Delhi’s First Sake Bar Is A Microcosm Of Japanese Culture

When you think of Japanese cuisine, one often pictures a steaming bowl of cooked noodles floating in a delicious broth, topped with dried seaweed, or a combination of vinegar-dressed cold rice and raw fish wrapped, yet again, in seaweed. The last few years have witnessed a number of international cuisines penetrating our urban landscapes; Japanese being one of them. This cultural exchange combined with our national capital’s boisterous (and slightly performative, if you ask me) love for everything food related has ensured constant innovation and experimentation. Whether it’s Delhi’s one-of-a-kind Sushi Food Truck or tasting delicious Hawaiian delicacies at a poke bar, the city is ripe with food lovers always in search of other food enthusiasts.

A few months ago, Yuzu Sake Bar and Kitchen entered this city-wide culinary extravaganza by offering a variety of options for its local foodies, especially the sake lovers in town.

With almost 25 different sakes on its menus, Yuzu’s strictly Japanese ethos is reflected in not just its cuisine but its interiors as well. For those of you who don’t know, ‘sake’ is an authentic alcoholic drink made from fermented rice and is often referred to as ‘nihonshu’ in Japanese.

With a giant neon signboard saying ‘Drink Sake, Stay Soba’ hanging on its wall, the painting of a modern-day geisha (obviously) right next to it, and a ton of sake bottles blending in with the dark walls of the open bar, Yuzu is much bigger than a traditional Japanese sake bar. But maybe that’s exactly what we need to get that wholesome Japanese experience without having to give up on our Indian comforts.

Served in some of the most arresting ceramic crockery sourced from Guangzhou in China, Yuzu’s food is most definitely a notch above the existing Japanese cuisine standards of the city. And its food menu is designed to entice your taste buds. Apart from the good ‘ol ramen dishes, there’s a variety of traditional Japanese style burgers eaten without a bun—called Hambagu, along with a plethora of other rice and noodle preparations. Yakitori, which is chicken cooked over a charcoal fire, pretty much steals the show for all the nuanced flavours that burst in your mouth the minute you bite into it.

Probably the city’s first sake bar to have opened up in the bustling neighbourhood of Nehru place, Yuzu, we’d say, is a microcosm of Japanese culture; a short escapade aided by some pretty impressive food and an interesting collection of sakes to go with it.

Address: Upper Ground Floor, Epicuria Food Mall, Nehru Place Metro Station, Nehru Place, New Delhi

Price: ₹1,000 for two people (approx.) with alcohol.

Featured image courtesy of Chromed Design Studio.

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