Marylebone, Fusion Restaurant Guide

This “beautiful little restaurant with a neighbourhood feel” in Marylebone, from chef and food writer Ravinder Bhogal, offers a “wide-ranging and ever-changing selection of consistently good dishes” inspired by her ‘no borders kitchen’ philosophy. “It’s a melange of Middle Eastern, African and Indian influences” that results in “very creative flavours – not just in the cooking but also outstanding cocktails such as a Negroni with pomegranate and rose”.

2021 Review: Swish, Greek-owned, late-2018 yearling, which occupies two floors of a five-storey Mayfair townhouse (the remainder being dedicated to a bar, club, roof terrace, etc) which aims to ‘brings the spirit of Mykonos to London’ on a site that once housed the HQ of Cartier’s watch-making empire. Ex-Novikov chef, Sicilian Carmelo Carnevale, oversees a Mediterranean/Asian mash-up of a menu, which earned solid ratings in early feedback, alongside perhaps predictable concerns about the slightly scary pricing.

This high-street Nikkei hangout’s first Chelsea branch opened in 2021 and shut in mid 2023 in favour of a new Marylebone location. No feedback as yet on either site, which purveys a trendy fusion of sushi, tacos, ceviche and robata bites, and of course pisco sours, sakes and cocktails aplenty.

Kurt Zdesar’s “loud and dark” haunts promise a culinary journey from Tokyo to Lima with some “brill cocktails” thrown in. It’s “great fun” and the Nikkei food is an “interesting fusion” too, if also a pricey one. Since 2022, the London presence has doubled with the addition of a Marylebone branch to join the first Soho one. It also has six siblings in North America and a couple in the Middle East.

2023 Review: “Modern Italian with a Japanese twist” – this late summer 2022 launch in Great Portland Street from Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, founder of legendary Cannes pop-up Cosy Box, marries the two food cultures to good effect. Italian-born chef Ivan Simeoli says he’s “not limited by tradition, but uses it as an inspiration” for a menu dominated by fish and seafood with plenty of raw options, while Italian Fassona and Japanese wagyu beef have cameo roles.