Kissaba, temaki after dark

At the ground floor of iRASSHAi – the sprawling Japanese cultural destination facing the Bourse de Commerce – Kissaba shifts gears after dark. What begins as a bright café by day transforms at night into an intimate temaki bar where Japanese precision meets a distinctly Parisian ease. Guests settle around the counter facing the open kitchen: young Japanophiles, well-informed tourists, regulars from the épicerie downstairs and local professionals extending the evening over sake.

Behind the counter, chef Yuji Misu – with more than thirty years of Japanese culinary experience – prepares each hand roll to order with almost ceremonial precision: perfectly seasoned rice, crisp nori, immaculate cuts, rolled and served immediately. The concept works because it remains beautifully straightforward. Four menus define the experience: the vegetarian Koyasan, the classic Sakurajima (€25), the signature Daisen (€31) and the more elevated Fuji menu (€42). À la carte, the menu moves effortlessly from cucumber with ume plum and shiso to marinated shime-saba mackerel with ginger and sesame, spicy tuna, semi-seared sea bass with tororo-kombu, miso-glazed black cod and delicately seared wagyu with leeks, pine nuts and onion sauce (€16). Small kobachi dishes – miso soup, dashimaki omelet, potato salad or salmon cabbage rolls – complete the meal without weighing it down. Sake naturally leads the conversation, particularly through the kikizake tasting flights featuring three carefully selected pours ranging from dry junmai to creamier nigori styles.

Short, precise and unmistakably urban, Kissaba gives sushi a format that feels less ceremonial and far more alive.

Practical informations:

• 7:30pm to 10pm
• Open daily
• Average price: €30