An interesting Japanese fine dining restaurant near Turin

For nearly four years, until early 2024, Alessandro Daddea led the kitchen at Kensho, one of Turin’s top Japanese restaurants. Now, he has taken over as head chef at Perla Sushi Bistrot in Vinovo, a town located just outside Turin. "When Christian Mandura contacted me with this new adventure, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I was working at Rocca di Arignano with Ugo Alciati, but the call of Japanese cuisine, my great passion, was too strong," explains Daddea. To clarify, Christian Mandura, Michelin-starred chef of Unforgettable, has recently taken on the role of coordinator for several restaurants in a Turin-based group that also owns Capriccioli (a seafood restaurant), Perla Sushi Bistrot, and will soon manage a historic wine shop in the Vanchiglia district.

Fine dining with a Japanese twist

The restaurant, located in Vinovo’s central square, has a very discreet exterior, while its interior is elegant and intimate (with only about 30 seats). Until now, it offered a rather casual Japanese cuisine focusing on rolls. “I want to gradually transition to fine dining and continue the path I started at Kensho, emphasizing high-quality ingredients, preferably of Asian origin, selecting suppliers carefully, and avoiding the so-called Japanese-Californian style, which often uses heavy sauces,” says Alessandro Daddea. The new dining experience begins with a cup of dashi broth, a fundamental element of Japanese cuisine. The first dish is Tropical Hamachi, one of the very few fusion dishes on the menu, as the chef prefers to focus on classic Japanese cuisine. It’s a yellowtail tartare seasoned in ceviche style with passion fruit and dashi sauce, drops of black sesame and soy, topped with frozen coconut and tempura shiso.

Nigiri at the heart of the new menu

One of the key moments of the new menu will be the nigiri tasting (guests can choose the number of pieces), served separately with soy sauce, ginger, and fresh wasabi. The selection starts with Mazara del Vallo red shrimp with Kaluga caviar, followed by shredded squid, marinated mackerel (prepared in the traditional Japanese style), and red tuna with wasabi. "The red tuna is an example of our attention to sourcing quality ingredients: our tuna is massive, up to 300-350 kg, coming from southern Spain," says Daddea, who also pays great attention to the preparation of sauces. At Perla Sushi Bistrot, around fifteen different sauces are made in-house, from yuzu kosho (a fermented paste with green chili and yuzu, ideal with tuna belly) to black garlic sauces and mayonnaise for pairing with rolls and bao. Another interesting dish is the French tuna, a toast topped with red tuna tartare, black garlic mayonnaise, and black truffle flakes, because, as Daddea explains, “The Japanese don’t have white truffles, but black truffle is widely used in their cuisine.”

Maritime Ramen

Another essential classic on the menu is ramen, offered in a maritime version in Vinovo. The house-made tajarin is served with a broth and white fish carpaccio (sea bass), spring onion, wakame seaweed, and a marinated egg that retains its signature creaminess. A final treat is Toro alla brace, a grilled giant red tuna belly marinated in soy sauce and lime juice, then grilled. It’s served with vegetables and soy sauce with yuzu kosho. “For this dish, we choose the belly cut, otoro, which is the fattiest and most prized part near the tuna’s head,” adds Daddea. For now, the wine list features just one type of sake, but the culinary journey will soon be expanded with various kinds of sake, gin, whisky, and Japanese liquors—a delightful addition to the already rich immersion in Japanese culture.