RAI, a highly rated but short-lived Fitzrovia omakase that closed down last year, is to reopen next week at a new address not far away, in Bloomsbury. The new venue has tables for just 10 guests, who will pay £130 a head for a set meal, while another eight sit at a sushi counter with […]
Possibly London’s smallest restaurant opens in Notting Hill next week – an omakase with just six seats per sitting called Juno, upstairs at Markus Thesleff’s Mexican-Japanese mashup Los Mochis. Juno will serve a 15-course meal costing £180 in two evening sittings – at 6 and 8.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday – overseen by Los Mochis’ executive chef […]
A swish, design-led and Japanese-inspired Middle Eastern restaurant opens on Monday (18 December) near Harrods, under the far from glamorous name of Clap. Clap takes over three storeys of a building in Knightsbridge’s Basil Street, and incorporates a main dining room with open kitchen, a street-level café and a rooftop bar. The brand made its […]
A new wagyu-specialist Japanese restaurant opens in Mayfair next week which is expected to charge an astonishing £750 per person for a meal with wine. Aragawa, on Clarges Street, is the first European branch of a restaurant that originated in 1956 in Kobe, capital of Hyogo prefecture, and home of the best wagyu cattle – it […]
High-end omakase dining arrives in Hampstead this month with the opening of restaurant Iné, from the team behind Taku in Mayfair. Named after the Japanese for the rice plant before it is harvested, Iné will offer a 15-course omakase (“leave it to the chef”) meal along with a full sushi and sashimi menu at an […]
Southern US fried chicken gets a Tokyo makeover at a new street-food stall that has opened in Vinegar Yard near London Bridge. Lani Lam’s Japanese Chicken Shop combines Nashville-style hot chicken with Japanese ingredients, in a sandwich of classic soft milk bread. Sandos on offer include the Tokyo Hot Chicken (pineapple jam, Kewpie mayo, dark soy caramel, […]
A sustainable Japanese restaurant using seasonal Sussex ingredients called Fumi has opened in Brighton, from the team behind Wolfox roastery and cafés. The team also opened plant-based Japanese restaurant Kusaki nearby in 2021. Founder Fabio Lauro said: “At Fumi we want to bring everything that is good about the beautiful countryside of Sussex together with […]
A new sushi restaurant opened in Mayfair this week charging what is thought to be the UK’s highest price for a meal. A meal Sushi Kanesaka, in Mayfair hotel 45 Park Avenue, costs £420 for 18 courses – with optional sake or wine pairings adding from £150 a head. Sushi master Shinji Kanesaka opened his restaurant […]
Gordon Ramsay opens the second branch of his Japanese-themed Lucky Cat restaurant in Manchester next week, as his empire embarks on a year of rapid expansion. Said to be inspired by the drinking dens of 1930s Tokyo, Lucky Cat is set over three storeys in a grand Art Deco-style former Midland Bank building designed by […]
Birmingham ramen specialist Koba-Ko is to open its first permanent shop in Kings Heath, south of the city centre, later this year following a successful crowdfunding campaign. The fundraiser sailed past its £10,000 target this month, ensuring the project’s future. Co-founder Sam Hill had already secured the venue, just off Kings Heath’s main drag, and […]
