St James's, Japanese - Restaurant Guide

“Well-prepared Japanese cuisine” – be it in the small 7-seat teppanyaki room, at the sushi counter or in the main room – wins consistent praise for this “large basement restaurant” in St James’s, which has a long history as a high-quality Japanese destination, and has run in its current guise as part of a global chain since 2017. “On a quiet evening, it can feel a bit abandoned”, though. Top Tip – “they sometimes have special deals and when it’s particularly worth trying the delicious food, very well prepared and presented”.

Resurrected after a closure of three years, this high-quality St James’s Japanese has long been a feature of the nearby streets and has relocated three times in living memory. Its location until 2022 was north of Piccadilly, in cute Piccadilly Place; and this new incarnation opened in Summer 2025 in premises north of St James’s Square that were until recently occupied by Al Duca (now in Victoria, see also). Yoshino of old was always known for its unusual level of authenticity (which sometimes included an offering incomprehensible to non-Japanese speakers!). Reports please!

“Sometimes it just has to be ramen”, and this group from Japan Centre owner Tak Tokumine provides noodles and broth that are “consistent, quick”, “high-quality and very reasonably priced” – “service isn’t amazing but the food makes up for it”. The 12-hour tonkotsu pork broth is a speciality of Hakata, Tak’s home district of Fukuoka city on the island of Kyushu.

“Terrific Japanese and Asian-influenced food” (pan-Asian crudo, sushi, sashimi and primarily seafood-based luxury bites) “in a French restaurant, and with French desserts” inspires high ratings for Gallic star-chef, Cyril Lignac’s Mayfair outpost, whose Parisian-style elegance also helps make it “a great place to spend time in too”. After four years in London, he’s not yet as famous as in France, but in May 2025, Le Figaro voted his Saint Germain original (on which the London branch is modelled) as one of ‘Les restaurants les plus (délicieusement) snobs de Paris’, with ‘Bar des Près’ being ‘Le plus Mondialisé’ (or ‘the most globalised’).

In December 2023, Tom Cruise apparently romanced Russian MP’s daughter Elsina Khayrova at this Mayfair eurotrash magnet, owned by ‘Blini Baron’, Arkady Novokov. There are two sections – the more popular pan-Asian haunt serving a huge variety of bites (sushi, sashimi, robata, dim sum, steaks, salads and wok dishes); and the more gracious and ornate Italian section majoring in wood-grilled steak and fish. Perhaps our readers are just not in the oligarch mindset – the odd one says it’s exceptional all-round but largely they rate the whole experience as “underwhelming for the price”… or just plain “bad”.

2023 Review: This “wonderful Japanese noodle shop just off of Regent Street” is modelled on the ‘yokocho’ alleyways of old Tokyo, its retro 1970s theme lending itself well to pedestrianised Heddon Street. There’s “great-tasting ramen with regular specials” and it “can be busy”. Launched two years ago by the Japan Centre team, it also has branches in Panton Street, Soho, and Westfield Shepherd’s Bush.

“Well priced” Japanese dishes make this small, no-frills 26-year-old chain a useful option, whether for a “quick pre-theatre visit” when in town or in one of the more far-flung branches (Catford or Brentwood), where “decent quality sushi is found in a local high street for the first time”. Top Tip – “the delicious honey tea”.

“Sometimes it just has to be ramen”, and this group from Japan Centre owner Tak Tokumine provides noodles and broth that are “consistent, quick”, “high-quality and very reasonably priced” – “service isn’t amazing but the food makes up for it”. The 12-hour tonkotsu pork broth is a speciality of Hakata, Tak’s home district of Fukuoka city on the island of Kyushu.

The “reliable, delicious ramen” available at six sites across the capital, offering “tasty twists” on traditional Kyushu-style noodles from former pro cyclist Kazuhiro Kanada, is many people’s favourite Japanese fast-food option. “A newly opened branch in Westfield Shepherd’s Bush, although finding its feet, is still one of the better options for a bite to eat” in the mall.

Ten years ago, Matsuhiro Araki broke the glass ceiling of London menu pricing, when he opened this 9-seater in Mayfair, paving the way for the top-tier Japanese omakase restaurants that now dominate the upper price points of the capital’s dining scene. In 2019, Mr Araki packed his bags, leaving his daughter Manae Araki and protégé Marty Lau in charge, since which time – not helped by Michelin steadfastly ignoring the establishment – interest in it has dwindled. Support in our annual diners’ poll has remained steady in this time, with nothing but praise for the all-round experience: an omakase at £310 per person. That said, there were more complaints about its pricing this year.

“Sometimes it just has to be ramen”, and this group from Japan Centre owner Tak Tokumine provides noodles and broth that are “consistent, quick”, “high-quality and very reasonably priced” – “service isn’t amazing but the food makes up for it”. The 12-hour tonkotsu pork broth is a speciality of Hakata, Tak’s home district of Fukuoka city on the island of Kyushu.

With “clever”, “good-quality Japanese food” – in particular the “excellent, if relatively expensive, sushi” – and “busy, competent service”, these “fun, stylish and friendly” Scandi-minimal venues are “always buzzing”. Founded in Copenhagen by a pair of Danish-Japanese brothers more than 30 years ago, the company came under new ownership in 2024 with big expansion plans, and unveiled two times F1 champion Fernando Alonso as a major shareholder in April 2025. Recent London openings include a “huge new site” in Islington and Battersea Power Station.

“Top-quality Japanese” food including “wonderfully fresh sushi” is served by “charming staff” at this veteran venue in a quiet Mayfair sidestreet – “recently taken over by second-generation owner-managers”, almost 50 years on from its opening (and claiming to be London’s oldest family run Japanese restaurant). “Good-value lunches” in particular help make it popular with staff from the Japanese Embassy nearby.

“Kudos to the chef” – Seamus Sam, who arrived in mid 2024 and is maintaining the culinary renown of this funky 12-seater in the cellar of Layo & Zoë Pasking’s period pub on the fringe of Chinatown, where he delivers a five-course menu for £135 per person. By all accounts it’s “just a wonderful experience” with “extremely interesting cooking” and “some intriguing wine pairings”, all delivered by “excellent staff”. “Not one for claustrophobics” perhaps, but most reporters find its style “lovely and intimate”.

2022 Review: “Our daughters love this restaurant – especially the cubed steak and iceberg lettuce!”. This manifestly cool Soho three-year-old offers sushi and sashimi as well as a wide range of fish and meat from the robata grill.

“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.

2024 Review: Yuya Kikuchi’s no-frills, very personal, small Soho six-year-old inspired little feedback this year, although we have received rave reviews in the past, particularly about the sushi. You can eat quite cheaply here, but aficionados of Japanese cuisine regularly go nuts for his £120, 18-course omakase. The FT’s Tim Hayward was one such in February 2023, declaring it “the best Japanese food in London” where “the chef’s attention to his ingredients is quite staggering… his craft skills second-to-none”. We have never had any complaints, but read Tripadvisor reviews if you are at all sensitive to poor service…

“Delicious ramen with rich home-made broth” draws a steady crowd to these “quick, casual” joints “with a fun classic rock soundtrack”; and whose “great noodles are very consistent across their branches” (there are now seven across the capital). Top Menu Tip – “bao bun specials are good too, and great value”.

2025 Review: This 15-strong London noodle chain (now with branches in Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol) is “a good stand-by” – perhaps it’s “not as good as some of its competitors”, but it is widely seen as “good value”: in particular “the lunch-time meal deal” is a winner.