This chef + DJ is running Edomae sushi omakase & records events in his Hackney flat
Handyman Sushi is a supper club, which mostly takes place in Pedro’s flat in London Fields. BYOB and six seats only, it’s closer to being asked round to a friend’s for dinner than to a night out at a restaurant.
Pedro is Brazilian and a self-taught sushi slayer who’s been obsessed with sushi for more than a decade. Earlier this year he finished the professionals-only course at Narita Sushi Academy, graduating with Master Distinction, and also received a Professional Sushi Proficiency certification from the All Japan Sushi Association, which is recognised by the Japanese government. His day job is in marketing, but none of that prepares you for how seriously he takes the fish.
The menu is shaped by what’s good that week and the season, plus whatever Pedro’s into at the time, and dishes shift mid-service depending on the room or the drinks going round. Expect three to five small plates, a soup course, twelve to sixteen pieces of sushi, a hand roll and dessert. On our visit that meant house-made miso, grilled eel, several cuts of tuna and sea bass belly among others. It’s a long, slow meal and the execution is excellent right the way through.
If sushi is one half of the experience, the other is music. As a DJ (yes he wears many hats) Pedro’s record collection is serious stuff. He builds each soundtrack himself, playing full albums rather than a playlist on shuffle. Over our lunch that meant João Donato, Flora Purim, Tamba 4, Leon Ware and Jon Lucien, a run of samba-jazz, soul, funk and fusion that worked perfectly next to the food. The result is somewhere between a sushi counter, a listening session and someone’s very good house party.
As Pedro puts it: “Only in London can a Brazilian host an Edomae-style omakase while six different nationalities sit around the same counter. That’s part of the magic of this city for me.”
If sharing a small table with strangers in a random’s flat isn’t your thing, he’s doing a hand roll pop-up at Le Regret on 28th June. Otherwise, get on the mailing list now for first dibs on the August dates, which go fast.
Key Information
Address | Hackney, London
For more information | handymansushi.com
