Japanese

• Roji chefs to launch new Japanese izakaya Himi in Carnaby

   

  For the last two years, chefs Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa have been running omakase restaurant Roji in Mayfair (which we thought was excellent). Now Roji is about to (temporarily) shut while the chefs launch a brand new restaurant in Carnaby.

• Test Driving Ukiyo - hand rolls, sushi and sake on tap in Covent Garden

  

  Covent Garden gets a very useful little sushi spot with the opening of Japanese hand roll bar Ukiyo in The Yards.

• Urchin, Dorian's follow-up restaurant, is popping up in Greece for the summer

  

  There's no question that Dorian is one of London's hottest restaurants - getting a table at a decent time in the dining room is a near-impossible task if you don't plan your dinners months ahead. Now the owner behind that, Chris D'Sylva, is getting ready to open a second restaurant in nearby Holland Park.

  Urchin is going to be a Japanese bistro. As D'Sylva explained in an interview with trade title Caterer it

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• Test Driving Los Mochis City - sushi and tacos against a high rise backdrop

  

  It's already one of the buzziest new openings in the City. We took the lift up to the rooftop at Los Mochis City to check out the scene for ourselves. 

• Amélie, cocktail bar Luum and a reborn Sachi are coming to the Pantechnicon building

  

  Interesting news is emerging in Belgravia, where the Pantechnicon building has been closed for refurbishment. You may remember it starting out as a Nordic-Japanese dining and shopping hot spot that opened in late 2020.

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• Ukiyo are serving up Japanese hand rolls in Covent Garden

  

  It's been three years since London's first dedicated Japanese hand roll restaurant (Temaki, in case you're wondering) opened in Brixton. Now we've got a new one to try, this time in Covent Garden. Ukiyo is a counter dining spot in The Yards development in Covent Garden that's serving up temaki and sashmi. The chef behind it definitely knows what he's doing - Konstantin Tskhay used to be head chef at

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• Test Driving Kioku by Endo - the sushi master takes over the rooftop of The OWO with a spectacular restaurant

  

  Kioku by Endo has opened at the top of the spectacular building that's The OWO in Whitehall. We went up to the rooftop to see if Endo Kazutoshi is the one to open the hit that The OWO really needs.  

• Test Driving Nijū - a pivot to sushi and homecooked dishes for Endo and his team in Mayfair

  

  Chef Endo Kazutoshi is behind the new Japanese home cooked dishes at this Mayfair restaurant. We went to see how the change of direction is working for Nijū. 

• Endo Kazutoshi opens Kioku by Endo restaurant and bar at The OWO

  

  24/4/24 - updated with opening details

  The (nearly) last piece of the puzzle that is The OWO is coming into place. The prime spot in the refurbished Old War Office, the rooftop, is being taken up by top chef Endo Kazutoshi, who will be opening Kioku by Endo there. 

  Kioku, is the Japanese word for memory. The restaurant, Endo says, "will combine

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• Los Mochis London City is their new rooftop restaurant in Broadgate

  

  12/3/24  - updated with the opening date

  Following the success of their Notting Hill restaurant, and their recent ...

• RAI omakase restaurant returns, this time in Bloomsbury

  

  RAI, from the same people behind Islington's Hot Stone, originally launched in Fitzrovia before closing last year. But now the restaurant is back again in a different location, just up the road in Bloomsbury. 

  The food is once again led by Executive Chef Padam Raj Rai (previously at Nobu, Sake no Hana and Tsukiji) and it'll be an omakase-only restaurant, with dishes in the

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• Test Driving Juno - a tiny omakase doing things differently in Notting Hill

  

  Pairing Japanese and Mexican influences, Juno is a six seater omakese restaurant in Notting Hill serving up an extraordinary food experience.

• Clap is spreading to Knightsbridge

  

  10/1/24 - updated with the opening date

  In a strong case of "you really should have renamed this before opening in the UK", Clap is coming to Knightsbridge. 

  Clap, a restaurant that's inevitably only going to be referred to with a definite article attached, has opened in Dubai, Riyadh and Beirut before landing in London. Referred to as "sensory Japanese dining" (which we're not sure makes it any

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• Iné is a new Japanese (and omakase) restaurant in Hampstead from the Taku team

  

  14/12/23 - Updated with the opening date

  Can London have too many omakase restaurants? It appears not, as the people behind Taku in Mayfair are getting ready to open a restaurant with its own omakase counter in Hampstead (taking over what used to be Goldfish).

  Iné will have an eight-seater omakase counter alongside booth seating if you want to pop in for

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• Tokyo's Kobe beef specialists Aragawa are heading to London

  

  Updated 17/10/23 with opening date

  London's carnivores with big pockets have a new treat coming their way this summer. One of Tokyo's most prestigious restaurants is opening its first restaurant outside Japan, in Mayfair.

  They're taking over the old Miyama site on Clarges Street bringing their legendary - and pricey - steaks to the West End.

  Billed as one of the world's most expensive

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