Harden's says
Japanese-born Angelo Sato worked under Clare Smyth and Adam Byatt before becoming head chef at Restaurant Story. His opening of an izakaya-style yakitori spot in the heart of Soho - on the original site of Barrafina - is exciting news for Soho.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“If you’ve never had a stuffed mussel you haven’t lived!” – Tokyo-born Angelo Sato’s brave Soho venture is ‘dedicated to redefining what fine dining for the next generation looks like’ and has metamorphosed from a relatively simple seller of chicken skewers into a so-now, 13-seat omakase experience that won two Michelin stars in the tyre men’s 2025 awards. It’s one of the most talked-about top-end Japanese experiences in our annual diners’ poll and in close contention as the highest rated. The 16-course menu for £235 per person fuses Japanese and European inspirations for dishes and “service at the bar creates a great interaction with the engaging staff”. “It’s a lovely way to spend an evening eating amazing food and drinking sake”, plus “an eclectic off-piste wine list often from small producers”. “So good is Humble Chicken that you’ll talk about booking again on your way home – even though it is eye-wateringly expensive – and that’s before the second star and refurb that may reduce the covers” (the latter is ongoing over summer 2025, with reopening later in the year).
Summary
“‘Fusion’ may be a dirty word but it works a treat” at this “really good multi-course omakase” from Tokyo-born Angelo Sato, who trained under Clare Smyth and was head chef at Restaurant Story. Originally focused on chicken skewers, it has morphed into a more ambitious outfit, serving a set 16-course dinner that is “full or surprises” and “one of the most exciting options in Soho nowadays”.
Summary
“One of the most exciting options in Soho nowadays”: Angelo Sato’s ambitious and “really rather good multi-course omakase” – in the premises of the original Barrafina – features “really innovative dishes, executed to perfection in a casual, buzzing atmosphere”. The Tokyo-born chef, who trained under Clare Smyth and headed the kitchen at Restaurant Story, originally opened the venue as a yakitori, specialising in chicken skewers, before upgrading in early 2023 to its present, rather less humble incarnation. Diners sit at the counter to enjoy the theatrical preparation.
Summary
“Super busy with good reason” – “every part of a chicken is cooked to utter perfection married with moreish Japanese flavours” at Angelo Sato’s “cool” yearling in Soho: “he’s in front of you slaving away at the charcoal preparing yakitori skewers day after day” and “sitting at the bar you get a good view of the ‘cogs’ the delicious dishes have to go through to get to the counter in front of you”. “The prices are high for the portion sizes though” and while fans “warm to tendon and giblets”, and feel “there is something quite nice about the concept of using every part of a chicken”, that doesn’t float everyone’s boat.
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 Humble Chicken?
54 Frith Street, London, W1D 4SJ
Restaurant details
Humble Chicken Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Innovative and beautifully crafted cuisine"
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £50.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
54 Frith Street, London, W1D 4SJ
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 5:15 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 5:15 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 5:15 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12:30 pm‑3 pm, 5:30 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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