(Photos by Linden Gross)
Kusshi first developed an almost cult-like following as a pop-up. In December 2024, seven years after initially making its mark on the local food scene, Kusshi finally opened the doors of its own small establishment to rave reviews. Bend foodies couldn’t seem to say enough about its Nikkei cuisine, a fusion of Japanese cooking techniques like sushi and tempura, and Peruvian traditions like aji peppers and ceviche. After checking out Kusshi for myself, I’ve realized that if restaurants had groupies, I’d be one.
Hoping to avoid the crowds since Kusshi doesn’t take reservations, my restaurant review partner-in-crime, Leah, and I got there at 4pm. Before long, we were munching on cancha, Peruvian corn nuts that taste like crispy popcorn, and sipping on divine yuzu Pisco sours. Win-win!
We had no idea just how big that win would turn out to be.
After a couple of chilled Pacific Northwest oysters each, presented on a bed of seaweed with a ponzu mignonette that could prove highly addictive, we moved on to the Causa Limeña, a dish we weren’t even considering until front-of-the-house manager, Yayoi Moylan, insisted that we try it. Superb call on her part! The cubes of potato mashed with aji amarillo chilis and lime juice and topped with sweet, aioli-tossed crab, accompanied by a slightly spicy avocado-ginger mousse and wonton straws, were unlike anything either one of us had ever tasted. The creamy and crunchy starter hit four of the five basic tastes. Absolutely delicious!
Being new to this Japanese-Peruvian fare created by the Nikkei — people of Japanese origin who immigrated to Peru — we let Yayoi guide the rest of our culinary adventure.
The day’s sashimi ceviche featured silky slices of yellowtail, tuna, and renowned Hokkaido scallops, with radish and daikon sprouts in a citrusy leche de tigre sauce that was so good, I refused to let the servers remove the dish and eventually requested a spoon. No wonder it’s veteran sushi chef Ian Skomski’s favorite dish on the menu.
Grated fresh horseradish, which topped barely seared maguro (tuna) in our next dish, took over a bit too much for my taste until the last piece, when everything suddenly balanced perfectly. For the record, Leah loved it from start to finish.
The striking tuna tiradito, with bright pink cubes of tuna in a sun-colored aji amarillo citrus sauce, was like a song in your mouth with notes that surprise you, followed by the clean crunch of thinly sliced Persian cucumber.
We ended our meal with seared Hokkaido scallops. I tasted the star of the dish—seared to absolutely golden-brown crusted perfection—and thought they couldn’t get any better. Then I tasted the miso-butter cabbage with pickled shimeji mushrooms, upon which the scallops were perched. I’m not into pickled mushrooms (it’s a texture thing) and not that crazy about cooked cabbage (it’s a taste thing). At least I wasn’t until I tried them at Kusshi. Talk about a game changer!
Who would have thought that in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant, every dish would look like a work of art, and each would taste better than it looked. Go, see for yourself. Trust me. You, too, will join the Kusshi fan club.