»Some things seem naturally go together; salt and pepper, fish and chips, Morecambe and Wise.

Other pairings aren’t so obvious, but seem to work; chips and mayonnaise, salt and caramel, Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy.

Sushinho’s trademark combol of Japanese and Brazilian cuisine definitely falls in the latter category.

You really wouldn’t put them together – Japanese food tends to be fair and delicate, Brazilian grub often revolves around huge hunks of barbecued meat.

But it’s not as strange as it first appears, partly because Brazil is teeming with Japanese people, more than anywhere outside the mother country, and also because the paring works well.

Sushinho is down New Street, which has seen quite a few new restaurants of late and is becoming a bit of a culinary destination.

An aperitif at the bar is a good idea before you eat; the cocktails are splendid and a cool Brazilian jazz band conjured up a wickedly laid-back mood on our visit.

Share

When it comes the food, it’s a kind of “order lots of dishes and share them” type of place, which suits me fine – although we ended up with rather a lot to eat.

We had some chilli edamame, nice and zingy, but I think I still prefer the salted kind. Then came the excellent sashimi – light and piquant and the rolls; including their signature cream cheese, salmon and crab variety.

The ceviche was also very good – made with coconut milk thus creamier than the traditional Peruvian version – and the incongruous steak tartare (French in my book) was decent, but could have done with a bit more seasoning in the mince.

It was at this stage, with the bigger dishes yet to come, we realised we might have over-ordered. But, the rare hanger steak was small and amazingly tender and went down easily, as did the wagyu sliders, bite-size tangy beasts.

High standard

The prawn tempura was cooked well enough but touch dull; and our final, appetite defying morsel of Passion fruit crumble rounded off a lovely meal.

Generally speaking, all the dishes felt either Japanese or Brazilian, rather than a combination of the two – but everything was of a very high standard.

The wine list is also great – and the excellent sommelier Joris has made sure there is a lovely selection of house wines available by the glass to suit a range of budgets.

But budget is my only real concern about Sushinho – it’s a bit on the pricey side, and some of the dishes are pretty small for £16.50.

That said, with a menu orientated to sharing platters and small bites, its possible to try the excellent fare without breaking the bank.