Nikkei, a new Montreal restaurant serving Japanese-Peruvian cuisine, opens on the plateau

Nikki, the newest from the Peruvian plateau Barranco restaurant team, is set to transform the dining scene on Laurier Avenue East later this week, with openings on Thursday, June 23.

The restaurant takes its name from a cuisine that fuses Peruvian ingredients, such as aji amarillo pepper, with Japanese preparation techniques – a fusion resulting from Japanese immigration to South America at the end of 19^{The tenth} century.

Executive chef and co-owners Daniel Silva and Michelangelo Miselli (both also from Barranco) top the menu at Nikki, which features an array of tapas-style dishes, such as ceviche in ponzu sauce, filet ménon tataki with togarashi seasoning and tuna tartare dressed in aji amarillo, bright chirashi. With leche de tegre (a spicy and acidic dressing), tonkatsu ribs topped with an adobo sauce traditional from the Arequipa region of Peru.

On the drinks front, there is an array of classics, including pisco and maracuya (passion fruit), as well as more than a dozen original cocktails, many garnished with herbs and flowers grown in the restaurant’s backyard. They are served alongside a variety of natural wines and drinks.

Nikai / supplied

Nikai / supplied

The 1,380-square-foot restaurant can accommodate 70 people, as well as 40 people outside. Formerly inhabited by Café Les Entretiens, a neighborhood staple for 42 years, the space has been renovated by local firm Rebel Design, with plush velvet seating, fish-shaped mosaic tiles, and dark, charcoal-wood countertops made using a Japanese charring technique called sho suji. Ban.

Have a look inside:

Nikai / supplied

Nikai / supplied

Nikai / supplied

Nikai / supplied

The Nikkei Index opens Thursday, June 23, and will operate daily from 4 to 11 p.m. at 1577 Laurier Est.