Data from Ten Lifestyle Group’s more than two million members has shown that Londoners are parting with tradition when it comes to fine dining.
French and Italian are no longer the first on the list for those looking for a high-end culinary experience.
Instead, Japanese food is now reigning over London’s world-leading restaurant scene with restaurants such as Zuma and Roka Mayfair the most requested.
We asked Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Ten’s Head of Dining, to head out, chopsticks in hand, to help discover the best Japanese places to dine across the city.
For more information, see Ten Group.
Zuma
The best way to describe Zuma and its continued success is that ten years after I started doing this job it remains one of the most booked restaurants in the city. A decade ago, the only other restaurant that was really at this level of desirability was The Ivy. The fact that Zuma created that level of appeal and has maintained it is largely down to Rainer Becker, the head chef and founder. He has found that perfect cocktail of great service and great food.
5 Raphael St, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1DL
Sushi Tetsu
Charming, highly regarded and given the skill that goes into what you’re eating, one of the best value meals you’ll get in London. One of our staff here, James, once had to call the restaurant 4,000 times to get a single booking, that’s how difficult it is to get a table. Run by Toru ‘Tetsu’ Takahashi and his wife Harumi, the seven-seater restaurant is regarded as one of the holy grails amongst the food connoisseurs of London, and somewhere you don’t have to spend a fortune to have an incredible meal.
12 Jerusalem Passage, Clerkenwell, London EC1V 4JP
Flickr: Leadership Programs
The Araki
The only London restaurant to be newly awarded three Michelin stars in the last eight years (and the only three Michelin star Japanese restaurant in the UK), the Araki is incredibly expensive but somehow lives up to its price tag. Worshipped by chefs and regulars alike, it’s a culinary pilgrimage. All the fish and ingredients are locally sourced, with the salmon, for example, from the Irish sea. The omakase menu will set you back £310, but with good reason, head chef, Mitsuhiro Araki is quite possibly the best traditional sushi chef in Europe.
Unit 4, 12 New Burlington St, London W1S 3BF
Umu
Umu is all about Yoshinori Ishii, he worked in one of Kyoto’s three-Michelin-starred establishments for nine years and has taken Umu up to two-star level. There are exquisite levels of detail across the restaurant and this is demonstrated by the number of regulars it has. Ishii has picked everything about the restaurant, from the table mats to the flower arrangements. Despite also being a high-end Michelin starred Japanese restaurant in Mayfair, it has a completely different style and offering to the Araki, with a larger menu offering and a much larger dining room in comparison.
14-16 Bruton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J 6LX
Sushisamba
OK, so Sushisamba is not strictly Japanese but rather a fusion, mixing with south American flavours and excellent cuts of meat. It remains one of our most booked restaurants and since opening it has been a mainstay of the London restaurant scene. You pay a premium for the views of the London skyline, but the quality of the sushi is very, very good, and the stuff they do in the grill is great. With a stunning dining room, fabulous panoramic outside terrace and DJ until late, what’s not to love?
110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY
Aqua Kyoto
Because it’s been there a while and their terrace is dominated by drinkers in the summer, there may be a bit of snobbery when it comes to Aqua Kyoto. But thanks to Executive Chef Paul Greening and his exceptional knife skills they consistently send out exceptional sushi and sashimi from his kitchen. Because of the other parts of the restaurant and bar some people will avoid Kyoto but it’s hard to find such high-quality sushi and sashimi at this price point in central London.
5th Floor, 240 Regent Street, (Entrance 30 Argyll St, W1F 7EB, London W1B 3BR
Dinings
This is where people go for sushi in central London when they don’t want to go Mayfair. Much better than its newer sister in Chelsea, Dinings in Marylebone still has a very loyal following because it serves some of the best sushi in the city. A classic mix of counter and a small number of tables serving a first-rate sushi and sashimi menu with a very classic grounding. It avoids anything too modern or Avant-garde but rather stays true to a simple, clean set of Japanese favourites.
22 Harcourt St, Marylebone, London W1H 4HH
Roka Mayfair
One of four Rokas in London, Mayfair is definitely the hardest to secure a reservation but rightfully so: it offers exceptional food, great atmosphere and lovely service. While being sister to the aforementioned Zuma, Roka still has a distinct style and menu. Mayfair, Charlotte Street and Canary Wharf are as busy on a Wednesday for business lunches as they are for Friday and Saturday nights, with Canary Wharf and Aldwych also offering a very popular boozy brunch.
30 N Audley St, Mayfair, London W1K 6ZF
Sticks N Sushi
Hailing from Denmark and one of the more successful restaurant imports into the capital, Sticks N Sushi has just opened its eighth site on the Kings Road with the ninth to follow early next year in Soho. This is a really good place to go when you don’t have plans but want to get a really good meal. The dining is very casual but the service along with the sticks and freshness of the sushi makes for an excellent meal that isn’t going to break the bank.
11 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8PY
