The Japanese food recommended by the Japanese: “For someone who has lived in Japan, you recognize the flavors.”
An expert in Japanese gastronomy points to a historic restaurant in Madrid when asked where to eat authentic Japanese food in Spain.
The TikTok account @semeantoja1906 posed precisely that question in one of its latest videos: "Where can you find good Japanese food in Spain?" A seemingly simple question that causes a few seconds of hesitation before a specific name appears.
"For example, in Madrid, for something very traditional, you can go to Naomi, which was one of the first to open in Madrid," he replies.
It refers to Masa Naomi Japanese Restaurant, located at 14 Ávila Street in Madrid's Tetuán district. And calling it one of the pioneers is an understatement: Madrid's official tourism website presents it as the oldest Japanese restaurant in the capital, dating its opening to 1974. "It's family-run, and it's homemade food," they explain in the video.
"You recognize the flavors"
But what really seems to set Naomi apart, according to the recommendation, is an authenticity that is especially recognizable to those who have spent time in Japan.
"It's like when you go to Japan and go to a tavern," he points out before dwelling precisely on that feeling: "It's that part of authenticity that, for someone who has lived in Japan, you recognize the flavors."
The description matches that of the establishment itself, which defines the place as a small restaurant with the atmosphere of Tokyo eateries, with a sushi bar, sliding wooden doors and the possibility of sitting at low tables on tatami.
Madrid Tourism also highlights its commitment to traditional Japanese cuisine and its atmosphere, similar to that of Japanese eateries.
The question in the video actually went a step further than simply finding a good-looking Japanese restaurant. The intention was to discover "where a Japanese person would go to eat Japanese food" in Spain.
And that's where the answer becomes considerably more complicated. During the conversation, the memory of Mikado, another of Madrid's historic Japanese restaurants, also comes up, although it's noted that that establishment has since closed and the premises have since changed their concept.
Among the current options, however, the first name that comes to mind is Naomi. A restaurant without any frills, open since 1974, whose main virtue, as explained in the video, is much simpler: allowing someone who has lived in Japan to taste their food and recognize those flavors.