Harden's says
A new Japanese restaurant and omakase counter from the team behind Taku Mayfair. Taku's chef-patron Takuya Watanabe has installed his protégé Law Kwok Meng as head chef. INÉ is Japanese for 'rice'.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Fine Japanese cuisine” is a welcome addition to Hampstead: here it’s provided by chef Law Kwok Meng, backed by Takuya Watanabe who runs Taku in Mayfair and opened this cleanly designed, mutedly decorated venue a year ago. The main event is a 17-course omakase for £130 per person (or at lunchtime a 12-course variant for £70 per person). But – in a similar vein to last year – while all reports are positive about the standard of cooking, all reports note that it’s really “quite pricey”. If you want to suss it out before eating, drop in for a drink in the first floor lounge ‘Upstairs at INÉ’ (which also hosts regular masterclasses and exhibitions).
Summary
“A great new japanese restaurant in Hampstead” from the team behind Taku Mayfair, where patron Takuya Watanabe has installed his protégé Law Kwok Meng as head chef (‘Iné’ is Japanese for rice). “Let’s hope it survives in this notoriously difficult suburb” – all reports say the food is “very good” and “service is particularly attentive” – you either eat à la carte (prepared by chef Andrew Lim), or go for the full blow-out of a 17-course omakase served personally by chef Meng. However the “high culinary ambitions here have prices to match” and even some fans “can’t help feeling it may be overpriced for NW3”. (You can also now just drop in for a drink here too, at their newly opened ‘Upstairs at INÉ’, serving specialty sakes and showcasing emerging artists).
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at INÉ?
16 Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1PX
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £50.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £0.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 15.00% |
16 Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1PX
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 12:30 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 12:30 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 12:30 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12:30 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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