Japanese
Run by three Japanese guys, this Elephant & Castle spot is serving up real deal ramen. Tokoton may mean ‘thoroughly’ in Japanese but the menu is short and sweet, with Japanese classics just done really well. There’s shoyu, miso and garlic ramen, topped with either cha siu pork or tofu, to choose from, alongside a handful of donburi and sides like gyoza, karaage and miso aubergine, and over half of the menu is vegan. The owners like sake as much as they like ramen, so don’t leave without sampling from their selection.
KANPAI CLASSIC
Japanese restaurant group Kanpai Classic, which was founded in Taipei two decades ago and now has numerous sites in Taiwan and China, has opened its first UK location in Soho. Kanpai Classic is about two things; wagyu beef and yakiniku (that’s cooking bitesize pieces of food over a charcoal flame), so if you don’t eat red meat, this is one to swerve. But for carnivores, a veritable feast awaits. Company founder Soji Hiraide has made it his mission to bring the finest wagyu to his customers and showcase a wider range of cuts, so you’re getting meat here that you won’t find anywhere else in the UK. Executive chef Masatada Ogata and head chef Nicolo Bolognesi, formerly of Nobu Hotel Portman Square, launched the restaurant with a 14-course omakase menu, though there’s now both a shorter set menu and a la carte options available. If you like wagyu you’ll pretty much love everything but the beef tongue, an unbelievably buttery slice of tri-tip brushed with yakiniku sauce, rib finger brushed in spicy miso and served in a lettuce wrap, and a richly marbled A5 steak, almost half fat to meat, with rock salt and proper wasabi are particular highlights. And with exclusive sakes from Japan’s Masuizumi Brewery on offer, the drinks list is pretty spesh too.
Formerly operating as SushiHeads, this Tottenham spot run by Naomi Simpson now goes by the name Metcha Matcha, after she pivoted away from serving sushi and sashimi. Raw fish may be off the menu but food isn’t – you can now get a range of onigiri, sandwiches and baked goods, and there’s still a selection of Japanese groceries available too. Drinks-wise, there a bunch of Japanese lattes on offer, including matcha, hojicha (which has less caffeine) and kurogoma (made from black sesame paste).
HANA SUSHI
Hana Sushi is a proper neighbourhood sushi spot in Holloway. The sushi selection is varied and affordable – be sure to try the Seven Sisters maki (deep-fried salmon, tuna and snapper with spicy mayo), crispy hamachi maki and salmon skin maki. With donburi, katsu curry, yaki udon, yaki soba and even bibimpab and bulgogi on the menu, there’s plenty of choice for the non-sushi lovers out there too.
Michelin-starred chef Akira Back operates 25 restaurants around the world, in cities including Bangkok, Las Vegas, Singapore, Paris, Dubai, Seoul and Istanbul, and London has been added to the list with his eponymous Akira Back restaurant inside the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in Hanover Square. As you’d expect from a luxury hotel, the 148-cover restaurant looks the part, with a triple height sky roof and spiral marble staircase bringing the drama. The menu showcases Back’s modern Japanese food, with signatures, like the AB Tuna Pizza with umami aioli and shiso (a must-order) sitting alongside exclusive dishes for London, including Dynamite Lobster with pickled shimeji, turbot with white asparagus and sake butter, and Highland wagyu striploin with yuzu kosho jus. Don’t miss the Jeju domi sea bream, octopus crudo, the Jidori chicken with potato purée, or the moon cake dessert either. And the fun doesn’t stop once you’ve finished your meal as late night cocktail bar ABar Lounge, next to the restaurant, is shaking up inventive cocktails and has a DJ programme running on the weekends.
Tucked away inside the County Hall building on the Southbank is one of the best omakase restaurants in town. At Hannah, Chef Daisuke take inspiration from the kaiseki style of service and he blends both Japanese and British cooking techniques and ingredients to create a very spesh omakase experience. Seasonality is everything at Hannah so the menu changes often (as do the flowers inside the restaurant and on the plates) but you can expect expertly crafted and plated dishes like seared A5 wagyu with foie gras; sea bream shabu shabu; smoked trout with tozazu jelly; otoro with seaweed soy sauce; ramen noodles with chicken & Iberico ham stock and grilled chicken; grilled lobster with umami butter; ten sushi chirashi bowl; and tonka bean and cherry blossom ice cream.
Ramen Moto, from the same team behind Moto Yakitori & Sake Bar in Hong Kong, menu centres around a selection of authentic ramen bowls and Japanese small plates. Expect chewy, 100% Hokkaido wheat flour noodles and creamy, miso and shoyu broths, including the likes of creamy chicken (with soft chicken, pork chashu, seasoned egg, deep-fried burdock, spring onion, sliced fungus and onion); yuzu (with yuzu paste, soft chicken, pork chashu, wakame, spring onion and sliced fungus); spicy miso (with soft chicken, pork chashu, seasoned egg, wakame, sweetcorn, spring onion and sliced fungus); and veg/ spicy veg (with a kombu & mushroom broth, miso/spicy miso, konnyaku, sweetcorn, deep-fried burdock, deep-fried bean curd and nori) Plus, there are smaller plates and snacks like onigiri with truffle butter, chicken karaage and crispy shrimp rolls.
Ippudo is a massive ramen chain in Japan and, just as chain restaurants should, it provides a consistent and reliable ramen every time you go in to one of its four London branches. Tonkotsu, with pork belly chashu, sesame kikurage mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and spring onions, is Ippudo’s speciality, which they’ve upgraded with the likes of miso paste and garlic oil (to make the Akamaru Modern bowl) and spicy miso, sansho pepper and roasted cashews (to make the Karaka-Men bowl). You can get these signatures with a range of different toppings, as well as add additional ones, with dishes like takoyaki, gyoza, karaage, hirata buns and donburi also on the Ippudo menu.
Tenmaru, which started in Finsbury Park in 2019 and has since expanded to a second site in Oxford Circus, aims to replicate the izakaya experience you’d find in Japan right here in London. And it does so through its menu of small plates like gyoza, cucumber salad, karaage and vegetable cakes, and its ramen selection. Tenmaru specialises in chicken broth ramen, including the tori paitan (with sous-vide chicken chashu, seasoned egg, black fungus, bean sprout and spring onion) but it also does a soupless mazesoba and a great range of vegan bowls, such as the spicy miso and tofu and the basil pesto ramen. If that sounds up your street, just remember it’s walk-ins only at both branches.
This Camden restaurant may be low-key in its vibe but it delivers big when it comes to ramen. With miso, shoyu, and tonkotsu ramens available, as well as veggie broths on offer instead of chicken and pork broth, there’s a bowl to suit all tastes – all you need is some gyoza on the side and you’ve got yourself a very good meal. And even better, it’s friendly on the wallet too, with the lunch options being a particularly good cheap eat.
BAMBOO MAT
Former Chotto Matte chef, Denis Gobjila, and his business partner, Victor Rosca (who is best known for Sushisamba and Lucky Cat), have joined forces to put their own stamp on Nikkei cuisine – a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian flavours – and showcase it at Bamboo Mat in Stratford. Situated in East Village, Bamboo Mat has a luxury 9-course tasting menu for just £55 – you can also add wine pairing for £25, which we highly recommend you do for the full experience. All of the dishes are presented in a sharing style, including ceviche deluxe, hamachi tiradito, chicken anticucho, ox cheek in teriyaki sauce and a sushi platter piled high with dragon maki, bluefin tuna nigiri, and A4 grade wagyu beef aburi nigiri.
JUNO
Juno, hidden above Japanese-Mexican fusion restaurant Los Mochis in Notting Hill, is the smallest omakase experience in London and also the first one in the world to be gluten and nut free. Run by Los Mochis Executive Chef Leonard Tanyag (ex-OKKU and Zuma) and Head Sushi Chef Han (ex-Nobu and Roka), Juno mirrors the downstairs restaurant by incorporating Mexican flavours, particularly through inventive seasonings made in-house. As omakase means ‘I leave it up to you’, the chefs base the 15 courses around the freshest fish they have available to them at the time. The first burst of dishes is where you can really see and taste the Mexican influences, like madai (red bream) on a lime aioli and finished with a Oaxacan-inspired chicatana (that’s flying ant) and arbol chilli seasonin, and kinmedai (snapper) and cucumber as aguachile with grasshopper seasoning. Then it’s onto the nigiri section, which includes the likes of sweet Hokkaido scallop with yuzu salt; super creamy botan ebi (prawn) with green perilla salt; and an A5 wagyu nigiri, seasoned with a salt made from agave worm and seared using molten bone marrow. If you’re looking for a blowout meal, and you wanna try an omakase unlike any other in town, it’s well worth nabbing one of the seats at Juno.
INÉ
Mayfair to Hampstead might not be the most obvious route for a restaurant group’s expansion (you’d expect it to be the other way around) – but that’s what the team behind Taku Mayfair has done with INÉ. The restaurant opened in Hampstead at the end of last year, bringing Japanese fine dining to the North London neighbourhood. Looks-wise, it’s very Japanese inside – extremely minimalist with lots of natural wood and booth seating behind an eight-seater omakase counter. Omakase is served at particular times throughout the day and is £100 for 15 courses, otherwise, there’s an a la carte and an INÉ special menu to choose from. Whichever route you go down, you’re getting a blend of the Edomae style showcased at the Michelin-starred Taku and more contemporary influences. The sushi here is top quality, particularly the sashimi selection, the botan ebi nigiri and the tuna nigiri set, and the octopus karaage, hamachi carpaccio and wagyu katsu sando shouldn’t be missed.
Listening bars and audio-focused restaurants have gone through a renaissance in London but Dalston’s Brilliant Corners was one of the first to do it, opening way back in 2013. The Kingsland Road spot specialises in Japanese small plates, live jazz and DJ sets. The sound system is world class and there are always expert selectors passing through, so music fans are in for a treat. The food and drink offering is just as good, with izakaya-inspired plates like tuna maki, beef tataki, tofu korokke with miso aioli, chicken karaage and sashimi moriawase with ponzu on the menu, complemented by mezcal margs, miso highballs and natural wines.
MISATO
Misato is one of those ol’ reliable spots in Chinatown serving up affordable, fuss-free and good food. Anyone familiar with this part of town can tell you that Misato’s rarely seen without a queue, which is typically a good sign, and they’ve kept this base of loyal regulars since opening back in the 90s. You won’t find anything *too* adventurous here, but you’ll be able to fill up on chicken katsu (with rice or udon noodles), tori udon, chicken teriyaki donburi or hamachi sashimi for around a tenner each, so this spot’s great for a wallet-friendly lunch.
This postage stamp-sized restaurant in Finsbury Park is a firm neighbourhood favourite – as a result, it can be hard to get a table. Dotori is all about authentic Japanese and Korean food, both of which they do very well. The menu here is extensive and covers all the classics, from Korean BBQ to Japanese curries, as well as an impressive amount of sushi. It’s all very affordable too, with a full dinner here setting you back less than £30, and the option to BYOB which’ll cost you a £15 corkage fee. They’re walk-in and cash only, so come prepared – it’ll be worth it.
Run by fish supplier Kaz Tateishi, Sushi Show, which has shops in Camden and Shoreditch, is the place to go for top quality and excellent value sushi. There’s always a great selection of affordably priced, pre-prepared sushi boxes on the counter but if you can’t see what you like, the team can just make something up for you, including party plates that are ideal for sharing. If you’re not in a rush, there are a few seats available for dining in too.
KIBAKO
Kibako is a new concept centred around omakase-style boxes from the Hot Stone team. As well as an a la carte offering including snacks, sashimi, carpaccio, maki rolls, grilled unagi don and A5 Kagoshina wagyu, there are three different omakase box set menus to choose from – regular, premium and A5 wagyu & black cod. Each box features between six and twelve sushi and sashimi dishes, plus aged soy sauce and wasabi grated fresh at the table, and they’re all beautifully presented on different ceramics; a main dish like marinated salmon, miso aubergine or black cod & A5 wagyu, served with Japanese pickles, miso soup and rice; and a seasonal dessert.