Cafe Sumoriba: A Cuban Sandwich Shop with Relaxing & Retro Atmosphere

"Ogawa-san no Sand" was a popular Cuban sandwich take-out shop in Osu. Currently, the atmosphere has been renewed as "Cafe Sumoriba" in the retro space of Joshin, Nishi Ward, Nagoya City. The menu is even more elaborated.

This time, we will also introduce a unique space where you can customize the menu, such as Cuban sandwiches, and create your own customized cream soda.

Relocated from "Ogawasan no Sand" in Osu
Renovated a Snack Bar and Opened as "Cafe Sumoriba"

This is the 2nd floor of a multi-tenant building where the Sumoriba is located. The atmosphere might makes you hesitate to enter.

A store that used to be a snack bar. The entrance also retains remnants of those days.

In March 2022, “Cafe Sumoriba” moved to Joshin, Nishi-ku, Nagoya. It used to be a Cuban sandwich take-out specialty store "Ogawa-san no Sando" in Osu.

The store in Osu was a small store of about 3 tsubo, but it became too small, so they were looking for a store of about 10 to 15 tsubo in size, and they found the current store vacant.

Originally a snack shop, the wallpaper, counter, and floor have been partially renovated. A nostalgic space that retains the atmosphere of the Showa period, while still retaining the atmosphere of the snack bar.

In addition, there are lots of Gremlins and ET character goods that the owner and his wife love all over the store! It is a shop that incorporates plenty of the owner's "likes".

The Birth of the Cuban Sandwich was
Inspiration from a Movie

The shop's signboard menu "Cuban Sandwich". A Cuban sandwich is made by sandwiching roast pork, cheese, ham, pickles, etc. in a baguette-like bread, spreading butter on the bread, and baking it in a sandwich press.

The crunchy texture of the bread and the sour pickles add an accent to the dish, and it's filling! Of course it's delicious hot, but it's also delicious even it is cooled!

It seems that the movie "Chef" was the catalyst for the birth of such a Cuban sandwich. The owner, Yuki, saw a Cuban sandwich appear in one scene of the movie and said, "I want to make our own original!"

Today, Smoliva's Cuban sandwiches have become a popular menu item, with customers coming from far away.

By the way, the origin of the store name "Sumoriba" is an abbreviation of "Ogawa = small river", which is the name of the owner couple.

The cute character of the shop is modeled after his dog, Chihuahua, and the light design of the surrounding sun symbolizes the desire for people to come here and eat and charge the energy before returning home.

Famous “Sumoriba Sandwich”
and other Popular Menus!

Now let's take a look at some of the restaurant's most popular menu items.

First of all, the shop's signboard menu "Cuban Sandwich" introduced at the beginning. Meat (pork and chicken) is marinated in a citrus marinade containing six different spices such as lime and orange for 2 days, then grilled at a low temperature for 2 hours. A perfect combination of moist and soft texture, cheese and pickles.

Another characteristic of Cuban sandwiches is that they are baked with plenty of butter before they are pressed. The fragrant butter and crunchy texture, and the sour pickles are a nice accent!

●Pork Cuban sandwich (homemade roast pork, cheese, pickles) M-size 800 yen
●Chicken Cuban sandwich (homemade spice chicken, cheese, pickles) M-size 800 yen

The second most popular item after the Cuban sandwich is the “Sumoriba-sandwich”. The Cuban sandwich does not contain vegetables, but the Sumoriba-sandwich is an original sandwich with lettuce and tomato.
The bread is also baked in the oven, not pressed.

The meat of the Sumoriba sandwich is the same meat as the Cuban sandwich, and the spiced meat, original teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise create an exquisite harmony that will make you addicted. There are plenty of vegetables, so it's a popular dish among women.

Pork Sumomoriba-sandwich (teriyaki-flavored pork, tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise) M-size 700 yen / S-size 400 yen
●Chicken smoliva sandwich (teriyaki pork, tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise) M-size 700 yen/S-size400 yen
●Hot dog (additive-free sausage, lettuce, mayo) M-size 700 yen/S-size 400 yen, etc.

The photo is a baguette sandwich lunch for 1,000 yen for a limited time. The menu changes every two weeks.

In addition to the standard sandwiches mentioned earlier, the recommended menu is the "Limited-time baguette lunch / 1,000 yen ~" that changes every two weeks. In addition to sandwiches that can only be eaten during that period, it is a plate lunch with salad, homemade deli, and seaweed soup.

At the time of my visit, I had the “Plum Sauce Perilla Pork Shabu-shabu Sandwich”, which was a cold pork shabu-shabu sandwich with handmade plum sauce and miso paste. In addition, you can choose from tacos, curry, Neapolitan, etc. for plate lunch!

Weekday lunch 1,000 yen ~ / Holiday lunch (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) 1,300 yen

In addition, a new menu that is gentle on the body, such as a roux that does not use flour or animal products and a special curry made with more than 10 kinds of spices, as well as spaghetti with additive-free sausage.

Among them, the most popular item is the “Tako-chan rice 950 yen (pictured)”. Homemade chili meat with just the right amount of spices, fried egg, lettuce, and tomato.

From Specialty Coffee Procured at the Roastery
to Cream Soda that you can Sustomize Yourself!

Roasted Specialty Coffee

Next is the introduction of drinks.

Sumoriba's blended coffee (H/I500 yen) is well-balanced and mild. The best match for various sandwiches as it is.

The coffee beans are roasted in-house at a shop called Suus* in Minami-ku, Nagoya, run by an acquaintance of the owner. The beans are ground after ordering, so you can fully enjoy the aroma.

*Cafe Suus Roasting Place: https://suuscoffee.com/

And the milk pitcher catches your eye. The cute chicken-shaped pitcher also creates a retro feel, and it seems to help you relax.

Customize your Own Cream Soda

In addition, one of the popular menus of the shop is "Cream soda made by yourself". First of all, fill in this order form installed at the counter.

The left is L size with a pattern. The one on the right is plain L size.

Next, choose the size and pattern of the glass. Is it patterned or plain? After that, decide the topping and the color of cream soda (red or blue or green).

Finally, choose a coaster. It's interesting that you can even choose a coaster! There are various shapes, materials, and designs, and it is hard to decide which one to choose.

Order when everything is decided! This time, I ordered an L size pictured glass, topped with cherries, blue soda, and a record coaster!

But what came out was white soda? ! But I asked for blue! If you look closely, you'll see a pitcher with blue liquid in it...

Yes, the style is to pour as much color as you like into the glass. The gradually changing gradation is also fun!

Once you've added everything, you're done! By the way, "Ao:blue" is the taste of Hawaiian blue. This visual also has a Showa feeling.

So Many Things I Want to Do!
Maybe a Vegan Dishes in the Future?

Sumoriba is run by a husband and wife team, and this time we asked Ms. Yuki Ogawa, the wife of the owner, about the store.

– You moved to a location quite far from Osu, but did you have any concerns about your customers?

Ms. Ogawa: "I moved during the corona crisis, but it was just the size I was looking for, and I'm grateful that customers who used to go to Osu came all the way here, and the houses of customers who used to go to Osu are nearby."

– I was surprised by a shop that converted snacks.

Ms. Ogawa: "We've always liked cafes before retro became popular, and since we're both eccentrics, we didn't choose normal (laughs). At first, we were trying to be stylish, but halfway through, we started to paint the wallpaper pink and put toys around, and we started to like ourselves (laughs)."

– Do you have any dreams for the future?

Ms. Ogawa:"In the movie, we go around in a kitchen car, but from now on, we want to put more effort into going outside, so we're opening a store at 'Nayabashi Yoru Ichi'* every month, and we're also planning to open a store at 'Social Tower Market'* in November and December."

In fact, Ms. Ogawa was speed skating when she was a student, and even got a job at a sports gym after graduating. It was there that he became interested in health, which led to food.

“In the future, I want to try vegan cooking,” says Ms. Ogawa, who has a lot of things she wants to do. He has a strong spirit of challenge, and I look forward to his future menus.

*Nayabashi Yoichi: http://natsu1yoichi.blog133.fc2.com/
*Social Tower Market: https://socialtower.jp/