be very satisfied with the rest of the menu.

Courses:

1. Temaki of Tuna belly and caviar
2. Mackerel Nanbanzuke
3. Nigiri Sequence: Sea bream, Red mullet, Red prawn, Squid, Salmon, Ikura Gunkan, Otoro
4. Bonito Tataki
5. Scallop sashimi with spinach and Yuzu Sauce
6. Octopus Gyoza with head prawn sauce
7. Tempura oyster with kimchi mayo
8. Low temperature Grouper fish butter and soy sauce
9. Meat Sequence: Foie gras with Miso, A5 Wagyu Nigiri, Sirloin steak with sansho
10. Sukiyaki Udon with Mentaiko
11. Hojicha and ginger Kakigori
12. “Japanese Flag”
13. Green tea matcha with love

Note: not all courses pictured; I tend not to take as many pictures at sushi omakase, especially during the nigiri sequence.