CityBird: Tsuru

Do as the Japanese do in spring: gather a tartan blanket, a bottle of bubbly and smooth your picnic rug over the tiny spit of land outside your office…then head to Tsuru, which is doling out Takoyako, tempura prawns and the bespoke scotch egg in celebration of the season. (Rubbish March weather? Don’t worry campers: you can either sack off the winter coat for a sake cocktail coat, get yourself down to the restaurant to enjoy it in shelter – plus the chains are decorated with sakura flowers. Ahhh.)

Thankfully Tsuru isn’t all about the spring picnics, but also about the booze with its Japanese whisky tasting on 27 March at the Bishopsgate branch. Snarf 12-year-old Suntory Hibiki, 10-year old Yamazaki and an 18-year old malt, all matched with traditional Japanese dishes.

Mulling over the recent performance of the Nikkei? A Tsuru fix might just be the perfect accompaniment.