Fitzrovia, Japanese Restaurant Guide

2019 Review: No reports yet on this early 2018 opening – a ‘contemporary Japanese’ in fairly traditional style on Fitzrovia’s ‘restaurant row’, majoring in sushi. It has a good pedigree, with a head chef formerly of Chisou (Dham Kodituwakku).

2021 Review: “Top ramen with great broth and good combinations”, win fans for this genuinely Japanese chain (originating in Fukuoka), which has branches in Holborn, Embankment and Canary Wharf. Ratings, though, fall short of the top heights at the hands of those who feel its food is “not bad, but not memorable”. A fourth branch is to open in Fitzrovia in autumn 2019.

“Nailing it every time” – Arjun Waney and Rainer Becker’s upscale Japanese-inspired operations endure on a deceptively simple formula of “great buzz… awesome food”. Centre stage are the “expertly prepared” small plates – “a lovely combination of hot and cold Japanese-fusion dishes” featuring “gorgeous sushi, sashimi and robata” (from the centrally placed grill) – that are “pricey yet exceptional”. As an offering, you could quibble that “it hasn’t really evolved” in recent years, or you could say ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’

“Very busy and bustling” – these “vibey” izakayas are part of Bone Daddies group, and provide an “inventive” mix of dishes from a wide-ranging menu: sushi, filled hirata buns, ceviche (not all branches) and a wide selection of other dishes. In addition to those in Fitzrovia and Covent Garden, they briefly added a Kensington site in 2022, but it is set to be converted to a Bone Daddies after just a few months.

This contemporary Japanese outfit near Oxford Circus from the Chisou group is – according to its biggest fans – “simply outstanding” (“the head chef gave us personal advice and even created tailor-made sushi for us”… “sublime”). Not everyone would go quite as far, but all reports rate the food here as good or better.

2019 Review: This Japanese tabletop BBQ is a “great place for a fun night out” in Holborn (there’s also a new branch at Oxford Circus), cooking your own meat from a “good, reasonably priced set dinner selection”. It is part of a Tokyo-based group with branches in eight countries.

“Melt-in-the-mouth Wagyu and exemplary sashimi” inspire rave reviews for Shrabaneswor Rai and chef Padam Raj Rai’s Fitzrovia newcomer (previously a second branch of Hot Stone, which they also own). There’s no à la carte – the format is one of a multi-course, omakase-style tasting menu and fans are “blown away by the quality of the food”.

Angelina founders, Joshua Owens-Baigler and Amar Takhar, have overhauled the Soho bar they launched as Golden Gai last year, and reopened it in November 2021 as this ‘kushikatsu’ (deep-fried skewers coated in Panko crumbs) specialist, here served omakase style. Despite full-on raves from many press critics, including The Guardian’s Grace Dent (“delightfully odd”, but with “some of the most fantastic cooking in London”), it inspired curiously little feedback in our annual diners’ poll – more reports please!