Freshly caught fish is delicious, no matter how you slice it.
But when it’s in the hands of the most talented sushi chefs in the city? That’s when it becomes irresistible.
London may not be Tokyo, but we’re still ridiculously spoilt when it comes to great sushi restaurants. There are spots with third-generation sushi masters at the helm, places that serve up fish fresh off the boats that morning, and even a restaurant where the chef has specifically trained the fishermen who supply his restaurant in a centuries-old technique of humane dispatch. So in short…
…all of these raw-fish slingers are on a roll. Behold, London’s best sushi restaurants:
NOTE: We’ve tried to keep this list as varied as possible, with affordable places alongside the high-end sushi restaurants. But if you’re really looking for a ‘special occasion’ sushi spot, you can find some more recommendations in our guide to London’s best omakase restaurants.
HIMI | Carnaby
HIMI is a neo-izakaya spot in Carnaby, run by husband-and-wife team Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa, who between them have worked at some of the best restaurants on earth. Here you sit at the counter and watch as the meticulous chefs expertly cut, slice and season prime slivers of raw fish, meat and delicate garnishes. On the menu, expect hand-dived scallops, encased in bubbly tempura batter; a dish with two types of crispy fried chicken; and sushi platters with a classic trio of tuna (moving from the bright minerality of lean cuts, to the buttery medium fatty, to the melt-in-your-mouth-and-widen-your-eyes otoro), as well as tender squid with bergamot & salt, sea trout, mackerel, and more.
Details: 4 Newburgh Street, Carnaby, Central London, W1F 7RF | Book a table at HIMI
A gorgeous, dark, woody cocoon tucked down a Mayfair side street, accessible only by placing your hand on a magic panel. Executive Chef Ryo Kamatsu is so devoted to the craft of sushi, he’s helped to train the Cornish fishermen who supply the swimmers in the ancient Japanese art of ike jime; a humane slaughter method that’s not only kinder to the fish, but also stops them releasing stress hormones that can toughen up the meat. The result? Melt-in-the-mouth classics (yellowtail, tuna belly, salmon and mackerel) alongside innovative combinations (langoustine and ginger, eel and caviar rolls), served alongside one of the most comprehensive sake lists in Europe.
Details: 14-16 Bruton Place, W1J 6LX | Make a booking at Uma
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In any other city, Juno might seem odd.
It is, after all, a six-seater Japanese omakase sushi counter hidden at the back of a Mexican restaurant. And there’s every chance that you won’t find another one of those, even in Japan or Mexico. But here, in this insane melting pot of cultures, the only thing that really matters is: is it any good? And we’re happy to report that Juno doesn’t just meet the mark; it clears it with the grace of a geisha leaping over a cactus…
Details: 2-4 Farmer St, W8 7SN | Make a booking at Juno
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You’re going to read Endo Kazutoshi‘s name four times by the end of this article – and with good reason. The third-generation sushi master is one of the most talented Japanese chefs in London right now, and every spot he opens seems to strike gold. His latest, Kioku, is the literal crowning glory atop the Raffles hotel in the Old War Office, which comes with the distinct advantage of a stunning roof terrace overlooking landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye. What’s coming to the tables, however, is just as impressive. It’s not exclusively sushi here – dishes take some inspiration from Kazutoshi’s time spent in Spain – but the tuna trolley, where your fish will be theatrically sliced up tableside, is worth a mention on this list alone.
Details: The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Avenue, SW1A 2EX | Make a booking at Kioku
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Chisou is the Japanese word for feast, and this pair of sushi restaurants doesn’t disappoint there. Chisou has been going strong for the best part of two decades, and the atmosphere is sophisticated without being stuffy; there’s a counter if you’d like to take in the theatre of the chefs, or simple tables and chairs surrounded by Japanese artwork. Fresh fish is delivered to the kitchen daily, where it’s masterfully assembled into moriawase (an assortment of raw sliced fish), nigiri (fish layered on top of sushi rice) and chirashi don (sashimi arranged over a bowl of sushi rice, with shiitake mushroom and seaweed). Plus, there’s an excellent array of hot izakaya-style dishes for anyone who’s not so keen on eating raw.
Details: 22-23 Woodstock Street, W1C 2AR | Make a booking at Chisou
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Endo at the Rotunda comes to you from Endo Kazutoshi, third-generation sushi master and former chef at Spain’s celebrated El Bulli. The Rotunda is the circular 8th floor of the former BBC Television Centre building in White City, and dining here really feels like you’re in the clouds, thanks in no small part to the sinuous, billowy sheets suspended from the ceiling (designed by the same architect behind Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic stadium). With just 10 seats, it’s an intimate experience in which you’ll be able to watch Endo close up as he preps a 20 course, Michelin-starred tasting menu featuring the likes of truffled spider crab and langoustine nigiri.
Details: White City House Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR | Make a booking (they’re like gold dust)
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Kazu | Fitzrovia
Kazu has been designed as an upmarket izakaya, decked out with clean, minimalist wood and an open kitchen. The head chef was formerly at Chisou, and his three decades of experience in the kitchen really shine here. The sushi range is vast – there are elaborate rolls (like the crab roll topped with grilled eel and flying fish roe); inside-out rolls; inside-in rolls; thinly sliced usuzukuri; chirashi rice bowls; lightly seared sushi; and a long à la carte list of sashimi, including bluefin tuna, yellowtail, butterfish, scallop, squid and sea urchin. All told, there are over 100 dishes on offer here. And if that all sounds a bit overwhelming, just go for the omakase.
Details: 64 Charlotte Street, W1T 4QD | Make a booking at Kazu
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Another Chisou spin-off, Sushi Atelier is the more casual branch of the family. The place feels quintessentially Japanese, with counter dining, noren curtains and huge sake barrels dotted around the space. The food, on the other hand, looks to reinvent the familiar, with sushi blowtorched before your eyes and razor clam ceviche served with whisky jelly in a smoking glass bowl. Traditionalists, fear not – there’s still bento boxes and a PYO sashimi selection of horse mackerel, butterfish, snow crab, turbot and more.
Details: 114 Great Portland Street, W1W 6PH | Make a booking at Sushi Atelier
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SUMI is sushi master extraordinaire Endo Kazutoshi’s “little sister” restaurant to his eponymous Endo at the Rotunda (although technically, it’s named after his mother). This sushi restaurant is a little more low-key, but is as beautiful as the flagship. The interior is a balance of understated elegance: a mix of pale wood panelling, traditional tiling and somehow chic-yet-casual rattan accents. And the food? Well, let’s just say that Endo’s mother’s name is in good hands.
Details: 157 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS | Make a booking at Sumi
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This neighbourhood spot is the product of two best friends, who decided to finally open their own sushi restaurant and “selfishly take our own piece of satisfaction for making people happy”. So, selfishly, they each devoted two years to making sushi rice alone, before a further three years studying how to slice fish correctly. And now they’re – even more selfishly – plying you with dishes like surf clam and octopus sashimi, natto rolls (hard to find in the UK), and excellent hospitality. Ugh.
Details: 843 High Road, N12 8PT | Make a booking at Nippon Izakaya
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Duck under the noren curtains at Sushi Tetsu and you’ll be met with the kind of authentic Tokyo-style sushi restaurant you’d never expect to find down a Clerkenwell back street. Run by Toru Takahashi and his wife Harumi, it’s a tiny, 7 seater restaurant with stools overlooking the open kitchen. It’s intimate, unexpected, and unbelievably special, not least because Toru likes to scorch his fish with a blowtorch.
Details: 12 Jerusalem Passage, EC1V 4JP | Make a booking at Sushi Tetsu (NB. this is very competitive – bookings are released every Monday at 12pm for the week ahead)
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It’s another Endo Kazutoshi gem, and like Kioku, it’s not exclusively a sushi restaurant. Nijū is his ode to katei ryōri, or home cooking – but this isn’t your typical Thursday night fare. You’ll dine on melt-in-the-mouth wagyu; soft and fluffy shokupan with yuzu butter; and elegant platters of sushi and sashimi that have been artfully prepped up at the restaurant’s central sushi counter, and served with freshly grated wasabi. And afterwards? Slip downstairs to Nipperkin for a Japanese-inflected nightcap.
Details: 20 Berkeley St, W1J 8EE | Make a booking at Nijū
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Dinings SW3 is one special sushi restaurant, from the quirky interiors (once an artist’s studio, it still boasts an ornate Victorian fireplace) to the food itself, which is all top-quality thanks to the vision of chef Masaki Sugisaki. The idea here is to mingle Japanese technique with Western ingredients, so you’ll savour the freshest fish, straight off the dayboats in Devon and Scotland, in everything from perfectly seasoned sushi to delicately sliced carpaccio. And the yuzu cheesecake to finish is truly a work of art…
Details: Lennox Gardens Mews, SW3 2JH | Make a booking at Dinings SW3
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Ola Smit
Kibako comes to us from chef Padam Raj Rai, whose glittering CV includes two decades worth of experience at places like Nobu, Roka, and Sake No Hana. So, in short, he knows his way around a fish. And he’s showing it off in style at his latest restaurant Kibako. Here, the omakase comes in wooden boxes (kibako literally means ‘wooden box’ in Japanese) divided into either six or a dozen individual little cubby holes. And inside these cubby holes you’ll find an array of beautifully seasoned swimmers, from bullets of seared butterfish with onion & pineapple salsa; hand-dived scallop with Japanese plum & ponzu sauce; and seared fatty tuna with red jalapeno. Aside from that, there’s all manner of excellent sashimi, maki, and even carpaccio. And it’s all uniformly delicious.
Details: 110 Great Portland St London W1W 6PQ | Make a booking at Kibako
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Head chef Yasuhiro Ochiai works miracles behind the blond wood counter of this eight-seater Central London sushi restaurant. Under the guiding influence of Maru’s founder, Taiji Maruyama, he puts together an impeccable 20 course omakase menu every night, which takes his experience from Nobu, Uma and a critically acclaimed spot in Japan and pours it into show-stopping dishes like the Cornish king crab, served in the silver-plated shell of the crab itself.
Details: 18 Shepherd Market, W1J 7QH | Make a booking at Maru
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This genuinely is a super market. Because in the evenings, the team clear a space in the middle of this West London shop, and allow a small number of diners to pull up a stool and enjoy the day’s catch – prepped right before their eyes by Yuji Shimokawa (who cut his teeth at Umu), and Juan Cardona (who’s come here from Endo at the Rotunda). It’s fine dining in the most unassuming of surroundings, and unlike most corner shops, they actively encourage you to enjoy a drink on the premises…
Details: 126 Holland Park Ave, W11 4UE | Make a booking at Urchin
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Cubé may be cube-shaped, but it actually comes from the Japanese for ‘pamper’ or ‘treat’ – which this minimalist Mayfair sushi restaurant hopes to offer via a menu of modern Japanese sushi and small plates. You’ll find everything from lightly seared wagyu beef to plates of boat-fresh sashimi, eased down by over 20 types of sake and 13 different Japanese whiskies. As for the wine, they’ll offer you the pick of the owner’s own wine cellar. Talk about a personal touch.
Details: 4 Blenheim Street, Mayfair, W1S 1LB | Make a booking at Cubé
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Utterly unassuming, parked right next to Willesden Green station, Sushi Masa is a long-standing neighbourhood gem with a convivial atmosphere. Every aspect of Japanese cuisine is represented well here, but the sushi’s a particular highlight – sake marinated oyster, fresh sea urchin, and expertly sliced sashimi keep locals coming back again and again.
Details: 33b Walm Lane, NW2 5SH | Make a booking at Sushi Masa
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Hidden down a Soho alley is this minuscule, highly authentic sushi restaurant. Run by chef Yuya Kikuchi, who you’ll spot slicing behind the counter, Jugemu is the real deal – lots of sake, beautiful fish, and daily specials (written exclusively in Japanese) pinned haphazardly around the room. Portions are on the modest side, so don’t hold back on the tick-box menu you’ll find on your table. Go for the omakase, and take it as it comes – Kikuchi will have provided the perfect amount of soy, ginger or wasabi already.
Details: 2 Winnett Street, W1D 6JY | Book here: 0207 734 0518
Like cooked fish too? Take a look at our guide to London’s best seafood restaurants