Umu: the saviour of Japanese cuisine in London

Overall Rate: 9/10

Price: dishes £25-80, Kaiseki tasting menu £155

Price we paid: £70

2 Michelin stars

Go there for: some of the best sushi in London, Kayabaki eel, houjicha ice cream

Location: Mayfair

Umu is definitely not an easy restaurant to find: it is hidden in a narrow alley in the heart of Mayfair. This is where chef Yoshinori Ishii leads the kitchen at his two Michelin-starred restaurant specialised in Kaiseki cuisine. Kaiseki is the most refined expression of Japanese food, using the best seasonal ingredients and pure cooking techniques.

Ishii has worked for many years as sous-chef at Kitcho, a three Michelin-starred Kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto, among the most famous Japanese restaurants in the world. He has brought all the arts he learnt there to Umu: from cooking, to fishing (he has taught Cornish fishermen how to kill fish the Japanese Ikejime way, which preserves the flavour of the fish in its purest form), to pottery (he makes most of the dishes used at the restaurant himself).

We visited the restaurant for lunch, taking advantage of their lunch bento menu. Entering through a sliding door, the dining room is one of the most gracious we have ever seen: Japanese minimalism with a touch of London glamour, and an open-plan kitchen and sushi counter with elegant chefs working behind it.

We ordered three items to share: a sushi set, a bento, and an eel dish.

The starter (included in the lunch menu) was a wonderful salad of seasonal vegetables on an edamame purée. Stunning dish, quintessentially Japanese: vegetables cooked crunchy, miso salt to season them, and creamy and light purée with wasabi. Definitely the right way to start!

Then came a set of 10 pieces of nigiri sushi. This was at the same level as the best sushi we had in Japan, and given that the chef doesn’t import any of the fish from Japan, this is quite impressive. Texture and flavours were all very neat, the shari (the rice part of the nigiri) very small and grainy, with a light vinegar seasoning. Highlights were the Spanish tuna, the squid, the scallop. The sushi was paired with red and white miso soups, of which the sweet white miso one was incredible, delicate and strongly umami. The waiter explained that the white miso is produced for the restaurant from a small producer in Kyoto. Very impressive.

The next two dishes came at the same time. A bento box with mixed tempura, tuna and sea bass sashimi, tsukemono (Japanese pickles), preserved sea bream, and seasonal vegetables. Everything was delicious, highlights were the prawn tempura, by far the best we’ve had, and the sashimi, both pieces having neat flavours and perfect texture. The second dish was Kabayaki eel, a classic Japanese dish prepared with freshwater or ocean eel (depending on the season), grilled over charcoal with a sweet sauce. This was a stunning dish: perfect contrast between the juiciness of the meat and the crunchiness of the skin. Impressive result, given that the eel was from Northern Ireland and was very close in flavour to the best ones we tried in Japan.

Dessert (also included in the lunch menu) was terrific. We ordered two scoops of ice cream, one houjicha- (Japanese roasted tea) and the other soba- (buckwheat) flavoured. These were served on a salad of the freshest and most impressive winter fruit, which included yuzu, oranges, lemons. The ice cream's taste was very intense, and the fruit underneath was delicate and juicy. Only flaw: too small. I could easily eat a whole tub.

The bill was accompanied by petits fours, all delicious (amazing yuzu macarons). The bill came to £70 per head, with just water to drink: not cheap for a lunch, but the quality of the produce used and the extremely refined technique justify the price. At dinner, be prepared to spend much more.

Service was one of the best ever, with Japanese waiters carefully explaining the origins of all ingredients and the compositions of the dishes. Definitely a pleasant surprise among the quite poor Japanese food scene in London.