Enye エニェ (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Enye エニェ (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Hidden in the quaint business area of Sakaisujihonmachi (堺筋本町), Enye (エニェ) is a modern Spanish restaurant serving up tapas-style food, arroz, plancha-grilled meat and more. The cozy little restaurant by owner-chef Hirotomo Sunada has been a Michelin starred restaurant since 2022.

I got a glimpse at the counter tables with a small lounge beautifully furnished by antique furniture. But with little nugget joining us today…..

It would be better that we had the comfort of dining in a private room, behind closed doors.

Some Spanish finger food to kick off the prix fixe menu, first with a “Christmas tree” crafted using Idiazabal cheese, a pressed cheese made from sheep milk.

Quail thigh confit Provence style on a bed of ratatouille (Vegetables provencal). A little bit of French here.

A trio of oysters cooked in a flavorful onion sauce. Thought the sauce tasted a bit like champagne sauce the French cuisine.

My favorite from the four, sole and Jyoshu white leek served on a crispy flatbread with a tangy anchovy sauce and fresh chives. Lovely.

Our first starter was a thick beef broth simmered with seasonal vegetables. There were

vegetables like cabbage, carrot and broccoli, with the flavors enhanced by some chopped ham. The broth was obviously rich yet not too savory (or salty), which we all thought was perfect to be served on a cold winter day like this.

At this point, some homemade bread was presented to us along with some extra virgin vinegar.

Next, we had some lightly cooked squid cubes served and sheets of spinach served in an intensely rich spinach foam. This was the first dish that I truly saw the contemporary touch of the chef.

I love the texture profile of the dish. The squid were nice and crunchy, forming an impressive match with the spinach.

Our meat dish was Japanese Wagyu steak paired with mashed cabbage cake.

I thought the steak fairly delicious though it came with some tendons. (We probably didn’t need to knife though as most of us managed to finish it with two bites).