Mayfair, Japanese Restaurant Guide

“Hands down most memorable restaurant experience of our lives” – Mitsuhiro Araki’s Mayfair import from Tokyo (where, as with here, he also held three Michelin stars) offers “the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine”: “mind-blowing, mouthwatering food” (“too many amazing dishes to mention”) “lovingly handmade in front of you at a tiny 9 seater bar”, where “Mr Araki makes you feel like guests in his living room”. Is it expensive? Flippin’ ’eck it is. But “ignore the price: it’s a complete cultural immersion and should be compared to a night in top seats at the opera, not a mere meal!”, is the view most folks seem content, nay, ecstatic to take. They say “If you can afford to splash-out, this is a must-try”. At the margin are slightly more sceptical types (or maybe just non-billionaires) who find the prices “galling” but ultimately feel it’s a Faustian pact that works for them: “It’s utterly brilliant and I loved going; but my goodness, it’s expensive, at about £40 a mouthful with the same for a modest glass of wine. But I’m so glad I experienced it. One to save for…”

“I love sitting at the counter with my partner, drinking the cocktails and sake, and having the most brilliant food!” – These “chilled” (if “noisy” and “buzzy”) operations hail from the same stable as Zuma, and have carved a formidable following thanks to a Japanese-inspired array of “clean-tasting” fusion dishes, sushi and robata grills, full of “vibrant flavour”. “It all adds up to a wonderful experience, but with a bill to match!” Top Tips – “fantastic weekend brunch menu, with booze included!” at all branches; and “rocking basement bar” at the Charlotte Street original.

On a quiet alleyway near Piccadilly Circus, this typically low-key (but “welcoming”) Japanese, has been an insider’s secret for more than two decades, with a simple counter downstairs and table service up. Practically all diners agree it’s on good form again now, “after many years of changing chefs and menus”.

“Classic Japanese – not trendy but lovely and with good-quality food” sums up the appeal of this pair in Mayfair (long-established) and off Knightsbridge (quite new). The “awesome sushi and very good cooked dishes” are accompanied by “great sake” (“do try the sake flights”). They’re “not cheap, and like many Japanese restaurants the ambience is functional rather than funky”.

An “enjoyable take on Japanese” – this ‘steak and sake bar’ in the Heddon Street foodie enclave off Regent Street invites customers to ‘cook their own’ meat (including “excellent wagyu beef”), fish and vegetables over a table-top BBQ or hot lava stone. There are also “exceptional sake choices”, along with sake cocktails, shochu and Japanese craft beers. From the team behind Shoryu Ramen and the Japan Centre.

Limited, but positive all-round, feedback on this small Mayfair newcomer, which aims to bring affordably priced Japanese cooking to Shepherd Market, with a selection of robata and sushi (probably the way to go) dishes.

“Japanese cuisine at its finest (the quality of ingredients, especially fish, is simply amazing!)” inspires respect for Marlon Abela’s much-vaunted venture dedicated to Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine, tucked away in a delightful Mayfair mews and whose sleek styling is “not typically Japanese… in a good way”. Ever since it opened in 2004, it has taken flak for being “grossly overpriced”, but the reason its ratings were dragged down this year related to a couple of unusually disappointing reports.

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

“The food is just as good as it always was” (if no longer as trailblazing) at this Japanese-South American fusion concept, a global operation that exploded onto the London scene 21 years ago in this minimalist (some would say boring), first-floor space, overlooking Hyde Park. “Not the destination it used to be for spotting a celeb”, that’s not without its benefits (“there’s no problem getting a table”) and though as “expensive” as it’s always been (and with so-so service), it can “still impress”.

More “brash and boisterous” than its (older) Park Lane sibling, this Mayfair venue continues to attract a steady stream of positive reviews for its “sublime sushi” and other Japanese fusion-wizardry. For how long can they keep milking the franchise as hard as they do, though? – this place seems to become ever-more “wildly overpriced” by the year.