Pop-up restaurant in Beckley

If one thinks of Beckley, near Rye, the first thing to come to mind is certainly not a pop-up Japanese restaurant. Meeting with Yuri Nakata this week makes one understand why it is such a success. She is bright and bubbly and full of enthusiasm for her home country’s cuisine. Yuri loves to travel and to meet with people from countries around the world and share ideas, and most especially her love of Japanese cooking.

She had the idea of opening up her pop-in restaurant in 2017 and began by inviting a few of her close friends to share a table with her and her husband, Andrew, whose expertise is in creating amazing sushi dishes.

The inventor of modern sushi is believed to be Hanaya Yohei, who invented nigiri-zushi, the type of sushi most known today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed vinegared rice, around 1824. It was the first “fast food” of the Edo period.

Japanese cooking can be broken down in to five basic cooking methods. These are “Nama”(cutting), “Niru” (simmering), “Yaku” (grilling), “Musu” (steaming) and “Ageru” (deep-frying).

Yuri and Andrew’s Japanese cuisine evenings are highly sought-after and are lots of fun. It is an intimate occasion with small groups sharing food together expertly cooked by the couple.

This week’s menu is:
Starter
Soya beans
Deep fried tofu
Lotus root

Main
Nigiri sushi Tuna, Salmon, Prawn, Inari (sweet tofu), Teriyaki tuna Gunkan
Octopus and wakame salad
Salmon avocado roll and Sashimi
Cucumber pickles
California maki (crab roll)
Buckwheat noodles with mackerel tempura
Chicken Nanban (deep-fried chicken in sweet tangy sauce)
Daikon pickles
Miso soup

Dessert
Home-made Black sesame ice cream with chocolate miso and miso milk jelly
Green tea

If you want to know more and to book either a meal or take away, visit the website yurispopup.co.uk.

Image Credits: Kt Bruce .