Mayfair, Japanese Restaurant Guide

One of London’s most accoladed Japanese restaurants, this bijou venue in a quiet Mayfair mews was formerly part of Marlon Abela’s M.A.R.C. group – it was sold as a going concern by the administrators when the group collapsed financially in 2020. Feedback is limited over the intervening period, but remains highly enthusiastic, and we’ve rated the restaurant on the basis that both its luxurious Kyoto-inspired kaiseki cuisine, and the bill that accompanies it, remain at a formidable level.

2019 Review: Stalwart Mayfair Japanese near Shepherd Market, where a small but dedicated fan club continue to acclaim high quality, traditional cooking.

“Top buzz and people watching” are undoubtedly the highlight of a visit to this oligarch playground in Mayfair, run by Russian restaurateur, Arkady Novikov. If you are budget conscious, a visit is madness, but – particularly if you like the scene – it offers a “very expensive but very good Russian take on Japanese cuisine”, plus other pan-Asian bites, grills and noodles.

On the Mayfair site of Indian Accent (RIP), this chic May 2021 newcomer is the first London outpost of Gallic TV chef Cyril Lignac, who owns four Parisian restaurants. Unlike his St Germain venture of the same name – which serves only raw food to soak up the cocktails – here at this 100-seater (with ground floor and basement) you can find luxurious hot bites: e.g. scallops with caramelised miso, Madras curried crab, or satay fillet steak. There are also nearly 250 wines and cocktails. Early reporters acclaim this as an “amazing and really original” venue, but even they can find it “overpriced” (a slight echo of the views of the Guardian’s Grace Dent, who judged it ‘a not-very-good restaurant’).

‘High-grade wagyu, supplied by Zen-Noh, Japan’s agricultural cooperative’ was an important part of the raison d’être for this Mayfair five-year-old, set up by the organisation as a showcase for Japanese ingredients. It continues to be a central menu feature, but – with the involvement of London importers Atariya Foods Group in the restaurant’s management since 2020 – there’s now more emphasis on the sushi and sashimi for which Atariya is known. Even those who say a meal here is “incredibly expensive” rate it as “good all-round”.

“Outstanding fast-casual vegan food” has won instant acclaim for star Gallic chef and vegan pioneer, Alexis Gauthier’s latest venture – a “super-friendly” vegan cafeteria that’s part of Fenwick in Mayfair – which opened in April 2021, first on their pavement terrace, and then also in the basement. It serves simple staples (salads, burgers) alongside a slightly more ambitious prix-fixe menu and sushi from a dedicated counter: “although it’s entirely vegan, frankly, you would not realise it: the flavours he gets from vegetables are amazing!”

2019 Review: If it were not one of the restaurants that propelled Gordon Ramsay to fame (and also its erstwhile chef, Jason Atherton) – and if it wasn’t at the heart of a posh postcode – we would have long ago dropped this hotel grill room in Mayfair: it attracts precious little feedback nowadays, all of it disappointing.

“Absolutely spot-on sushi” tops the bill at this “upmarket, though friendly” pair in Mayfair and Knightsbridge, where “the food is absolutely at a level you would expect in Japan”. “Perfectly fresh raw fish, light and crunchy tempura, great wine with attentive and flexible service” make the Mayfair original “a reliable choice just off the fray of Oxford Street”.