Me Geisha Salerno: The Best Japanese Fusion Restaurant in Town

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 3/10/2021

Me Geisha Salerno: The Best Japanese Fusion Restaurant in Town

Me Geisha Salerno was born from the idea of Italian - American entrepreneur Giuseppe Tuosto. Being an accomplished restaurateur in the United States after opening successful Asian fusion restaurants both in New York and Los Angeles, he decided to trace back his roots and traverse his way to where his family originated from, Italy. Immediately, he found the connection to Salerno where he settled down. The vibrant port city marks the beginning of the Amalfi Coast fronting the Tyrrhenian Sea where the ancient culture meets the modernity of life in the Campania region. The sea is vast which surrounds it and the Mediterranean climate makes it the ideal spot for what he specializes in: putting together a cuisine with the philosophy of tradition and variation using the best raw materials of the sea. In 2013, he inaugurated Me Geisha in Salerno.

Tuosto's aim was to bring the tradition of Japanese catering to Italy where seafood, the protagonist of the dishes abound and leave the imprint of the reality of Oriental catering. In 2013, Me Geisha's Executive Chef was the late Rodelio Aglibot, a worldclass chef who was born to Filipino parents, grew up in Hawaii and moved later on to California. His commendable innovation of Asian fusion dishes gained him the attention of the public and the press. Needless to say, with the foundation of geographical and genetic backgrounds coupled with his extreme passion in gastronomy after attaining his professional culinary education made him one of the most well-known TV chefs in the US. With his zen outlook in the philosophy of his cooking, he was dubbed as the Food Buddha. He was the soul of the kitchen of Me Geisha restaurants, with another location in Rome that was opened in 2016 where he developed the concept and menu of the restaurants.

In the middle of 2020, Me Geisha Salerno's kitchen was taken over by a very talented sushi chef who originated from Brazil. Maurìlio Araujo moved to Portugal in 2004 where he later mastered the art of making sushi. Following the path of sushi-making, he gained fundamental experience in the restaurants in Brazil, Portugal and Italy. In 2019, he won the First Sushi Cup Portugal then represented Portugal in the prestigious international event, World Sushi Cup 2019 in Japan where he finished as one of the top finalists.

Maurìlio follows a menu of classic Japanese dishes with the integration of fused combinations of flavors. Decidedly, the raw materials are chosen for their fine quality and with the chef's intricate work, the food at Me Geisha simply becomes the destination for those who are looking for optimum Japanese food. Japanese fusion is an eclectic approach to the original dishes that are merged with ingredients and ideas from various cuisines. Fusion doesn't mean that the genuine essence of the traditional is lost. There is a significant playfulness of flavors that sparks the palate. Me Geisha has a straightforward culinary philosophy which is dubbed as the 3B: belli (beautiful), buoni (delicious), and benessere (healthy).

The menu has an ample selection of cooked and raw proposals that also have meat and vegetable options. Cooked options are categorized in: Tempura (€16 to €20), Small Plates (€8 to €15), Robata (€18 to €29) and Rice Dishes (€4 to €18). While the raw options are quite interesting: Carpaccio (€15 to €32), Tartare (€18 to €29) and Signature Starters Crudo (€19 to €45). The sushi selection are: Gunkan (€15 to €24), Me Geisha Rolls (€12 to €32) and Nigiri Specials (€24 to €29). Dishes with special ingredients like Kobe Wagyu are created into diverse raw and cooked plates (€20 to €60 per 100 grams), Blue Lobster (€14 per 100 grams), and Bluefin Tuna Experience of various kinds of sashimi and sushi (€69) and King Crab (€19 per 100 grams). The wine menu has been thoroughly thought of giving a very selection of Italian and French sparkling, white and rosè wines plus a small number of reds.

Having known Chef Maurìlio's kitchen from the previous Japanese fusion restaurant in Rome where he was manning the helm, it was a welcoming reconciliation of unforgettable tastes at Me Geisha. He has the perception of putting together tastes that inspire the palate and quality of the raw materials that he lays as the main component of each small creation. The Tako Gunkan has the intensity of the lime that surrounds the octopus tempura, red caviar and teriyaki sauce. Ordering the Moriwase platter (5 types of sashimi) and the chef's selection of Nigiri will make you understand what good ingredients mean.