Harden's survey result
Summary
“Just superb in every way”, Rainer Becker & Arjun Waney’s high-octane Knightsbridge scene has shown magnificent staying power since it opened in 2002, as well as forming the basis for a chain of permanent and pop-up restaurants across four continents in 27 locations. A pumping bar full of hedgies, oligarchs, Gulf types and other assorted Eurotrash leads onto the sleek dining room where luxurious, modernified Japanese cuisine is “crazy expensive” but on many accounts “never disappoints”.
Summary
“Still going strong” – the “electric, buzzy atmosphere makes for great people-watching” at Rainer Becker & Arjun Waney’s charismatic Knightsbridge scene, whose cocktail bar is a ‘Beauty & The Beast’ bearpit of expensively clad Eurotrash-types. “It’s expensive, but even knowing that it’s still a great experience”: “service tries hard without being terribly fast or particularly friendly” and delivers superb “precision cooking” from a bewildering Japanese-inspired array of luxurious robata dishes, sushi and sashimi, wagyu, lobster and seafood.
Summary
“Buzzy and still heaving” – Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney’s happening Eurotrash magnet, a short walk from Harrods, is “still a firm favourite after all these years” (and was the original site of what’s now a 20-strong global luxury chain). As well as its moody cocktail bar, the draw is “top-notch Japanese food” – sushi, tempura, robata grills, black cod, lobster – “if with prices to match”. “I feel like a cheat putting this as my top choice again… but it never fails to deliver!”
Summary
The crowd (especially in the bar) can be “bling personified”, but Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney’s glitzily glam scene, a short walk from Harrods, delivers way more than “a fun cocktail”, serving luxurious Japanese-fusion dishes that are “just heaven”. For fine food with a pulse, this remains “one of the best dining experiences in London”. Top Menu Tips – “outstanding Wagyu tartare, crispy langoustines and seared tuna salads, and melt-in-the-mouth otoro sushi”.
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).
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5 Raphael St, London, SW7 1DL
Restaurant details
Prices
| Wine per bottle | £40.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
| Service | 15.00% |
5 Raphael St, London, SW7 1DL
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑3:30 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑3:30 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
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