Sushi master Endo Kazutoshi has announced plans to open an intimate, 10-seater omakase restaurant in Chelsea in October – just over a year after a 14-hour fire destroyed his flagship at the top of the White City.
The new venue, called simply Endo, will take over the townhouse near Sloane Square occupied until February last year by highly rated restaurant The Five Fields. In a new departure, upstairs will feature a listening bar called Moga, which will be bookable in its own right from December.
Endo at the Rotunda was number one on the Harden’s 100 list of the UK’s best restaurants at the time of the disastrous fire, hailed as “an extraordinary gastronomic experience” borne out of the chef’s “obsession with quality and refusal to compromise“.
For the new project, Endo has taken inspiration from the sushi counters of Tokyo during the 1920s and 30s – around the time his grandfather established a restaurant in nearby Yokohama. Doubling down on “purity, seasonality and discipline” in his approach, he is removing dairy entirely from the menu, placing a greater emphasis on dashi and traditional techniques.
Endo says: “I often ask myself what responsibility I have to carry on the traditions and culture of Japan in my work. This project is the next chapter of my journey, strengthened by a clear vision and grounded more profoundly in the past. Behind every piece of sushi is the work of many hands – those who catch fish, grow the rice, and create the objects to serve it. This is a story I wish to tell. Like Kintsugi, the scars of last year have become part of my history; they have made me return more deeply to my roots. I have a responsibility to represent my culture and reflect centuries of craft in each dish I serve, and I look forward to sharing this journey with you soon.“
The restaurant design takes its cues from the Japanese ryokan, a traditional wooden guest house, with a bespoke 80cm-wide counter created from 200-year-old hinoki wood from Kyoto.
The listening bar features Taguchi speakers and is inspired by the Taisho era (1912-24), when Japan embraced modernity and international cultural influences – the name Moga referencing the ‘modern women’ of the time, the Japan version of flappers who symbolised a new freedom. The cocktail menu has been built around tea in collaboration with Mayfair specialists Postcard Teas.
Endo at the Rotunda’s residency at Annabel’s nightclub ended last month. The chef also operates Kioku at the OWO and Sumi in Notting Hill, with a second Sumi opening soon in Marylebone.
