An essential trend on the other side of the Atlantic, vegan sushi is coming to Bloom. Open since September, the Parisian table of the moment offers it from every angle: overflowing with avocado, crispy in a tempura dress, etc.
At the Bloom restaurant, the Futomaki Paradise. | Antoine Kralik
An obsession of the last decades, sushi ignites palates around the world. But far from being limited to an iodized version made of raw fish, the trend is considering it in a more balanced, eco-responsible and 100% vegetable version that does not forget to be gourmet.
Crunchy, soft, skilfully spiced, creamy, the vegetables present an infinite palette of flavors and textures which, combined with a base of vinegared rice, prove that vegetarian cuisine can be exquisite. And at very low prices.
At the Bloom restaurant, the Spring Roll maki, enoki. | Antoine Kralik
Combining seasonal vegetables and surprising combinations of textures, Bloom’s veggie sushi reinvents this great classic of Japanese cuisine in so many daring recipes.
Accompanied by more tempting sauces than each other, the best-sellers range from california with shiitake mushrooms served with a truffle sauce, to the spicy avocado roll, passing through the sobas (noodles) decorated with aromatic herbs and the poke bowl consisting of mushroom tartare, irani tofu, kimchi (fermented cabbage), red cabbage, miso cream and avocado, all well seasoned with a spicy sauce.
At Bloom restaurant, the poke bowl. | Antoine Kralik
For those with a sweet tooth, the menu also offers fine pastries to complete the meal gently.
Christian Ventura, an expert chef in vegetable sushi
Originally from Mexico, Christian Ventura’s culinary epic is as original as it is dazzling.
He inaugurates in Montreal a pocket counter called “Momo” which combines his two passions: Japanese cuisine and vegetables. A full box that gave birth to Bloom and that can be attributed to a demanding search for seasonal products, but also to an unparalleled know-how as a saucier, the signature of Christian Ventura. Focused on spirituality and yoga, a trip to India later convinced him to become a vegetarian.
Christian Ventura. | Roch Debache
Born in 2019 in Montreal, the Bloom concept has been based since its inception on the union of the love of sushi and the desire to safeguard ocean biodiversity. Under the leadership of chef Christian Ventura, Bloom has become a celebrity across the Atlantic with a large clientele, both vegan and traditional. Key elements of his cooking: the recipes of his sauces are kept absolutely secret, even from the members of his team.
“Discovering vegetable sushi was a revelation for me.says chef Christian Ventura. Bloom allows me to give free rein to my culinary creativity and it pays off. Most of the customers are not vegan and leave telling me that they absolutely did not miss the fish!”
All sushi is 100% vegetable, namely:
- mercury-free and antibiotic-free;
- no use of fish flesh, seafood or derived products in the recipes;
- no eggs, cream or milk.
Bloom, an essential address and a real favorite
If Paris is teeming with Japanese counters and vegetarian restaurants, the capital did not yet know of an address that combined the two until Bloom’s arrival.
The facade and the terrace of the Bloom restaurant. | Antoine Kralik
A new meeting place for Parisians and passing travellers, this lively cuisine allows you to have lunch or dinner with family or friends while sharing appetizing and light sushi.
The solar decoration is designed by Studio Louis Morgan, led by a talented architect to whom we owe the decorations of the best places to party in Paris.
The dining room of the Bloom restaurant. | Antoine Kralik
Inspired by natural materials, the decorator imagined a curvaceous interior, and a variation of warm wood and recyclable wood wool panels. The place is bathed in light during the day, cozy at dinner time and visitors discover a semi-open kitchen, a glass roof, plants galore or even an artistic avant-garde fresco.
In 2022, it is impossible to deny that food inevitably impacts our daily lives and the environment. While many studies and documentaries show that we consume way too much fish and that industrialization resorts to dangerous fishing practices, adopting a vegetarian diet becomes a militant act in its own right.
From the endangerment of the ocean ecosystem to the pollution that invades the flesh of fish or even the parade that consists of betting on medicated mass farming, all these realities invite us to review our consumption at the table. Concerned about the environment and respect for a fair seasonality, Bloom allows you to succumb to the plant without suffering it.
“Sushi is one of the most popular recipes in the world. But we cannot continue to consume them in this way, exclusively with fish. The oceans are emptying, we must save them”explains Christian Ventura, well aware of these realities.
An ambitious project led by a well-inspired quartet
Led by Dominique Bujold, founder of Sushi Shop and LOV vegan restaurants in Canada, it was the trio Marjan Tharin, Nicolas Mercier and Matthieu Okabe, from different backgrounds, who had the idea of setting up Bloom in Paris after a visit to Montreal.
Friends and visionaries at the helm of Bloom, they are driven by a common desire to found an address that makes sense, that is gourmet and that respects the environment.
On the evening menu:
Japanese tapas: edamame (5 euros), miso soup (5 euros), gyozas (6 euros for 3 pieces), mushroom tartare (10 euros).
At the Bloom restaurant, the gyozas. | Antoine Kralik
Krispy rice: avocado and black garlic (8 euros for 2 pieces); avocado, oyster mushrooms and shiitake (9 euros for 2 pieces).
Soba salad: soba noodles, mesclun, baby spinach, red cabbage, mango, carrot, grilled pepper, edamame, coriander, fried ramen, peanut vinaigrette sauce (16 euros).
Maki spring roll (6 pieces): Moulin rouge, beet tartare, apple, shallot, avocado, spring onion, yuzu sauce (10 euros); Enoki, enoki mushroom, daikon, mesclun, apple, mango, ponzu sauce (11 euros).
At the Bloom restaurant, the Moulin Rouge maki spring roll. | Antoine Kralik
Hosso maki (6 pieces): avocado (6 euros); tempura oyster mushrooms and truffle tartar sauce (7 euros); Crunchy Zalmon and spicy sauce (11 euros).
Omakase menu (35 euros per person): a soup or a portion of edamame, three gyozas, sixteen rolls.
At Bloom restaurant, the Omakase menu, the chef’s selection. | Antoine Kralik
California (8 pieces): Rosso, flambéed asparagus and spring onions, avocado, spinach, red pesto (9 euros); Shishito, padròn peppers, grilled spring onions, shichimi, yuzu sauce (9 euros); Philadelphia, zalmon sashimi, vegetable cheese, dried tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, capers, yuzu sauce (10 euros); Dragon eyes, sweet potato, asparagus and spring onion tempura, grilled pepper, avocado, spicy sauce and pesto (11 euros); Kimbap, kimchi, daikon, spring onion tempura, shiitake, avocado, shiso leaf, kimchi sauce, almonds (12 euros).
At Bloom’s restaurant, the California Philadelphia. | Antoine Kralik
Mr. Crunch (10 euros for 4 pieces): shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, avocado, arare masago, truffle tartar sauce.
At Bloom’s restaurant, Mr. Crunch. | Antoine Kralik
Futo maki (5 pieces): Popeye, spinach, oyster mushroom, daikon, avocado, cucumber, fried onions, pesto sauce (9 euros); Rock’n’roll, zalmon, apple, grilled spring onion, avocado, crispy tempura, sriracha sauce (9 euros); Fried katsu curry, sweet potato, tofu, fukujinzuke, red pepper, spring onion, avocado, curry sauce (11 euros); Paradise, soy leaf, dried tomatoes, shiitake, spring onion, avocado, red pepper, yuzu sauce (12 euros).
At the Bloom restaurant, the Futo maki Popeye. | Antoine Kralik
Desserts
Iced mochi: matcha green tea, chocolate, passion fruit, caramel, almonds, yuzu (4 euros for one piece, 7 euros for two pieces); chocolate brownie (8 euros); hazelnut cake (8 euros); coffee, gourmet tea (9 euros).
Coffees and teas
Organic Genmaïcha green tea (5 euros), organic Hojicha brown tea (5 euros), organic coffee from Honduras (3 euros).
The coffee comes from the Best Roaster of France 2015, Christophe Servell.
At lunch, the poke bowl, rice and its botanical garden: mushroom tartare, mesclun, red cabbage and kimchi, edamame, avocado, cucumber, tofu inari, spicy sauce and miso cream (18 euros); Omakase, the chef’s assortment of 14 sushi (25 euros).
Lunch formula at 25 or 35 euros.
The sakes are available from 8 euros for a 12 cl glass, the bottle at 60 euros.
At the Bloom restaurant, the mushroom and avocado tartare. | Antoine Kralik
99, rue Jouffroy d’Abbans 75017 Paris. Tel.: 01 42 27 26 16. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday. Delivery, take-out.
At the Bloom by Christian Ventura restaurant, plant-based sushi is coming to Paris