Ichibuns — London, UK
Entering Ichibuns – a pun on the Japanese term for ‘number one’ – is a little like stumbling into a hallucinogenic Japanese version of Alice in Wonderland.
The brainchild of Robin Leigh (New York’s Bondst and Nobu Tribeca), the restaurant in London’s Soho quarter confounds on several fronts. The first is its eye-popping interiors, which Tokyo-based Studio Glitt has conceived on paper as a genuinely Japanese mash-up of American diner, and the 50s and 60s by way of Tokyo’s genre-bending subcultures. Fully realised, this translates into three floors of theatrical drama – practically every surface, including the ceilings, is festooned with an energetic magpie collection of memorabilia, manga comics, cushion covers made of kimonos, period film posters, old coal stoves repurposed as washroom sinks, and a montage of origami paper magnified as wall panels.
As it turns out, the theatricality is almost a diversion, because in the kitchen, executive chef Brendan Fong executes an equally eclectic spread that takes in burgers of Australian wagyu and British grass-fed beef – paired with sautéed shitake mushrooms, white truffle oil and blue cheese fondue, or encrusted with panko flakes – alongside steaming bowls of ramen with king crab, snow crab maki, and milkshakes spiked with sesame ice-cream, maple syrup and peanut butter.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
22 Wardour Street
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
At The Manner, New York has a highly fashionable new living room
The Manner, a new hopsitality experience by Standard International in the heart of SoHo, triples up as a hotel, private residence, and members’ club
By Hannah Walhout Published
-
First look – Bottega Veneta and Flos release a special edition of the Model 600
Gino Sarfatti’s fan favourite from 1966 is born again with Bottega Veneta’s signature treatments gracing its leather base
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
We stepped inside the Stedelijk Museum's newest addition in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum has unveiled its latest addition, the brand-new Don Quixote Sculpture Hall by Paul Cournet of Rotterdam creative agency Cloud
By Yoko Choy Published
-
First look at Belmond’s new ‘romantic and nostalgic’ luxury train
Belmond introduces the Britannic Explorer, the first high-end sleeper train experience in England and Wales
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
London bar Bauhaus Warehaus is a factory by day, drinking den by night
Mixologist of the moment Remy Savage shakes up the world of cocktail-making with a hardworking sibling to A Bar with Shapes for a Name, his Bauhaus-inspired bar enterprise in east London
By Neil Ridley Published
-
First look at 19 Motcomb Street, Belgravia’s iconic Pantechnicon reinvented
Former Nordic-Japanese design and dining hub Pantechnicon reopens as 19 Motcomb Street with a trio of food and beverage concepts
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Where to eat Italian food in London
From four-course blow-outs to the perfect pizza , food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best Italian restaurants to have on your radar
By Ben McCormack Published
-
Out of office: from Loewe loafers to volcanic views, the Wallpaper* editors' picks of the week
What the Wallpaper* team have been eating, seeing, wearing and crucially, enjoying, this week
By Bill Prince Published
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shops
Cornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this week
Team Wallpaper* are hard to pin down. Here's what our editors have been up to this week that might inspire your own downtime, from films to food, architours to musical interludes
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
First look at Soma 2.0: a new nighttime highlight in east London
Fresh from its Soho roots, this newly opened London bar is set to redefine Canary Wharf’s nightlife – not least with its Indian-flavour-twist cocktails, as Neil Ridley discovers
By Neil Ridley Published