Marylebone, Japanese Restaurant Guide

Limited but good-all-round feedback again on this Japanese bar/restaurant in the heart of ‘Marylebone Village’. It’s not as expensive as some – as well as the à la carte menu, the ‘signature set’ is £65 per head, or there’s omakase for two to share at £95 per person.

They look modest, but “great value Japanese food” (for example, “delightful sushi” and “very fresh salmon and tuna”) of “consistently high quality” is served by “lovely people” at this well-established Marylebone restaurant and its more deli-style offshoots in Highgate, Bloomsbury and Bayswater.

“Deeply flavoured and satisfying” ramen noodles in an “addictive” 20-hour pork bone broth combine with a “noisy hustle and bustle” at this ‘rock ’n’ roll ramen’ chain established in 2012, now with seven venues across central London. Perhaps the “quick and easy” (and noisy) vibe does not translate as satisfyingly from its original Soho site to the suburbs: a branch in leafy Richmond closed down last year, as did a Putney branch before it.

2021 Review: Between Selfridges and St Christopher’s Place – a “busy and quite noisy” haunt, where some reporters are very impressed by its Pan-Asian small plates (including sushi and dim sum dishes), but others feel that they’re “not exciting, but OK”.

Claiming to be London’s oldest Japanese restaurant (although originally it operated a couple of streets away), this Marylebone veteran just off Baker Street has always had its pros and cons. The main plus is its traditional sushi and other fare incorporating “super-fresh fish”. On the downside, critics have perennially found it OTT pricewise; and even fans – who say it’s “super-relaxed at the counter chatting with the friendly Itamae” – also note that “atmosphere can be a little lacking”.

“Excellent, artful sushi”, plus carpaccios, steamed dumplings, salads and ceviches – all washed down with a good selection of sake and Japanese draft beer – are the draw at this modern spot near Oxford Circus from the high-quality Chisou group. The interior, dominated by a long sushi counter, is “somewhat drab” for those with more exuberant tastes.

This 15-strong London noodle chain (now with branches in Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol) is “a good stand-by” – perhaps it’s “not as good as some of its competitors”, but it is widely seen as “good value”: in particular “the lunch-time meal deal” is a winner.

“Fantastic, authentic traditional sushi and other Japanese food (sourcing the best fish)” alongside service that’s always good’ inspire high ratings for this sushi restaurant, near the top of Bond Street. There are now two counter spaces alongside table seating: in both locations you can order from the large à la carte, but there is also an omakase option, which – at £108 per head – is relatively affordable by Mayfair standards. There’s also a carefully chosen drinks list to suit all budgets (including fine sakés at nearly £1,000 per bottle).

Fans say these straightforward Japanese operations “set a benchmark for quality sushi and sashimi”, backed up by a “fabulous sake selection” and “charming service”. The Mayfair branch is “something of an oasis off the bustle of Oxford Street”, and like its Knightsbridge sibling is “very reasonably priced for the area and quality of food”. Top Tip – “good omakase”.

With its wizard sushi and Nikkei dishes, this Marylebone four-year-old from Nobu Matsuhisa still earns impressive ratings – a strong performance for a global restaurateur who was at the height of fashion 25 years ago, and still works 9am-11pm at the age of 75. “The specials menu in addition to the classics sets them apart from the Roka/Zuma scene” – although even fans complain about “OTT prices”. The restaurant is attached to a hotel launched under the Nobu Hotel brand spun out successfully around the world in the past decade.

After half a century, this high-quality Mayfair veteran is “still one of the best Japanese restaurants in London”, with particularly “good fish” – although it has a lower profile than many newer and more flashy rivals. “Having the kitchen open to the dining area adds some theatre to aid the digestion”.

“Everything is exceptional” at this “wonderful” three-year-old in Marylebone, where Kyoto-trained chef-patron Daisuke Hayashi presents “a delicious kaiseki set menu that changes with the seasons”. The interior was created from 100-year-old hinoki wood and shipped over from Japan, so “you are literally taken away to a small Japanese inn where all your five senses are immersed into a complete Japanese experience”, and “everything is made and served with immense care”. At the 10-seat counter you can also eat ‘kappo’-style (where guest and chef design the menu together); or you can sit in the lounge, where an à la carte menu (consideraby cheaper) is served with a choice of 500 drinks. Whichever option you choose, you’re in for a “wonderful treat”, “with absolutely fantastic food”.

“The vegan sushi is wonderful, fresh and inventive” at this Mayfair outlet, which is a spin-off brand for plant-based evangelist chef Alex Gauthier, who runs the celebrated Gauthier (see also) in Soho. Following the closure of Fenwick’s department store – he has moved it to the tucked-away nearby site vacated by Native at Browns (which itself has moved out of London, to Worcestershire). 123V’s menu used to be wider than just sushi, but has narrowed its focus to the Japanese-inspired plates that were everybody’s fave – even among omnivores. Top Tip – the new site has a gorgeous courtyard, which comes into its own in the summer months.

“I keep going back to Roka, and have never had a bad meal there” – so say fans of Arjun Waney & Rainer Becker’s slick Japanese-inspired venues, which are celebrating their 20th year in 2024. “Despite increasing competition, it remains a good choice, with sound cooking and good-value sushi, sashimi and robata dishes”; and despite perennial complaints that they are “way overpriced for tiny portions”, quality has held up well. All that said, service is more often “amateurish” and “erratic” than it once was; and long-term fans have a point when they say the general performance is “not as good as it used to be” – the 2024 openings will be in Bahrain, Germany and Greece and there is growing impression of ‘the same old, same old’ in its original home market.

2023 Review: With its outdoor rooftop terraces over central London near Regent Street, this Hong Kong-owned Japanese joint (a sibling of more famous Aqua Shard) makes a “romantic” location – “even a touch exotic” – to dine on “lovely food” which “looks as good as it tastes”. “The rent must be pretty steep, presumably explaining why prices are very high too”.

2023 Review: Within the first international branch of a Japan-based group of five-star luxury hotels, this dining room near Marble Arch serves a non-traditional menu, focused on sushi, sashimi, seafood and meat cooked on the robata grill. Reports are too thin for a rating, but the odd exceptional meal is reported here. Top Tip – to give it a go, look out for their extremely keenly priced set menus.

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.

“Every dish is divine and it’s so interesting sitting at the 11-seat counter watching your food being prepared” if you visit this Marylebone two-year-old focused on omakase. An offshoot of a Beirut-based group – and with a basement cocktail bar – it is unusually vibey for this genre of venture. “There are all the expected ingredients: caviar, wagyu beef, lobster and all are just exquisite; with sushi that’s a work of art”. One or two reports consider it “overpriced” and it’s not perhaps as ‘pure’ as those venues run by the Japanese masters. But more representative is the view that “while you may not think the cost is a bargain, the fact that Michelin have yet to award it a star means it’s not yet as expensive as other omakase restaurants that do have Michelin stars”. Top Tip – you can walk in for lunch, when there’s a lower-priced omakase option, or you can eat from relatively inexpensive bento boxes served in the bar.

One of London’s top omakase-style experiences is provided by husband and wife chef team, Tamas Naszi and Tomoko Hasegawa, at this small 10-seater counter experience, in a yard just off Mayfair’s pedestrianised South Molton Street. Feedback in its first year of operation has been limited, so our rating is a conservative one.