On Friday 11 June, Temaki will launch on Brixton Market Row, with a menu that focuses on its Japanese namesake - Te (hand), Maki (roll).
Set in the heart of Brixton’s buzzing market, the menu will be overseen by Executive Chef and Japanese rice specialist, Shaulan Steenson, with his meticulously prepared golden Uruchimai rice at the core of each handroll, taken from Chef Shaulan’s years of experience at Japan’s most revered sushi institutes.
The lively, intimate handroll bar will feature paired-back oak interiors and industrial concrete flooring focused around a central communal counter, with nothing to divide the chefs and their guests.
The chefs will wrap fresh cuts of the finest sushi grade fish - from ’O Toro’ fatty tuna to ‘Unagi’ eel and marinated salmon - in Shaulan’s signature rice and a crisp piece of seaweed, handing it directly to guests across the counter so the spectacle of the chef’s work can take centre stage.
Alongside Temaki’s signature selection of traditional handroll combinations, including White and brown crabmeat, egg yolk and white soy; Tuna, fresh wasabi and Nikiri soy; and ‘Unagi’ eel, with its own sauce, cucumber, wasabi; the menu will also feature a regularly rotating seasonal special.
A modern interpretation of a traditional handroll bar, the menu will also offer a concise selection of small plates to accompany the Temaki, such as Toro sashimi with smoked salt and buckwheat and Salmon skin crisps with chilli and salt, the perfect accompaniment to a few cocktails at the counter bar.
At the heart of TemakiI’s handroll menu is its specially prepared Uruchimai rice recipe, Shaulan’s closely guarded secret developed during his time at Tokyo sushi mecca’s Hakkoku and Sushijin; alongside his recent work at both of London’s only Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants.
The Uruchimai rice is traditionally made with a hangiri, a round, flat-bottomed wooden tub - and a shamoji, a paddle to mix the rice with vinegar, sugar and salt to achieve just the right potency.
Mixing the vinegar into the rice is no simple task; the exact technical mixing procedures, alongside the correct proportions and the precise exposure of rice to vinegar is crucial to get the combined mixture just right, allowing Temaki’s rice to live up to Japanese standards.
Temaki will use a blend of Akazu, Japanese red vinegar, giving each grain that beautiful golden shine and deeply aromatic flavour, complimenting its superior quality cuts of fish.
The food will be accompanied by a range of Wine, Sake and Japanese beers, alongside a short menu of expertly prepared bottled cocktails by Karol Bobinski of Fire Water Workshop, specifically crafted for Temaki with Japanese flavour twists on the classic serves.
Temaki’s indoor seating will spill out onto Brixton Village’s vibrant market, offering covered outdoor seating, casual drinking and dining and the occasional live DJ.
Founder A.M. Dupee said, “We are tremendously excited to be bringing London’s first Handroll Bar to Brixton Village. Temaki is all about great food in a fun and communal atmosphere, which is why we knew Brixton would be the perfect place to launch.'
Temaki will be mostly walk-ins, with a small number of seats available for reservations.
