Japanese-Spanish fusion in the style of the rest of Ricardo Sanz's group, but served in a more relaxed setting meant to reach a wider audience.

Kyoshi, which means master of masters in Japanese, is the name Ricardo Sanz has given to some of his restaurants since 2021. Kyoshi Las Cortes is the Grupo Ricardo Sanz restaurant inside the Hotel Las Cortes DoubleTree by Hilton. It follows the same fusion philosophy as the group's other restaurants, with a more relaxed atmosphere and service, the aim being to bring Sanz's cooking to a wider public. Its logo, like those of his starred restaurants, starts from a light brushstroke that suggests a nigiri, drawn by the artist Abraham Lacalle. It holds one Sol in the Guía Repsol.

The restaurant opened in the hotel under the name Kirei and, because it has no street entrance of its own, it went dark for close to two years when the hotel closed during the pandemic. In December 2021, after more than 20 years working together, Ricardo Sanz split from Grupo Kabuki to set up his own company, Grupo Ricardo Sanz, and when the hotel reopened the restaurant came back under the new Kyoshi name. Sanz described it as a more informal and more affordable way to bring his cooking to more people.

The room pairs a sushi bar, where you can watch the sushiya at work, with tables in the dining room. Sanz created what he calls cocina japo-cañí, Japanese-Spanish cooking, without, as of 2022, ever having travelled to Japan.

Ricardo Sanz opened his first restaurant with the aim of serving pure, orthodox Japanese food, and his own cooking grew out of it as a meeting point between Japanese and Mediterranean cultures, built on the quality of the produce and simple, elegant preparation. Dishes the group shows as signatures include huevos rotos with tuna, an egg and truffle nigiri, a bocata de calamares, pa amb tomàquet and a bone-marrow gunkan. Dining-room service mixes Japanese respect with Spanish hospitality.

At Kyoshi the carta has included a Castilian miso soup and tuna croquettes to start, then a run of raw fish: usuzukuris from the classic pa amb tomàquet to carabinero with the juice of its heads, and two with Quirós's stamp, sea bass á feira and white fish a la bilbaína spiced with shichimi togarashi. Nigiris include Sanz classics like quail egg with truffle and the 'hamburger' nigiri, alongside chutoro with Dijon and tempura oyster with kale. The atún estrellado swaps rice for fried potatoes in a play on huevos estrellados, and hot dishes run to tori katsu, tonkotsu ramen and hake in green curry. In 2022 the tasting menus went from a nigiri menu at €41 to an omakase at €100; check the current prices when you book.

In keeping with that Japanese-Mediterranean idea, the group's wine lists cover the main producing countries, with particular weight given to Champagne, white wines and sake, which suit Sanz's cooking.

Kyoshi serves lunch from 13:00 to 16:00 and dinner from 20:00 to 23:00, Monday to Thursday, with dinner running until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. It is on the ground floor of the hotel at Calle San Agustín 3. Book through the Grupo Ricardo Sanz site, call +34 917 371 922 or email kyoshi@gruporicardosanz.com. Kyoshi gift cards are sold on the group's site.