In 1997, two London restaurants opened with very different approaches to Japanese cuisine. While we have Yo! Sushi to thank for popularising raw fish to the extent that it’s now a lunchtime supermarket staple, it was Nobu that really opened Londoners’ eyes to the delicacy, elegance and refinement of sushi and sashimi. There is, of course, more to Japanese food than raw fish, but with sushi chefs training for 10 years, this is the summit of Japanese culinary accomplishment.
The last couple of years have seen a boom in smart restaurants offering multi-course kaiseki and omakase menus, but a Japanese meal needn’t require a second mortgage – though the quality of fish required to serve raw as sushi and sashimi means that the more you pay, the better the end result will taste. Read on for our pick of the 10 best sushi restaurants in London and to wash it down, read our guide to London's best sake bars. Kanpai!
Visit London's best sushi restaurants
Endo at the Rotunda
Endo Kazutoshi is a third-generation sushi master whose family own a restaurant in Yokohama. Kazutoshi, however, has made London his home, with four restaurants to his name, including Kioku, Nijū and Sumi. All serve excellent sushi and sashimi, but it’s at this rooftop White City flagship that the chef truly flaunts his mastery of fish learned from his father and grandfather and showcased over an 18-course omakase menu (£275).
Endo at the Rotunda is located at 8th Floor, The Helios, Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR
Izakaya at Dreams
A pop-up restaurant in a mini-mart might not be the most alluring proposition, but not for nothing is Holland Park’s local grocers called the Supermarket of Dreams. The Japanese restaurant part kicks in at 6.30pm, when creative contemporary sushi (brill with truffle; every cut of tuna imaginable) is served on a candlelit communal table in the middle of the shop floor.
Izakaya at Dreams is located at Supermarket of Dreams, 126 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UE
020 7221 0238 / @izakayadreams
Jugemu
Good-quality sushi will never be cheap but at Jugemu, it is at least good value. The six-seat counter and four small tables are overseen by chef Yuya Kikuchi, with curtains screening out the Soho scrum outside to allow diners to focus on the food. Dishes such as medium fatty salmon belly, presented without soy or wasabi, spotlight not only the quality of produce but also Kikuchi’s expertise at preparing lightly vinegared rice that is all the seasoning the fish needs.
Jugemu is located at 3 Winnett Street, W1D 6JY
020 7734 0518 / @jugemu.uk
Nobu London
The restaurant that took high-end Japanese cuisine mainstream in the UK, Nobu’s winning formula of sushi and celebrities remains as compelling as when it opened in the Metropolitan hotel in 1997. The Japanese-Peruvian fusion of nikkei cuisine is still a revelation, with the austerity of raw fish shot through with South American heat in the now legendary likes of yellowtail and jalapeño maki.
Nobu London is located at Como Metropolitan London, 19 Old Park Lane, W1K 1LB
Roka
Originally a spin-off from Zuma, Roka, which celebrates its 20th birthday this autumn, has carved out its own distinct niche as a less hectic alternative to its sibling. Of the four London restaurants (Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and Mayfair), the Charlotte Street original is the pick of the bunch: light-filled at lunch, seductively low-lit by night.
Roka is located at 37 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RR
Sushi Atelier
The name comes from the fact that diners here can watch rice being moulded behind the counter, but while the white stuff is an object lesson in the Japanese art of making a luxury out of simplicity, it’s the freshness of the salmon and scallop, sea bass and sea bream the that forms a lasting impression. Not exactly a cheap eat, but the sushi sets (from £27) are affordable for the quality.
Sushi Atelier is located at 114 Great Portland Street, W1W 6PH
Sushi Kanesaka
The UK’s most expensive restaurant (£420 for 20 bitesize courses) might cost the same as a European mini break but the quality of food will transport you much further, not least a final plate of melon and mango imported from Japan likely to ruin all future fruit forever. Before that, expect never-to-be-bettered chu toru tuna, Scottish lobster and Cornish crab handed over the 300-year-old cedar counter with friendly formality.
Sushi Kanesaka is located at 45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN
Taku
The namesake Taku is chef Takuya Watanabe, who made Jin the first Michelin-starred omakase restaurant in the French capital. The chef has repeated the accolade at this 16-seat pine counter in Mayfair, where guests are instructed to consume each of the 20 freshly crafted courses within 10 seconds to savour the flavours and textures in peak condition. Melt-in-the-mouth Devon squid nigiri is not something anyone would need to be told twice to eat. Prices start at £160 for lunch and head skywards.
Taku is located at 36 Albemarle Street, W1S 4JE
Temaki
Many restaurants in Japan serve only one thing, and do it exceptionally well. At Temaki, it’s the namesake hand rolls: excellent news for anyone who has failed to get to grips with chopsticks. The signature dish involves white and brown crabmeat, egg yolk and white soy, rolled to order in a seaweed cone behind the central counter. Reasonable prices (sushi sets from £24), live DJs and Japanese beer are a reminder one is in Brixton not Belgravia.
Temaki is located at 12 Market Row, SW9 8LF
Umu
There’s a sense of special occasion at Umu from the moment guests press the panel in the wall to gain admittance to a dining room inspired by the grace and serenity of historic Kyoto. The multi-course kaiseki menu (£250) features more than just sushi, but it’s with raw fish and rice that Umu excels. Sit at the counter to savour the subtlety and tenderness of British fish killed using the ancient Japanese art of ike jime, which prevents the release of stress hormones.
Umu is located at 14-16 Bruton Place, W1J 6LX
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