Where To Find The Best Omakase In London
Omakase has taken the capital by storm in recent years. It feels like there’s one popping up every week, as the city embraces leaving it up to the chef, as is tradition in this Japanese-style dining.
Typically, they take place in an intimate setting where there are more courses than there are seats at the table and can cost up to £500. These are firmly in the ‘bucket-list’ category of foodie experiences, and if you’re going to be making such a singular outlay, you need to know it’ll be worth it. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up some of the best in the city.
Luna Omakase
This hidden spot is the definition of a special occasion foodie experience. Tucked away inside Los Mochis London City, you’ll find Luna — sibling of Juno, which also makes this list — an exclusive, 12-seat chef’s table with great service.
The 12-course omakase set menu, led by Executive Head Chef Leonard Tanyag, celebrates the cycles of the moon. Expect impeccable sashimi, culinary storytelling, and elevated twists on classic Japanese dishes.
Expect impeccable sashimi, culinary storytelling, and elevated twists on classic Japanese dishes.
Where: Los Mochis London City, 9th Floor, 100 Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 2AT
Website: www.luna-omakase.com
Endo at The Rotunda
The immersive omakase menu at Endo at The Rotunda is priced at £290, and you’ll be guided through more than 20 courses of elegant, seasonal dishes from third-generation sushi master Endo Kazutosh. Located on the 8th floor of the Television Centre, you’ll need to join the waiting list to book one of the coveted seats at this sushi-in-the-sky restaurant, but the price tag is more than worth it for this kind of unmatched skill and artistry – it won a Michelin star within six months of opening
Where: 8th Floor, The Helios, Television Centre, 101 Wood Ln, London W12 7FR
Website: www.endoatrotunda.com
Iné
One of London’s most underrated omakase—and one of its most affordable—is Iné, a neighbourhood sushi restaurant in Hampstead from the team behind Taku. You can also opt for à la carte, but their omakase is exceptional. Normally, their dinner sitting is £130 per person, but they also offer a lunch omakase priced at £70 per person and served over 12 courses, operating from Monday to Friday.
Where: 16 HAMPSTEAD HIGH ST, LONDON NW3 1PX
Website: INEBYTAKU.COM
Sushi Kanesaka
Sushi Kanesaka is the first London outpost of legendary chef Shinji Kanesaka, who heads up the two-Michelin-starred original in Tokyo’s Ginza district of the same name (the London version received its first within seven months of opening). It all takes place in an intimate, nine-seater room, and is probably London’s most expensive restaurant – before you’ve had a sip of water it comes to a modest £420.
For that, you get 20 courses of some of the best fish in the world. The menu changes daily, but expect a combo of Cornish king crab with beluga caviar, ghostly white squid topped with, yes, more beluga caviar, and scarlet red nigiri of marinated akami amongst plenty of others.
where: 45 Park Ln, London W1K 1PN
website: www.sushi-kanesaka.com
Kurisu Omakase
The dining table at Kurisu is one of London’s most coveted spots, and getting a reservation might make you wish you were trying for Glastonbury tickets instead. Like most Brixton joints, it has a local story – Chef Chris Restapo took over his family’s sushi restaurant, Ichiban. What he turned it into is something truly special, and sits at the top of most in-the-know foodies’ bucket lists.
At £150 a head, it doesn’t come cheap and slots in as a special occasion restaurant, but relative to some of the omakase prices you see in London nowadays (often pushing past £300) and for 17-courses, it’s good value.
Getting a reservation might make you wish you were trying for Glastonbury tickets instead.
where: 58D Atlantic Rd, London SW9 8PY
website: www.sevenrooms.com
Juno Omakase
Set at the back of a Los Mochis restaurant in Notting Hill and sitting just six diners – technically London’s smallest restaurant – Juno serves up a delicious 15-course menu. Of course, given the setting, expect a few nods to Mexico throughout the menu that will have you wondering why the jalapeño and wasabi crossover isn’t more of a regular thing. Granted, this doesn’t come cheap – the tasting menu is £230 – but the setting is so intimate it feels like your own private experience.
where: 2-4 Farmer St, London W8 7SN
website: losmochis.co.uk
Taku
Michelin-starred Taku in Mayfair serves one of the best and most exclusive omakase in the city, helmed by legendary Chef Takuya Watanabe, known for Jin Paris, the first sushi omakase to receive a Michelin star in Paris.
Helmed by legendary Chef Takuya Watanabe, known for Jin Paris, the first sushi omakase to receive a Michelin star in Paris.
There are three price brackets, depending on the level of luxury and exploration you’re looking to undertake. The signature omakase is priced at £180 and is served over 17 courses, and the prestige omakase is priced at £380 and contains ultra-premium ingredients such as caviar, truffle, and additional courses. They offer three Omakase sittings, from Wednesday to Saturday, 12:30 pm, 5:30 pm, and 8:30 pm, for what is one of the most exclusive in London.
Where: 36 Albemarle St, London W1S 4JE
Website: www.takumayfair.com
Sushi Kyu
Omakase in London can be on the pricier side, but if you’re looking for a spot where you can get fresh sushi and sashimi and a reasonable bill, try Sushi Kyu in Soho.
As a casual sushi affair, this does it as good as anywhere without skimping on the quality. There is a more expansive and elevated evening omakase, which is steeper at £74.80 but still a mercifully less ruinous price point, and a lunch menu hovering around £51.80.
where: 30 Brewer St, London W1F 0SS
website: www.sushikyu.com
The Araki
At £310 a head, The Araki offers what is without a doubt one of the most expensive menus in London, but when it comes to omakase, it’s also one of the best there is.
There’s no a la carte here, as the restaurant offers only one menu, and is rather wonderfully prepared by head chef Mitsuhiro Araki himself, whose Ginza restaurant boasted three Michelin stars.
Where: Unit 4, 12 New Burlington St, London W1S 3BF
Website:www.the-araki.co.uk
Roketsu
This highly sought-after restaurant may be booked up two months in advance but one step inside and you can see why. Headed by Chef Daisuke Hayashi, the restaurant serves traditional Japanese kaiseki, a multi-course dinner that showcases Hayashi’s skills and techniques. Every ounce of this restaurant is inspired by Japan, through to the interiors that were even made in Kyoto and shipped specially to London.
where: 12 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RW
Website: www.roketsu.co.uk
