Toro maki with spring onion and buckwheat
What do we need to know about Sachi?
This is the latest, and final, restaurant to open at Pantechnicon - the Nordic/Japanese shop and dining destination in Belgravia. And while it focuses on Japanese regional cooking, there's also an interplay with Nordic influences too.
Where is it?
You'll find it on the lower ground floor of the building on Motcomb Street. It's a lovely barrel-vaulted dining room, which has handy skylights from the pavement above, meaning it also enjoys lots of natural light. The nearest tube station is Knightsbridge.
Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
Why not here? There's a capacious separate bar at the restaurant's entrance. Inspired by Tokyo speakeasies, it would make a great place to work your way through their extensive sake and Japanese whisky selection.
The main dining room with chef's counter at the rear
Where should we sit?
That depends on whether you're in a see and be seen move or are after more privacy. There are seats up at the sushi chef's table if you enjoy seeing the theatre of that - while the large tables in the main dining room are very comfortable. But, if you're with a group and want your own space there's a series of semi-private alcoves to the right of the restaurant, along with a private dining room that's so private we didn't know it was there until we came home and read up about it.
The alcoves are perfect for privacy-seeking sushi lovers.
What's on the menu? Sushi, presumably?
Yes but that's really only the start of it. Head Chef Collin Hudston (Dinings, Roka) and Pantechnicon’s Executive Chef Chris Golding (Nobu, Zuma, Dinings) have come up with a menu that reflects Pantecnichon's dual interests. So while half the menu is sushi, the rest is a series of hot dishes using both Japanese and Nordic ingredients.
Here's just a taster:
Moriawase (chef's selection) of nigiri - £17 for five pieces of excellent sushi.
Toro tataki with dashi ponzu (£14) - loved the addition of pepper dulse (or sea truffle) to this dish.
Otoro and scallop sashimi (£12 and £9) - extremely fine quality sashimi. Still dreaming about the scallop, to be honest.
Ankou Bubu Arare (£9) - having seen these on Insta we had to try them. Think of this as their take on fish and chips - monkfish pieces covered in rice crisps and fried. They're served up with a particularly moreish tartare sauce.
Wagyu (£38) - A4 grade sirloin with beetroot and miso
Shortrib with black garlic and fermented mushrooms (£18) - if anything, this was our favourite of the two beef courses, made really special with that tangle of lovely mushrooms.
What about vegetarians?
Obviously, fish is the main thrust of the menu, but there are some key veggie dishes too:
Nasu (£9) - aubergine with miso, this looks great but was a little too rich for us.
Yasai Tempura (£7) - a fabulously seasonal selection including courgettes and samphire with lava salt.
Room for dessert?
There is a complimentary dessert on offer that currently changes every night but we'd over-ordered, so instead, we popped into Cafe Kitsune upstairs for a pastry to take home with us.
Pineapple and Coconut Cream Puff (£6.50) - the lightest piece of patisserie we've had in a good long while. Heaven.
What about the drink?
Given the extensive focus on sake in the menu, we opted to try the £35 seasonal sake flight.
The flight comes with three 75ml cups of very different sakes - a cold aged Chochokyu made by Nakano BC, a cloudy sake Gozenshu Misty Mountain and finally a sweeter Tsuchida Koji 99 - an unprocessed sake from the Tsuchida Brewery. It's a really nice way to get to know a bit more about sake if - like us - you're still learning.
Summing up:
Sachi has just started a lunch service (Thursday to Sunday) in addition to dinner, making this the perfect time to pop in and enjoy a superb lunch and then fritter away a happy afternoon shopping upstairs. The food really is very good indeed and if you want to really make the most of your time here, order the sake flight and book the afternoon off.
More about Sachi
Where is it? 19 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8LB
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @_pantechnicon.
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