Japanese food is at the forefront of our minds in the UK. The continued growth in interest in Japanese products for their health benefits and ease of eating means that Japanese dishes remain a firm favourite on a busy Londoner’s menu choice. Over the years the craze for Japanese-style dining has seen us queue for Nobu, Zuma, Sushi Tetsu and more recently Sexy Fish. Since the closure last year of Soho cornerstone Koya we have since welcomed a number of other Japanese-inspired venues, from high end to casual dining, this style of eating is clearly not a fad and the continued interest in Japan as a travel destination serves to highlight this. Buyers across the country note the rise in sushi ingredient sales along with the use of other Japanese traditional ingredients such as raw fish, seaweed and nori.

---

Sosharu

A new experience by Jason Atherton

Launching on Monday 7th March, Sosharu, the new Jason & Irha Atherton venue in Clerkenwell, will be a completely new dining experience. Sosharu is the seventh London restaurant of The Social Company with a Japanese izakaya-style menu. A 40 cover cocktail bar, Seven Tales, will be located in the basement of the restaurant and Kisetsu, meaning season, will be an entirely separate dining space with its own kitchen, accessible via the main entrance to Sosharu. The restaurant is a collaboration between Jason Atherton and Executive Head Chef Alex Craciun, previously sous chef at Pollen Street Social, who spent a year in Japan studying at the Kyoto Culinary School and he is ready to bring his experience to Sosharu.

What to order

Serving casual but refined Japanese cuisine using British seasonal ingredients, Craciun’s menu will consist of small dishes, with sections dedicated to different specialities including temaki, hibachi grill, yaki grill, tempura and sashimi. A tasting menu will be served in fine dining style adopting the ‘omakase’ tradition – literally translated as ‘trust the chef’. Seven Tales cocktail bar will serve drinks inspired by Japanese culture and philosophies, such as Munenori’s Mojito, Nigori, Cuban Rum, Tonka Bean and Absinthe and Yugen.

64 Turnmill Street, London, EC1M 5RR

---

Galley

The new vintage cool

Galley is the new exciting contemporary restaurant and bar specialising in small and large international plates with a strong focus on fish from the siblings Oriona Robb and Marcel Grzyb. Oriona, one of London’s most respected stylists, with her creative eye and attention to details has been the interior designer of Galley, a mix of open plan elegance and vintage cool. Her brother Marcel has 18 years’ experience of preparing and cooking fish and seafood at one of London’s most famous fish restaurants, Soho’s Randall & Aubin, where he was the Head chef for 10 of those years.

What to order

Starting with small plates like Hand dived in-shell Scottish scallops, carrot, cardamom puree and toasted hazelnuts, Yellowfin tuna tartare, mango, avocado, wasabi nori crisps, teriyaki or Hereford beef carpaccio, wild mushrooms, beef jelly, pistachio and smoked garlic pesto, a good selection of oysters and two seafood platters, one hot, one cold. Large plates will include Brixham John Dory, spinach, romanesco, cauliflower puree, saffron & mussel sauce, Lobster pappardelle, heritage tomatoes, Jerusalem artichokes or Scottish venison, smoked potato puree, braised cabbage and thyme gravy.

105-106 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QN

---

Oliver Maki

Innovative & Contemporary Japanese restaurant in Soho

Oliver Maki is a leader restaurant in contemporary Japanese cuisine with five award-winning restaurants already established internationally. The 55 cover restaurant introduces Londoners to the creativity of combining Japanese tradition with global flavours and exciting textures, for contemporary dishes like no other.

The new Soho venue has an intimate six seat bar serving a selection of drinks from sake and wine to creative cocktails. The restaurant design incorporates raw, natural materials and muted tones of grey, for a sleek effect.

The passionate kitchen team led by Executive Head Chef Louis Kenji Huang (formerly Head Sushi Chef at Nobu), works to continually evolve the menu pushing the boundaries with dishes that surprise and delight. Each dish at Oliver Maki is a carefully constructed work of art, as beautiful as it is delicious.

What to order

The restaurant’s signature dish is the Oliver Maki Roll.  Made up of eight different rolls in one, it includes over 30 ingredients and eight toppings such as house made kizami wasabi, pico de gallo, and chilli mustard.

33 Dean Street, London, W1D 4PP

Please contact your lifestyle manager for bookings.