Subenshi Sushi

Today I'm going to talk about one of the best sushi restaurants in Portugal, the best sushi I've ever eaten in my entire life.

If you are in Porto or Aveiro, you can't help but going to the famous, legendary, one and only SUBENSHI.

I went to Aveiro with some friends of mine for a special occasion; we decided to go all the way to the city as I was in complete abstinence from sushi and in Coimbra there are no good Japanese restaurants. I was craving so much for sushi that we drove all the way to Aveido, but for Subenshi... this and more!

You can find the restaurant both in Porto and in Aveiro; this latter is in Rua Carlos Aleluia, very near to Forum Aveiro and to the famous Laços de Amizade bridge. You can walk there as it is in the city centre, while if you drive there, you can park not far from the restaurant, in a big underground parking.

From the outside the place is a little bit anonymous, let's say that you'd never guess that inside there's one of the best sushi restaurants in Portugal. Indoor, the place is quite classy and modern, but in my opinion, the best thing is the restroom.

The walls are decorated with colourful Japan-themed prints and you can hear zen music which creates a relaxed atmosphere. In each toilet there are fresh-cut, fragrant flowers along with miniature zen gardens - it's almost like being in a spa!

The restaurant's special features are undoubtedly the giant aquarium, which occupies an entire wall and contains dozens of different species of brightly-coloured fishes; the secret is not to look at the fishes while you're eating sushi or the feeling you'll experience will not be pleasant at all, however excellent the food may be.

The table setting is so pretty I couldn't help but capture it.

The food menu is rich and offers both traditional sushi and fusion one, which is more unusual and tasty.

Being celiac I could only try the traditional ones and I ended really happy with it. Although traditional, they put ginger or guacamole on top of each piece. They brought us sushi with salmon, tuna, swordfish and shrimps. Their strength is the freshness of the fish which you can taste at every single bite. Being so fresh is, therefore, safe and very tasty.

As it was a special occasion we also ordered a delicious red fruit sangria made of blackberries, raspberries and cranberries.

Concerning the gluten-free issue, they are fully prepared: they ensure the absence of any possible cross-contamination, as they have different work flows for the two types of sushi. Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised by the presence of the gluten-free soy sauce at the table, something I still struggle to find here in Italy.

On the menu you can find the allergens which, in my opinion, stands for great attention and professionalism.

The only flaw? The price. Unfortunately, it's not an all you can eat restaurant, so the prices are very high, but if you go in a group, you definitely won't pay more than 20-25 euros per head; my friends and I were 5 and we paid 100 euros in total.

If you decide to go, I suggest to call and reserve a table. Being a popular restaurant, it is very crowded and you risk waiting between 30 - 60 minutes.

Konichiwa!