Found in Translation: The best Japanese restaurants in London

The popularity of Japanese food in London is not what you would call hot news. It’s patently there in the abundance of sushi eateries and ramen bars, on supermarket shelves of take-away meals and the liking for Japanese-accented cocktails. Last year brought a rash of izakaya (‘the roof with alcohol’) openings across the city, delighting the taste buds of Japanophiles with food far more refined than would be consumed in the informal watering holes that they take the name from. It can happen though – as with sashimi pizzas for goodness sake – that something is lost when aspects of Japanese cuisine are translated onto London’s food landscape. This is thankfully not the case with the following selection.

Sake no Hana sits in an unusual place for a restaurant – it takes up a floor of what ought to be an office block in Mayfair – but everything is arranged to make being here a notable experience. You arrive via a gorgeous black lobby, decorated with orchids and a smiling receptionist, and a narrow escalator leads to an opulent restaurant. The dining space is vast, going round two corners of the plate glass building with wood panels and bamboo screens to truly sent the scene. A quirky feature is the location of the men’s loo: around one of the corners and then a descent in a lift.

Like origami creations, the food comes in beautiful arrangements, miniature works of art, and at lunchtime the perspex bento boxes look more like corsage arrangements than fast food; too beautiful to be eaten but such a reward when consumed. Evening time brings subdued lighting and a mellower tone but the exquisite presentation never falters – lobster salad decorated with amaranth flowers and kiku leaves – and the extensive menu takes time to contemplate if not opting for one of the set menus. The signature kaiseki menus, constituted by more small plates and courses than you’ll keep count of, are the crème de la crème of Sake No Hana’s impeccable homage to Japan’s distinctive and sophisticated contribution to world food.

For more information visit sakenohana.com

In another part of Mayfair, at the Westbury Hotel (but with its own entrance from the street), Tsukiji offers a different take on Japanese food. Named after a Tokyo district, it’s a tiny place, seating about twenty at most, but light-filled and feels spacious. Lots of glowing wood, white walls, a strange perspex inset in the floor and a sushi counter dominate the room. Reservations are advisable, a kimono-clad member of staff informed me, especially at lunch time when the specials take the steam out of choosing your dishes. The menu is worthy of attention, created by Show Choong, a Malaysian chef who has worked in Japanese restaurants most of his working life and is not afraid of being innovative. Parmesan and wasabi seem an unlikely pair but they work together in a filo king prawn – cream cheese and jalapeno appear in one of the rolls. Most eye-catching of all is the pairing of traditional dishes like beef tataki and nigari sushi with a vintage 2003 Dom Perignon. It’s a bold and exciting proposition and adds the finishing touch to a fine selection of other wines.

For more information visit tsukijimayfair.com

Miyako’s bento-box space in Andaz, at the junction of Bishopsgate and Liverpool St, is as different to the hotel’s George pub as Tokyo is from Victorian London. Oak panelled walls, high ceiling and noisy acoustics are replaced in Miyako by walls of maple wood and a sound-proofed window with neat steel-latticed blinds looking out on a busy traffic junction. Space being at a premium, and the sushi so good, this is busy-busy at lunchtimes but a night time reservation should deliver a quiet table for perusal of a beverage menu that runs the gamut from Japanese beers – via Champagne, Chablis, Italian and South African wines – to well over a dozen types of sake from 175ml to 500ml bottles.

Miyako’s food is appealing to judge by my repast of scallop and hambachi sashimi followed by spicy tuna maki and miyaki rolls. The yuzu macaroon and green tea ice cream enhances the concept of macaroon and the three kinds of mocha, a pastry filled with ice cream, should slip down effortlessly.

For more information visit andazdining.com

At one end of Beauchamp Place in Knightsbridge a single white rectangular flag, with a large red disc in the centre, flying modestly above No 31, announces Chisou. Such unostentatiousness is standard for the exteriors of restaurants in Japan and the narrow space and reverential stillness of the interior is equally characteristic of what you find inside them. Such is Chisou, a quiet haven serving classic Japanese food in an unhurried and pleasant atmosphere. A minimal attention to decorations says this place is all about what appears on your table, and omens are good when sake works as a little fountain alongside the chopsticks. Everything is aesthetically pleasing and singling out the pineapple carpaccio, with the thinnest slivers of fruit you can imagine being served on an iced glass plate, is unfair to the rest of the menu. For the sake of carping, the breaded oysters look fine but surely shellfish is best served au naturel?

For more information chisourestaurant.com

By Sean Sheehan

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