Test Driving Nakimushi, a restaurant of two floors, two chefs and one menu from the Dorian team

Downstairs at Nakimushi

What is Nakimushi?

This is the latest restaurant from the folk who've brought us Dorian, Eel Sushi and Supermarket of Dreams. Here it's bringing two former pop-up concepts together under one roof (which previously appeared at Supermarket of Dreams) to form one permanent restaurant.

What are those?

First off is Robin's Ramen by Robin Kosuge which, as the name rather gives away, is all about ramen. The second chef is Yuji Shimokawa Kelly (previously behind Urchin), which takes a slightly broader look at Japanese food. Both of those former residencies have been merged into one menu at Nakimushi. In fact, if you just wandered off the street into the restaurant, it wouldn't be evident that they were formerly separate beasts as there isn't anything on the menu to indicate two chefs at work. There are benefits and drawbacks with that approach - but we'll get to that later.  

The restaurant takes up all of this building (the main ramen kitchen is on the left of the ground floor). 

Where is it?

They've taken over a townhouse that's less than five minutes' walk from Notting Hill Gate tube station. Although they have all three floors, the main dining areas are just on the ground and first floors. 

Where should we go for a drink first?

The Mall Tavern is just a couple of buildings away so that's an easy recommendation if you're looking for a pub (and the Blue Stoops is another nearby recommendation). If you're after cocktails, head back to Notting Hill Gate, past the never-ending queue for Yo Chi and go to Viajante 87. The Park (Jeremy King's restaurant) is about 10 minutes' walk away and that's where we ended up for a quick post-meal martini. 

And once at the restaurant, where should we sit?

The ground floor has more of a sharing table approach. So if you look at the photo at the top of the page, there are options for sitting at the window (ideal for solo diners) or sharing that bigger table in the middle. If sharing isn't your idea of a good night out, you'll have to head upstairs. There, it's more of a traditional layout and the corner tables at the back are the best tables in the room. 

Upstairs at Nakimushi - those two round corner tables at the back are the places to be up here.  

If you're a little early for your table (or someone is taking their time to leave), there are also a couple of spaces to wait. There's a couch in the room downstairs and this small bar area upstairs:

The small bar area upstairs.

So, now we're sat down, what's on the menu?

You'll immediately notice one thing - the dishes are listed in both English and Japanese and priced in both pounds and yen. Can you actually ask for your bill in yen and pay that in cash? We're honestly not sure, but it's a nice touch. 

The menu is split into sections and although there are no headings, they're best described as snacks, cold small plates, hot small plates, ramen and larger dishes. Normally, we'd say to order as you go along to avoid being overwhelmed but, although service was very speedy, we were told that you strictly have to order the whole menu together. That actually worked out pretty well, with no more than two dishes on the table at a time, up until the final course, where things got a little trickier. 

Between two people, we'd say go with three to four small dishes and snacks before the main event. Compared to something like Dorian, which can be an extremely pricey affair, this is all pretty decently priced. 

Here's what we had:

Corn tempura, fig leaf salt (£6) - the easiest choice for an immediate order (if they let you) while you're making decisions on the menu. Lovely bite-sized snacks.

Wild hamachi, yukari ponzu, nori oil (£9) - This cured hamachi is probably the closest you're getting to sushi here, and matches the quality you'll find at somewhere like Eel Sushi. 

Tuna summer roll, blackberry & hibiscus (£11)

Red prawn & courgette gyoza, umeboshi (£9) - excellent gyoza that worked really well with the courgettes and salted plums.

Quail Tempura, Jerk Tendashi, Apricot Puree (£14) - one of a few tempura options on the menu (there's also a monkfish version) this is a lovely, tender (and deboned) large quail tempura divided into two.  

After that, it's onto what we'd consider the "mains". There, it's a choice between ramen or some of the larger sharing dishes. Here's what we had, starting with ramen.

Scottish lobster ramen, seafood paitan, sobrassada (£24) - this is one of Robin's signature ramen dishes, and it's easy to say why. It's generous on the lobster and the broth itself has an almost bisque-like quality. If you haven't tried it before, this is the one to go for. 

Pork chashu ramen, basque chicken broth, ajitama (£10) - more of a classic ramen option. That pork was very good and we do love a jammy egg.

The main event was, to be fair, where things got a little confusing. If you want to try most of the menu, you'll probably want both ramen and one of the other dishes. However, because you can't control the delivery, our two bowls of ramen ended up coming the same time as the sharing dish, the Iberico pork:

Grilled Iberico pork loin, red almond miso (£29) - an absolutely wonderful piece of pork on a textural almond miso base.

Now the "mains" all coming together isn't the biggest of problems, of course, but it does mean the pork was sittting there while we finished the ramen. It highlights the issue we were mentioning above - i.e. how the two restaurant concepts fit together as one. The way things currently work, we think it will be smoother if you opt for either ramen or a sharing dish, unless they manage to sort the timing so that the ramen is served separately from the rest.

What about dessert?

There's just one option on the menu, and it's great for sharing:

Mugi-Cha crème caramel, white peach (£6) - more of a layered custard dish than a crème caramel, but either way it's a strong finish. Although the spoons it comes with are too small, frankly (particularly if sharing).

What about drinks?

There's a short cocktail list, with their own takes on some classics and a series of shochu highballs (also available as no-alcohol), as well as a few sake options. In addition to that Nakimushi has a fairly extensive wine list and while the cocktails start at a relatively affordable £12, the entry-level wine is £50 and with the overall list, we're edging back into Dorian territory, with the bulk of the list in the £100s. But, assuming the Dorian clientele make their way to Nakimushi too, they'll have no problem getting through that list. 

The Green Light (samphire pisco, green chartreuse, ancho verde, lime, sugar, egg white, £14) and the Midori Hai highball (Green shiso shochu, midori, manzanilla sherry, lemon, soda water, £12) 

Who will love this?

If you're a fan of all things Dorian, particularly Eel Sushi (which shares some of the design aesthetics) or the former residencies that were a precursor to Nakimushi, you'll definitely like this. And if you love being in early to the next big thing, this should be on your go-to list. 

And who won't?

If you like a restaurant with a bit of space between you and the next table, this isn't for you - things can be a bit snug in there. We were happy chatting with our table neighbours, but anyone wanting more privacy should either angle for those corner tables upstairs, or head elsewhere.

Overall thoughts

Very minor niggles about the mix of concepts aside, it's clear that Nakimushi is another triumph by the people behind Dorian. It's set in a beautifully designed space, everything we had was extremely good and it's all surprisingly affordable (until you get to the wine list). It's also very much a restaurant which you can see getting even better as it settles into its groove. Already packed out every night, it's an immediate hit and one that's an easy recommendation.