Kokka: Nikkei initiation

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We Catalan gourmands are in luck. There is a constant stream of new venues, each with different food and a different way of eating it! Some focus on the place, others on the beverages, others on tapas, etc., in almost infinite combinations. These combinations are not always faithful to the strictest “gourmandise”, because, of course, some follow the commercially-geared “business is business” model with the sole goal of attracting clients.

Today’s venue, Kokka – owned by the San Telmo group – is a place of gastronomic initiation, specifically initiation into the Nikkei genre. Nikkei is the name for emigrants from Japan and their children. One of the most culinarily prolific Japanese emigrant communities is in Peru, and this is why the Nikkei we are most familiar with, and which Kokka clearly purveys, is Japanese-Peruvian fusion.

It’s a curious little place open exclusively at night and located in the heart of the Raval on the ground floor of Caqui, an interesting bar serving little dishes also owned by the same group. It’s tiny – barely 25 diners fit in – and its Japanese-Peruvian decor is sure to draw your attention. Small tables, no tablecloths, a bit crowded together. The service is so minimum that it is provided by a single person – take note of their pisco sours, the Peruvian cocktail based on distilled grapes and egg white, they’re divine! The kitchen, which is visible behind a small bar, is also manned by a single person. In this respect, it’s all very intimate.

Kokka has a menu with all the categories you’d expect to see in a Nikkei restaurant: causas (yellow potato paste with ají pepper), salads, gyozas and steamed buns, ceviche, tiraditos, maki and nigiri. To fill our bellies, we begin with a good “Nikkei oyster” with yuzu vinaigrette, and three “Assorted causas”, made of chicken, tuna and salmon, respectively, which were extremely pleasing to the eye. Check out the photo; they’re plated as if they were maki.

Nikkei oyster

We continued with “Prawn gyozas”, which were beautifully served, and with an assortment of the all the delightful varieties of ceviche on the menu. After that, “Tuna tataki” and “Salmon maki”, both quite good, give way to the last and best dish: “Pancetta steamed bun”: delicious! We almost order seconds. We sample many dishes, but in small quantities, so we also tried the desserts, which are curious. Both the “Moscovado” and especially the “Pisco sour with passion fruit” make a beautiful ending to our Nikkei experience.

Prawn gyoza

Mixed green ceviche

Tuna tataki

Pancetta steamed bun

Diners flock here, so they must like it. Not everything is a matter of texture and precise flavour. So the conclusion we reach if we pay attention to the “business is business” model is that Kokka works. The Nikkei genre is awesome, and we discovered that Kokka is, too.