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Pick Up The Fork

A Serious Eater's Guide to Buenos Aires and Beyond

Niji: As Authentic As Japanese Can Get, In Buenos Aires…

Posted on July 10, 2011 32 Comments

With a lack of authentic Japanese restaurants in Buenos Aires, I am happy to add another place to the list.  Thanks to a tip-off from my favorite Treatsy and Lost Asian Buenos Aires food bloggers, I found out about the relatively unknown traditional Japanese spot: a hidden gem on the Belgrano-Nuñez border, where a Japanese mother and daughter duo run an intimate restaurant that is by reservation only.  It’s always a good sign walking into a Japanese restaurant where the majority of the dining clientele are Japanese.  This place is legit.

Located inside a house that has been converted into a restaurant, Niji is much more than just any old sushi place. If you know someone who speaks Japanese (shout out to my best JAP^2 pal), or knows about Japanese cuisine, make sure they come along.  Since most of the menu is in Japanese with some Spanish translations, it’s important to choose your dinner guests wisely for optimal dish ordering. The whole menu is a bit overwhelming as it is printed on massive laminated cards, each card displaying a different course (appetizers, sushi, teppan, bento boxes, etc.). Luckily, for those who are a bit rusty in Kanji, in good ole Denny’s menu fashion there are photos shown of each dish listed.

Like many of my favorite restaurants, it’s ideal to go with a larger group and order many small plates to share. Bad food sharers aren’t invited: since it is tapas style, it wouldn’t make much sense just to order one thing for yourself. So another reason to choose your eating partners wisely, no picky eaters or “I’ll just get my own dish” types are allowed to come. One of my favorite dishes of the night (shown left), a take on octopus-esque salad.  Look at those adorable fresh little critters!  Nicely dressed with just the right amount of acidity, the octopus also had a pleasant texture, and it didn’t feel like I was chewing on a condom (because I love to do that from time to time).

I wanted to break my sharing rule when this sizzling hot pan fried plate of gyoza were dropped off at the table – those little doughy morsels are the absolute shit. Fried in a cast-iron pan and served as the Japanese do, all in one glorious clump from the heavens, these bad boys aimed to please.

Other highlights of the evening included a Japanese salad – a fresh starter with greens and topped with sashimi in a light dressing.

The family jewel of the night: the sushi platter.  Make sure to be clear that you are ALLERGIC to queso crema (cream cheese) or they might bust a big white load on your rolls. While I wish they had a bit more variety of fish on the platter, other than salmon and whitefish, the freshness was quite apparent – it went down like butter, no fishy smell here. It seems a bit silly to comment on sushi rice, as it’s something that is quite standard in making good sushi, but there are so many places in BA that can’t cook rice, so it was a nice surprise to actually eat it when cooked and seasoned perfectly.

For the MEHH dishes – a tofu and green onion sort of soup that came with a nice light soy based sauce, while it wasn’t bad, it didn’t have anything memorable about it.  Next, a small grilled fish plate that was a bit of an afterthought and a low note after the sushi. Perhaps as a starter it would have been better.  Anything will be a hard act to follow after that sushi platter.

Being the only ones in the restaurant, I felt a bit rushed to get out of there.  Ready to eat more, due to lack of customers and a torrential downpour, the kitchen closed early, making the majority of the things on the menu unavailable. So when food isn’t available, drinking comes next.  Yes, that is Sake in a cool futuristic sake pitcher.

Even though the atmosphere was reminiscent of a Northern Wisconsin wooden cabin circa 1989 (No Disneyworld for me, my family used to take jet-setting summer vacations to hotspots like Door County & Eagle River in Wisconsin, the Indiana Dunes and New Mexico’s Anasazi ruins),  the service was quite good and staff was attentive and helpful with the extremely large flash card menu.  Prices are standard for sushi / Japanese in BA – not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive either. It’s a place to go with a group who are looking to satisfy that Japanese craving and in the need of something for a bit more than a California roll and cream cheese with salmon.

Niji
Iberá 2424 (near the Congreso de Tucuman subway stop)
Tel. 4544-1850, by reservation only

 

Author: ForkYou

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Comments

Filed Under: Belgrano, Culinary Tour, Food Porn, PUTF, Raunchy Restaurant Review, Sexy Veggies, Spicy, This Is Why You're Fat Tagged With: Argentina, asian food, Belgrano, best asian food buenos aires, best japanese food buenos aires, best sushi buenos aires, Buenos Aires, japanese food, japanese restaurant in buenos aires, niji, nuñez, restaurant, sushi, sushi in buenos aires

Comments

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    December 17, 2013 at 5:45 pm

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  2. Paula De Caro says

    April 12, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I’ll definitely visit this place!!!! Thanks!!!

    Reply
  3. louisemcarr says

    April 12, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    Thanks for this post. I was clueless about Japanese food in Buenos Aires and this has given me some inspiration

    Reply
  4. Milla Sorel says

    February 1, 2012 at 9:46 am

    Oh! Someone just recommend it above! :D

    Reply
  5. Milla Sorel says

    February 1, 2012 at 9:45 am

    Hi! I love your blog! Want to go everywhere!
    My favourite spot of sushi is in Palermo but the owners are japanese and is no trendy at all, fact that I love.
    Sushi is delicious (rice perfect, fish fresh) and is quite cheap, like 80 por person.
    http://www.palermonline.com.ar/gastronomia/okishima.htm
    Best

    Reply
  6. Ezequiel Davidovich Caballero says

    November 13, 2011 at 9:39 am

    You have to check out Furaibo. Authentic Japanese cuisine including authentic Ramen.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    October 22, 2011 at 3:55 am

    i don’t know the second place you’re referring to in this article, but i highly recommend okishima in palermo soho – the staff is japanese, and the food is quite good, mostly home-style japanese dishes. (i grew up in tokyo and am half-japanese, fyi)

    Reply
  8. Nick says

    August 5, 2011 at 7:35 pm

    Have you ever ate at La Escondida in palermo soho? You seemd to have missed out reviewing that one. All you can eat salad bar for 20 pesos with awesome salad.

    Reply
    • forkyou says

      September 13, 2011 at 10:57 am

      say it aint so, 20 pesos salad bar?! how do i not know about this.

      Reply
  9. Argento Wine says

    August 3, 2011 at 7:26 am

    Yum – the food looks delicious in your photos! Amazing the quality of authentic Asian cuisine you can find in BA these days, as Lisa Goldapple discovered in her recent article for our blog about the underground puerta cerrada supper club scene, including Casa Mun and Cocina Sunae: http://www.therealargentina.com/argentinian-wine-blog/buenos-aires-supper-clubs-go-underground-or-go-home/

    Reply
  10. mary says

    July 18, 2011 at 1:26 am

    i went on Saturday and died from yumminess.

    Reply
  11. DillyDoodle says

    July 14, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for the great recommend, I’m going to suprise my husband and bring him there! Being a California transplant I’m seriously missing good sushi and asian food. Sukiyaki in San Telmo is really good, you can’t beat the $65 peso lunch menu, the great service, and the green tea ice cream that tastes..mmmm… like a bitter pot of tea! Also had some very fresh halibut-type sushi that the sushi chef brought over and they forgot to charge us for (nice to be under-charged for once)!

    Reply
  12. Dan says

    July 14, 2011 at 9:54 am

    Also, I’ve been hearing great things about Sukiyaki in San Telmo for years, no idea why I’ve not been yet….

    Reply
    • Marg says

      July 27, 2011 at 9:49 pm

      Sukiyaki is bizarre, in a way that I enjoyed quite a bit. There aren’t really words to explain it (which is what everyone who goes there says), so it’s a you’ve got to try to it to believe it kind of experience. The food is tasty! If you go with an open mind, I think you’d like it!

      Reply
      • forkyou says

        February 1, 2012 at 9:53 am

        what do you mean by bizarre?

        Reply
  13. Naranjitas says

    July 12, 2011 at 7:32 pm

    Niji has started offering a Lunch menu (every day except Sunday). A pasta or sandwich set is 50ars with coffee, and Japanese lunch box set is 70ars with Japanese tea. In Japan, we have cafes serving good western lunches, and Niji gives us the same experience here in BA…The food was cooked/displayed very nicely, and was very tasty and satisfying! I felt like I was in a good cafe in Japan.

    Reply
    • forkyou says

      September 13, 2011 at 10:56 am

      i’ll have to check out the lunch menu, that’s a really good thing to know!

      Reply
  14. Maria Carra BAFoodie says

    July 11, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    I still can’t forget Kayoko, an authentic Japanese restaurant which shut down a few years ago. I can’t wait to try this one!! Might just be the replacement I am looking for!

    Reply
  15. Dan says

    July 11, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    I think you’re missing at least a couple of authentic Japanese places, though you didn’t specify which two – Yuki, Nihonbashi, Nikkai, Fujisan, Irifune come to mind. But thanks for a new find to check out!

    Reply
    • razalba says

      July 11, 2011 at 6:59 pm

      Yes, perhaps you are right.. I was referring to Yuki (my top choice) and Irifune. I had an awful experience at Fujisan, the cream cheese doused rolls tasted like bathroom cleaner. Nikkai y Nihonbashi are on the list. I’ve also heard great things about a place in Bajo Flores that is supposed to be worth checking out.

      Reply
  16. Anonymous says

    July 10, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    Holla!

    Reply
  17. Ruhtra Razal says

    July 10, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    PS to my last reply on bacon. Forgot to add that I get Applegate brand sin nitrates or nitrites.

    Reply
  18. Katie says

    July 10, 2011 at 11:34 am

    I’m not a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, but I would down those gyoza in two seconds flat. They look amazing in that cast iron pan. Want!

    Reply
    • razalba says

      July 11, 2011 at 6:56 pm

      I have dreams about these gyoza.

      Reply
      • Venhar says

        August 21, 2013 at 12:45 pm

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        Reply
  19. Frances Ren Huang says

    July 10, 2011 at 11:23 am

    chewing on a condom- love it.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Beyond Sushi: A Real Taste of Tokyo in Buenos Aires – Pick Up The Fork says:
    September 25, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    […] NIJI (Iberá 2424) Tel. 11 4544-1850, reservations recommendedWhen the sizzling cast iron skillet of gyozas were placed on the table, I knew Niji would be in for the win. The family cooking team opens up a Nuñez house to a clientele of mostly Japanese businessman where they serve dish after dish of home cooked wonders. The menu is only in Japanese, but that doesn’t matter because there are photos of every dish on the menu, making it easy to order via the point and choose method —  or just creepily gawk over the other diners tables to have what they are having. Sushi is not the specialty, in fact, it’s generally not even offered. Instead, those in the know are ordering bowls of hamaguri (clam) ramen, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and teishoku. […]

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  2. The Slurping Ramen Rundown – Pick Up The Fork says:
    July 13, 2016 at 10:47 am

    […] IZAKAYA NIJI – Iberá 2424, NuñezThe Slurp Ficha: You’ll need a reservation to get into Niji, an izakaya inside a family house turned restaurant that serves all sorts of traditional Japanese wonders. The menu might be in Japanese, but just point to the photos of dishes that look good and all will be right in the world. Why is the ramen so good? The broth, with an intense depth of flavors that goes deeper than the bowl. Niji also makes okonomiyaki, takoyaki, onigiri, teishoku, and arguably the best gyozas in the city, served in a cast iron skillet. Sushi is sometimes available, but you’ll have to order that in advance. The absolute meal of champions: CLAM RAMEN + PORK GYOZAS. (Photo: NIJI) […]

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  3. Lost in Belgrano: Bistro Tokyo | Pick Up The Fork says:
    June 13, 2013 at 9:20 am

    […] up: gyoza starter. After eating this beautiful cast iron skillet version from Niji I had high hopes for BT’s version. A bit disappointing, the 8 gyoza were a little skimpy in […]

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  4. Sushi? Burgers? Oh Me! Oh My! « middway says:
    October 7, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    […] is firstly because I found dreamworthy sushi in Buenos Aires at Niji on Friday night. Don’t worry people, I didn’t eat all of this myself. My eating […]

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  5. Hot Date In Buenos Aires: Perfect Date Spots For Any Occasion | Pick Up The Fork says:
    April 10, 2012 at 12:11 am

    […] appetizer and two mains to share, because sharing food is sexy.  For authentic Japanese lovers, Niji  in Belgrano has all the elements for a perfect date: fresh selection of high quality fish, oddly […]

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  6. Buenos Aires – A retrospective | Eats, treats, and leaves says:
    August 4, 2011 at 6:12 am

    […] but there you go. Another under represented country is Japan with only Yuki passing muster and Niji standing head and shoulders above the rest. We headed down to China town about once a month for a […]

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