The space in the corner of Drottninggatan and Tegnérgatan has seen many owners come and go over the years, and the newest kid on the block is Hattori Sushi Devil.
A Japanese restaurant that has changed the menu but kept the Stringberg-themed décor of the former tenant, creating a somewhat confusing interior design experience for the guests. Entering this small, narrow venue doubling as a cocktail bar is not a totally pleasant experience: first, we’re seated in a high table with a bar stool and a sofa that lacks a foot rest, leaving your feet dangling in the air as if you were a two-year-old at the back seat of the bus. Then, it takes a good ten minutes before anyone shows up with a menu – during which we listen to hopelessly loud and repetitive dance music that does the atmosphere no favours. The evening takes a turn to the better when some compassionate soul chooses a new Spotify list and brings in the menu cards.
Hattori Sushi Devil strives to be a luxury Japanese, serving the sushi most Swedes are familiar with but also, more interestingly, introducing new tastes. There are around 20 different types of fish on offer, and everything is cut freshly as the orders come in. Besides sushi and sashimi, the menu contains maki rolls with surprising flavours (the modern furui gakko, for instance, consists of salmon, avocado, red onion, cucumber, seared salmon, chili mayonnaise and barbecue sauce), warm main courses and Japanese tapas, izakaya. Prices start from 140 kronor for the rolls, 110 for the sushi plates and 185 for the mains.
We start off by ordering two smaller dishes, the kinkoko muusu – scallops with truffle mousseline on a tempura fried nori leaf with truffle, yuzu and roe (105 kronor) and gyuu tataki – thin slices of marinated beef with sesame, chili, garlic and bonito flakes (125 kronor). As the bar has a nice selection of Japanese beer rarely on offer in Swedish restaurants, we order a Hitachino Nest ginger ale and a white ale with tones of coriander from the Kiuchi brewery. Both dishes are excellent, but the scallops, with their surprising flavours and the crispy nori leaf, are especially memorable.
The restaurant’s maki rolls are highly recommended. They’re ideal to share, as are most dishes on the menu. Following the waiter’s suggestion, we go with hotto maguru – a tempura fried roll with marinated tuna, jalapeno pickles, red onion, avocado and coriander, with chili mayo on the side (160 kronor). It’s a hot, heavenly dish that disappears from the stone tray within minutes. We also order eight pieces of the more traditional nigiri sushi (130 kronor), which leave no room for complaint either. We especially like how small the pieces are; none of that hassle of trying to swallow a chunk of rice the size of a golf ball.
For dessert, the restaurant offers four dishes – all old favourites but with a new, Asian twist. We go for the crème brûlée with green tea, orange and vanilla (85 kronor) and a chocolate truffle with chili, ginger, whiskey and sea salt. Both are nice enough – we especially like the spicy truffle – but the more imaginative main courses and starters are definitely the restaurant’s forte. Stick with them and you’ll get an unusually good meal – for an unusually reasonable price.
Elna Nykänen Andersson
