By Andrea Kouyiali

I wasn’t sure what to expect at Kaji to be honest. My excited other half couldn’t wait to go but that only made me more apprehensive. The premises have a dark-themed décor and usually a music-themed event in the evening, attracting a more lively crowd which can gather at the bar. The table options allow for more casual conversation, with the overall mood continuing to be upbeat.

Despite my reservations, I was pleasantly surprised. A Mexican and Japanese fusion bar, the concept entails ordering items by the piece – with tacos being an exception as they came with more than one in a portion.

As such, you end up with a number of smaller dishes. I feared that would mean being hungry at the end of the night but in fact, the dishes were far more delicious than I expected and quite filling (though we did order tacos and a bowl of rice).

The staff were incredibly polite and helpful. This must be the only restaurant I have been to that asks whether customers have any allergies or food sensitivities, rather than simply leaving it up to the individuals to say so.

We started with the seafood harumaki, a delicious stuffed Japanese spring roll including shrimps, scallops, cream cheese and ponzu aioli. The harumaki came with a surprisingly rich depth of flavour as the ingredients merged into a crispy exterior and a savoury interior.

The rice was disappointingly clunky and sticky but the wild mushroom skewers described as an ‘anticucho’ were divine. I had never thought mushrooms could taste that great but the magic of the chef made the wild mushrooms an extremely popular choice at Kaji, as they only had a limited amount of availability left and quickly ran out. The mushrooms were sweet, rich, flavourful and had a thickness akin to chicken meat.

Where the tuna crispy tacos were concerned, they were filling but did what they said on the label. They were certainly good to eat but did not have the creativity and uniqueness that most of the menu carried.

Experimenting with rib-eye, we were taken aback by the effect of the citrus dressing, adding a sprightly kick to the depth of the meat, coupled with the sunflower seeds, which served to enrich the texture, a layer of crunch.

Also worth trying are the scallops with an apple mignonette. We did not know what to expect with this combination, and I thought perhaps the apple would not sit well with me but the final result was actually delicious. The scallops had a smoothness to them, with the flavours marrying so well together and the tangy accompanying sauce offering a contrasting kick, that we were tempted to order more.

Kiji also has very unique cocktails which we did not venture to try but they certainly looked engaging – and popular.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Mexican Japanese Fusion

WHERE Canakkale (Dardanelles) 16, Limassol

WHEN Friday and Saturday: 1:30-11:30pm, Sunday and Monday 1:30-11:30pm, Tuesday closed, Wednesday 5-11pm

CONTACT 25 351919

HOW MUCH Items mostly between €5 and €10