Covent Garden, Fusion Restaurant Guide

“Fun but fully priced” would be a fair overview of this funky fusion duo – outposts of a glossy US-based chain that started in NYC. The original is found at the top of one of West Europe’s fastest lifts, whisking you to the glamorous 38th floor of the Heron Tower (adjacent to Duck & Waffle, see also), complete with a stylish cocktail lounge and outside terrace. Its newer sibling opened in 2018: “it’s above the market in Covent Garden which is a great location/space (regardless of what currently occupies it!)”. In both spots, all reports agree its luxurious Latino-meets-Japanese bites are super-moreish and “consistently good”. Prices though are OTT, especially as “you can feel like you are in a machine, and they churn out huge numbers of covers so service feels rushed. And it’s big, it’s loud, feels like a bun fight!!” (“Sushi Samba was my 18-year-old daughter’s choice and was not as bad as I feared, but not particularly stand-out either”.)

Noisy izakayas in Fitzrovia and Covent Garden from the Bone Daddies group, “serving a good range from the stickier and more crowd-pleasing end of Japanese cuisine”, along with “tasty pan-Asian small plates including their signature bao buns”. Top Menu Tips – “great yakitori, lovely beef-fat chips”.