These guys became famous for putting a nigiri lid on the cane and today they can't fit a pin at the bar

Nakeima started as a sushi and beer mug bar at number 54 Meléndez Valdez Street, in Argüelles. With a very neighborhood style and, in some way, paying homage to one of the original bars that was originally there, Los Cachorros, where many university students who played rugby in the Complutense went.. But they quickly realized that this could go much further..

Building a reputation by twisting their beloved Asian cuisine, with simple techniques, crazy sauces and a lot of ingenuity, they are now celebrating a decade, without losing the essence of that first establishment, opened on October 10, 2013. And highlighting one of its hallmarks: the queue that everyone must religiously queue to be able to eat there..

Gonzalo García and Luis Gómez-Bua, chef and manager respectively, are responsible. They are in an excellent moment. Showing off a lot of humor, hospitality wisdom and a casual philosophy, which makes them one of the great icons of good eating in Madrid.. Without losing sight of the moderate prices, the risk in the recipe book and a tremendous interest in continuing to evolve daily, changing dishes, formulas and dumplings, with which they experiment whenever they can..

The beginning

“At first people came, they had a beer and we put a nigiri on top,” says Luis, leaning on the bar.. “When we opened, there were three of us. Roberto [Martínez], who is now in Tripea and the two of us”. Gonzalo and Roberto came from working together at Nikkei 225, the restaurant that was beginning, with the help of Luis Arevalo, to break the mold with its vibrant vision of Peruvian and Japanese cuisine.. “It should be noted that we were in 2013, a time when the economy was not very good,” Gómez-Bua recalls of those years. “Our friends looked at us as if we were lunatics.”. And I have always thought the other way around, when it seems like nothing is moving, it is just the moment where the opportunity arises.”.

The success of the proposal came a couple of months later, when they appeared in the Leisure Guide. “That week was crazy.. We had to start closing after each service because we didn't have time to set up the tables for the next one,” says Gonzalo.. His first dishes were simple recipes, but very well executed.. “We made a spring roll, because in the end this is still basic Chinese. But we did it all in the day. We added vegetables, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, and bean sprouts. Which should have a good vibe.”

And they quickly had to decide how to organize the space inside. They didn't like the idea of reservations and decided to make people wait. They soon gathered beyond the official seats. So they decided to deliver some numbers half an hour before opening. At 1:30 p.m. for lunch and at 8:30 p.m. for dinner. “There are 17 officers, but sometimes 20 come in. It depends on how the number of diners per table fits,” reveals Luis.

Dumplings, lampreys and pig ears

Their dumplings also began to become popular, with more traditional flavors and nods to the less well-off East.. “At first we made sushi and our martianadas. And in the end people always came to try the latter,” the chef continues explaining.. They had a maki called Your way, emulating the hamburger they made at Burger King, Do it your way, where you could choose the ingredients you wanted..

Or a ramen broth with Galician cacheira; but then crazier dishes arrived, like his fried ear smothered over mashed potatoes.. “That was a great dish.”. Suddenly everyone started asking for ears only.. And, of course, there are not ears for all the restaurants in Spain. So there came a time when we stopped doing it.”.

As a Galician, what impressed Luis was the lamprey they made: “We have made it in many different ways. As a sausage, included in a Japanese chirashi or grilled in a four-handed with Tricycle”. Among the iconic dishes that in some way are also part of the history of Nakeima, is an aspic that they made with the marrow of the tuna and to which they added barnacles.. Old and innovative recipe book.

“That was a long time ago. Now you can see it in other restaurants, but we did it long before. The gelatin looked like a breast implant, something like that was a little cloudy.. And then the texture is like a jelly, but resistant, with a sea flavor, but not too aggressive either,” Gonzalo describes.. “There are still people who come today and say, 'if you have bone marrow, don't put it in me.'. It is a dish that has marked people, not for the better, but it defines what we do.”. And laughs out loud.

Tribute to 10 years

“Practically, we add dishes every week,” admits Gonzalo, who never stops in the kitchen, imprinting his personality on more or less known formulas.. If you go now you can also find a look back at his work in this decade. “We want to recover dishes from these ten years and mix them with new ones. Right now we are making the shrimp cocktail, a shrimp wonton, on the one hand, and then a sauce boat, as small as silver, which I love. A roll like that like French, a little old,” says Gonzalo. The result is like a shrimp cocktail but in two passes. On the one hand, the shrimp wonton and, on the other, the sauce boat with a red shrimp tartar and pink sauce.

There is also their legendary trotters carpaccio. “We cook the trotters, we bone them, we make a roll and we cut it thin. It is a recipe that Roberto learned at the Celler de Can Roca. He told us about it and we thought it could be a good idea to make a version”. In that menu, which one can season to their liking, there is a pilpil of enokis, nigiris of shrimp and Iberians, a tataki of low loin of Galician blonde, a temaki of razor clams, a classic siumai, takoyaki of grilled ear, ravioli of brie, a pork dumpling with five spices…

“Then we have the chicken with almonds, that is very fun too, which are some almonds. We make it in the ocoo, a Korean pot. It's almost a spoon plate. There is also our veal with peppers, which has veal tongue and green pepper,” he reveals while confessing that “probably next week they will have changed half of the dishes.”.

Haranita, his other right eye

In addition to Nakeima, this year they decided to open another space. On Victor Hugo Street, very close to number eight Gran Vía. There, in a two-story space, with a large open kitchen, they have moved some classics and have launched different baos, for example with chicken and carabineros..

“And there's our tripe salad, which was part of Nakeima's early years. Also a cochifrito, which is our version of sweet and sour pork,” the two explain.. Their cuisine, that of Haranita and Nakeima, is committed to very defined flavors within the spectrum of what oriental cuisine is.. No flavors that stand out in a crazy way.. Gonzalo, as the chef who from the beginning was leading the way, and Luis, as the one who is defining the lines of the business and ensuring that it is sustainable and does not get out of hand, are clear that they are experiencing one of their best moments. Enjoying what they do and being clear that their vision of Asian gastronomy is infinite..

“I think that adding many ingredients in the end saturates what you want to tell,” Gonzalo clarifies.. “We make much smaller dishes, which are practically one or two bites. “We like balance and more subtle flavors, not as pronounced as the cuisine you can find in Southeast Asia.”. An essence and a flavor of which they are the best representatives.