We’re always a little dubious when people trot out the old cliché that ‘nine out of ten restaurants fail within a year’. Certainly, if you look at the sort of London restaurants that inspire any sort of critical attention, the evidence suggests that most survive; and for a few years at least. But around the dog-eat-dog Square Mile? We can’t help noticing that we’ve recently reviewed a number of new launches on sites we’ve already visited for City AM. One such is Shimo – formerly a French restaurant of some ambition called Dine.
The new regime has done some much-needed work on the décor and layout (the inadequacies of which, we suspect, ‘did for’ the last lot). This is now a congenial and comfortable restaurant, in fairly traditional – that’s Western-traditional – style. It’s still, more a ‘business’ establishment than one for a smoochy night out, but it notably lacks that stilted quality in which Japanese restaurants seem to specialise.
In fact, there are a number of ways in which one feels that – in the nicest way – this is an oriental restaurant that’s been tuned for the Western business market. The style of service is one. Others include the desserts (from an Italian chef), the wine list, and the fact that you can finish with a punchy espresso. The core menu itself – from a ‘master sushi-chef’ – is, however, legit’ and was realised consistently competently (with the exception, in our experience, of the tempura).
The place is perhaps unfortunate in having Edokko – an unusually good Japanese fixture of aeons standing – as one of its local competitors. Even so, we suspect there are few enough decent options in the environs of Gray’s Inn, to keep this place off the danger list.
