Everything about Jose Sanchez's new Osaka restaurant, Tacuba, emphasizes freshness. From the contemporary Mexican art on the walls to the open kitchen, and made-to-order prep area, there's a clean minimalism to the design that focuses attention on the restaurant's ingredients and preparation.
While the style is common to the "fresh fast-food" restaurants that have become popular in the West over the last decade, it's an approach that is still relatively new to Japan. What's more, compared to other overseas cuisines, Mexican food is uncommon, so Tacuba is tackling a relatively unexplored frontier, especially for Osaka.
Serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more, Tacuba is the creative venture of chef Sanchez and his Japanese business partner Yukio Konishi. Born in Mexico City, raised in San Francisco, and later relocating to Switzerland for culinary training, Sanchez has spent the last 30 years working as a chef at fine dining establishments across the globe, including Hotel de Mikuni in Tokyo, Morimoto in New York City and as a professor at the Culinary Institute of America.