Japanese restaurant Kappo, led by chef Tiago Penão and awarded both a Michelin star and a Repsol Sun this year, has unveiled its new offering for the colder months. Known for its counter-side omakase experience, the restaurant is serving a culinary journey with seasonality and comfort at its core.
As the temperature drops, the menu takes its cue from the precision and fleeting nature of the seasons. ‘We create four menus a year. Within each season, certain ingredients have their own micro-seasons, meaning they are only available for two or three weeks, or perhaps a month, and we wanted to capture what makes them unique,’ Tiago Penão tells Time Out.
Rita ChantreMonaka do Kappo
For the colder months, the chef has chosen earthy, comforting flavours, using ingredients such as persimmon, chestnuts, mushrooms and root vegetables. Fish and seafood from the Portuguese coast sit alongside produce from Japan, including matsutake mushrooms. ‘These are winter flavours,’ he adds.
The menu brings together the sensitivity of Japanese techniques and a range of ingredients from the Portuguese coast. Highlights include an owan – a clear broth – with turnip tofu and lobster, as well as a reimagined sukiyaki made with wagyu beef and Alba white truffle.
Rita ChantreTiago Penão do Kappo
Towards the end of the meal – the shokuji course – the spotlight turns to kamameshi, a rice dish cooked in a donabe: ‘In this case, we’ll prepare it with brown crab from Cascais and sea urchin.’
The experience also includes a monaka – a crisp wafer made from the glutinous rice used for mochi – filled with sea urchin, caviar and crème fraîche. Time Out tried it, and it left us eager to taste the rest of the menu. The meal ends with a chestnut Mont Blanc served with Muscat grapes and sencha tea.
Winter is coming. And we’re ready.
Avenida Emídio Navarro, 23 A (Cascais). Tue–Sat 6.30pm–midnight
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Dining and Cooking