Harden's survey result
Summary
“So incredibly reliable for some of the most sophisticated Japanese food in London” – this sleek venue chicly tucked away in a cute Mayfair mews behind a Star Trek-style sliding door has remained incredibly consistent since 2004, surviving the collapse of founder Marlon Abela’s restaurant group six years ago. Chef Ryo Kamatsu joined ten years ago and has been executive chef since 2020 and – although there is an extensive à la carte menu – the signature offering has always been a Kyoto kaiseki experience (currently for £260 per person): a form of eating which the restaurant can claim to have introduced to the Capital when it first opened. “The service team tends to anticipate every need before you can think of it with such flair” which – together with the svelte backdrop of the interior – creates a supremely cosetting overall experience. Not a cheap meal of course, but newer competitors means it no longer stands out pricewise as once it did.
Summary
“Just simply heaven” – this discreet Japanese venue brought Kyoto-style, kaiseki dining to London when it first opened in 2004 and – despite having lost other parts of his once-extensive restaurant empire – founder Marlon Abela still owns it. Perhaps reflecting Abela’s non-Japanese heritage, it’s one of the more vibey top-end Japanese locations in town: it sits in a bijou Mayfair mews with svelte, elegant decor. As one of the first places to introduce Londoners to the vertiginous price-points of Japanese dining, it has always been seen as costly, but fans say it’s “the most misunderstood restaurant: anyone who really knows Japanese food would praise this restaurant to heaven and back” on account of chef Ryo Kamatsu’s “ever-changing, seasonal Japanese cuisine”. The kaiseki menu is £250 per person, but you don’t have to opt for it: there’s a wide à la carte and they make a feature of using the ‘Ikejime’ method of killing fish designed to bring ‘unparalleled flavour and texture when preparing sashimi’. All reports agree this place is “not cheap but does a sound job” – indeed most reports regard it as “exceptional” in all respects.
Summary
Opened 20 years ago as London’s first exponent of Kyoto-style kaiseki dining (Japan’s most refined cuisine), this low-key Mayfair fixture remains a key foodie destination under Ryo Kakatsu, who joined 10 years ago and was appointed executive chef in 2020. It also has one of the most extensive sake lists in Europe. While the occasional reporter flinches at the “incredibly expense and very small portions”, nobody complains about the quality of the food.
Summary
The “amazing” Kyoto-style kaiseki menu is a longstanding fixture of this low-key stalwart, in a quiet Mayfair mews (which was sold out of administration in 2020 after the collapse of the M.A.R.C. group). But, under executive chef, Ryo Kamatsu, it also offers a luxurious à la carte ranging from caviar to British game to sushi created from the finest Cornish fish. Predictably, there are complaints of “small portions at exquisite prices”, but this remains one of London’s most notable addresses for Japanese cuisine.
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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14-16 Bruton Pl, London, W1J 6LX
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £50.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £11.00 |
| Service | 15.00% |
14-16 Bruton Pl, London, W1J 6LX
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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