Looking into the dining room at Aki
Another new sushi spot! What makes this one stand out from the crowd?
It's true that the London sushi scene is pretty busy at the moment. Recent openings have included Eel and Fan in Notting Hill, Romeo San in Marylebone and Moi in Soho. The good news is that Aki does have a couple of USPs to make it stand out in a crowded market.
First up is the building itself. The owners (Malta’s Lifestyle Group) have spent an eye-watering £15m transforming an old bank into a three storeys of restaurant, bar and private dining. But while if this had been in Mayfair it might have been all a bit OTT, here in Marylebone designers xx have done a nice job of making the space glamorous rather than glitzy.
The second element is the food. The menu here is described as Kyoto farm-to-table. What that means in practice is that you can expect fish-to-tail, fermentation and in-house micro farms to play their part in the final dishes.
Where exactly is it?
You'll find it just off Cavendish Square, a few minutes' walk away from Oxford Circus, which is the nearest tube. It's almost opposite the big MEATliquor on Margaret Street.
Where's a good place to meet for a drink first?
The easiest answer would be their standalone bar, Kiyori, set in the bank's underground vault. It's a lovely space and there's even a hidden nightclub down here that comes to life late at night at the weekends. Alternatively, both The Wigmore and The George are close by and good for a pint.
The vault bar downstairs at Aki
Where should we sit?
We managed to nab one of the central booth tables and they're definitely the ones to go for if you can. Ours was right beside the DJ, but the acoustics are great here - that huge banking hall ceiling helps - so it was still easy to talk without having to shout over the music.
And what's on the menu?
The menu is loosely split between small plates, sashimi/nigiri/maki, tempura and robata dishes, wagyu/kobe, larger dishes and gohan rice bowls. Here are some of the highlights of our dinner here.
Avocado and yuzu kosho (£10) right up in the 'to start' section this was seriously undersold. You get an avocado shell full of avocado and yuzu kosho, topped with loads of Cornish crab and served with huge rice crackers.
Chu toro tartare (£26) - sure this doesn't actually *need* to come perched on a massive ice block, but you've got to admit it's eye-catching. The important thing is that because this is made with nuka pickle, jasmine caviar, toasted puff brown rice and then drizzled with 50-year-old sashimi soy, it's a wow dish in taste as well as presentation.
Seared salmon maki (£18) - once again classic sushi given a contemporary twist using Japanese pickles, shiso and smoked ikura. Those crisp little discs on top of the roll with the ikura were a delight.
Iberico Secreto pork yakinnuku (£31) - this was from the Large Dishes section of the menu, but it wasn't particularly big. But there was something about the combination of the kimchi melon and pork finished with gochujang brown butter tosazu dressing that was memorably good. A must-order.
Room for dessert?
All the desserts on offer sound similarly creative, but we wanted to go light at this point, so we opted for the millefeuille. Another time we'd want to go back for the roasted soy parfait with sour cherry and yuzu sorbet.
Japanese sobacha millefeuille served with a whipped vanilla ganache and aged soy caramel (£13) - such a pretty autumnal dessert and we appreciate all the layers of flavour and texture.
Overall thoughts:
We were genuinely intrigued by what Aki London would be like. After all, this is a restaurant with absolute millions spent on it, which hosted Romeo Beckham's birthday before it had even opened. All the hallmarks of a - dare we say it - style over substance opening were there.
But we were rather taken with our dinner here. Sure, it has the requisite DJ on the evenings, but her music definitely added to the general vibes. The food was several notches more inventive than a lot of other high-end sushi places are serving up, and that bar downstairs is just waiting to be discovered. All in all, this is a perfect place to try in the run-up to the festive season.
More about Aki London
Where is it? 1 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0LA
How to book: book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @akilondon
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Aki London. Prices correct at time of publication.
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