POA Restaurant Review: SUSHI TIME at Riverside Shikki Cafe

When I first came to Porto Alegre in 2008, my husband (who knows how much I LOVE sushi) took me to a wonderful sushi buffet. This little gem of a restaurant is nestled within the green, shady streets of the trendy neighborhood known as Moinhos de Vento (Windmills). Apparently, when the city was first founded in the 18th century, this hilly area was where all the windmills were located. Today, it is full of eateries, bars, boutiques and gourmet shops.

Aside from the food, which I will get to in just a moment, what I like about Riversides Shikki Cafe is the atmosphere. It's rustic, but casually elegant interior is relaxing. There is lots of light and a little window garden in the rear seating area. There is also outdoor seating for those who want to people watch.

The three times I have dined here have been at lunchtime. I maintain the European tradition of eating my main meal at midday and keep it light at night (it's how I stay slim, too). Lunchtime is not only healthier- it's cheaper (a wonderful fringe benefit). The lunch buffet offered is simply amazing: R$22,00 for men and R$20,00 for women. Yes, they discriminate here, but nobody seems to mind.

This price includes not only the generous and varied sushi buffet which is constantly being maintained by three chefs, but also the salad buffet, hot dishes buffet, pasta bar (where they whip up pasta according to YOUR specifications) AND dessert. Seriously- can anyone actually eat all that food? I haven't gotten past the sushi yet. The fish is super fresh and the presentation is vividly colorful. Tamaki is included with the buffet and made to order in a variety of ways and they also bring hot sushi to your table. In Brazil, hot sushi is extremely popular and I had tried it for the first time in Sao Paulo a few years ago. Today we had salmon and cream cheese rolls fried to a crisp on the outside and served with a green organic mint sauce (quite interesting- I enjoyed the play of salty, sweet and fresh on my tongue at the same time). There is also fruit sushi like mango and one with guava paste- leave it to the Braziilians to be so creative with food!

While the lunch buffet is super reasonable in price, beware of the drinks. A small water costs a hefty R$3,50 and R$4,00 for an expresso, which isn't THAT bad I suppose for the amount of food you are allowed to consume. What shocked me, however, was the price of the wine. They offered a Villa Antinori IGT Toscano for a whopping R$178,00!!! When living in Florence, we would sometimes buy this wine in the supermarket for only 7,00 euros. I totally understand the high import tax and shipping costs, but that just seemed like way too much of a mark-up for my taste. That's just my humble opinion, however. In their defense, they do advertise Happy Hour specials and the one on our table today promoted a bottle of spumante for a decent R$25,00 (not bad at all).

Oh, by the way, if you happen to be staying at the Sheraton Hotel, Riverside Shikki Cafe is only a short walk away and totally worth a visit if you are a sushi lover.

Riversides Shikki Cafe
Rua Padre Chagas, 44
Website: http://www.riversides.com.br/2010/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=23