Test Driving Sushi Amamoto - one of the world's top sushi chefs arrives in London

Shogo Amamoto at work

What is Sushi Amamoto?

Up until very recently, this restaurant was known as Taku, a Japanese omakase restaurant in Mayfair which recently regained its Michelin star. Less than a couple of weeks after that was retained, it's all change. Not only has the restaurant had a rebrand, but now in charge of things (and with his name on the door) is one of the world's top sushi chefs, Shogo Amamoto.

And he's important, yes?

Amamoto opened the first Sushi Amamoto in Taiwan back in 2015. Very highly rated and with two Michelin stars to its name, it became one of the hardest restaurants to get a booking for. This London outpost is only the second Sushi Amamoto worldwide, so it's a big deal.

But it's also worth mentioning that much of the original Taku team remains in place, particularly the two in charge, Head Chef Jongho Park and General Manager Manson Au, who have been with the restaurant since it opened in 2022. So there's a mix of a new man at the top (bringing across some of his signature dishes), paired with a seasoned team.

Where is it?

You'll find the restaurant on Albemarle Street, just off Piccadilly between Green Park and Piccadilly stations. As for the look of the restaurant, it's a long, thin room and an all-counter approach (as you'd expect from an omakase restaurant). The look does not appear to have changed at all from its time as Taku. The only change in the look appears to be the name on the door.

Inside Sushi Amamoto, which looks very much like Taku before it.

So what can we expect from the experience here?

In recent years, London has seen a real growth in omakase restaurants, from places like The Akari to Sushi Kanesaka at The Dorchester. They all share some key characteristics: beautifully designed rooms, and long menus that cost well into the £100s. And that's what to expect here. There are two menus available, depending on when you're dining - £180 for 17 courses at lunch and £380 for 22 courses at dinner. So it's particularly punchy in the evening.

As you can expect with omakase menus, by their very nature they change from time to time, driven by what the chef wants to serve vs the availability of produce. There's also, almost always, a section in the middle where you'll be hand-delivered a series of nigiri and that's the case here. But, particularly with such a big chef like Amamoto, you're also going to see some signature dishes turn up regularly.

One of those in particular is the following:

Preparing the signature trout dish involves compressing the trout and rice in an oshizushihako press box, which he hard-spins for a great showstopper. 

That's then delivered to you in its final form. This and the mochi below are presented on nori so you can wrap it up to eat. 

The other focus here is on Edomae sushi, so there will be a parade of some of the very best nigiri-style sushi:

The sushi we had on the night included turbot, langoustine, tuna, fatty tuna and the best of the night, scallop.

And here's a taste of some of the other dishes on offer:

Grilled mochi which is absolutely laden with N25 caviar, and is another of the chef's signatures. 

The Ten Don

In the original Taipei restaurant, this is a savoury ice cream sandwich that's prepared with monkfish liver, aka the "foie gras of the sea". But, as apparently they can't get the quality of monkfish they wanted, this is instead a foie gras ice cream sandwich with a caramel sauce inside. It is, obviously, fantastic. 

Later on in the meal, you finish things up with a sweet red bean curd ice cream sandwich, too. 

Summing all that up, everything we had was exceptionally good, which is just what you'd expect from both a restaurant and chef working at this high calibre. Note that we had Amamoto himself serving us, and that won't always be the case. But the kitchen team here is clearly working at the top of their game, so whether he's in town or not, you should be in for a treat.

Overall thoughts

We've mentioned already just how developed the omakase scene is in London, so Sushi Amamoto has a lot to live up to, but it manages that with ease. Combine an engaging team that already knows what it's doing with one of the world's best sushi chefs and you're clearly going to get something special. Add in a few neat tricks like the creation of the trout dish and you have an excellent night out. Yes, it comes at a cost, but if that's within your budget, this is easy to recommend as one of London's great omakase restaurants right now.