Endo At The Rotunda is one of the true white whales of the London restaurant scene.
The place that not even celebrities & millionaires are able to get into, where A-listers get politely laughed off the phone. It’s got just 10 seats, a terrifyingly multi-zeroed number of people on the waiting list. Securing a reservation basically requires some kind of black magic.
Why all the fuss? Well, it’s mostly about the head chef, one Endo Kazutoshi. He’s a third-generation sushi master who has manned the pans at places like Zuma and Spain’s El Bulli, and brought his considerable expertise to the 8th floor of the Rotunda of the former BBC headquarters, at Television Centre in White City. Unsurprisingly, it already scored a Michelin Star within its first year of operation. And the hype is 100% justified – eating here is one of life’s legitimately sublime experiences.
The space itself is fresh from a 5 month refurb courtesy of architect Kengo Kuma (the man behind the Japan National Stadium for the Tokyo Olympics). He’s given the place a stripped-back, classically Japanese aesthetic, with pale wood counters gazed down upon by a huge, impressive lighting installation, which features bulbs suspended between huge, billowing layers of thin white paper that seem to ripple out across the ceiling – much like the clouds you’re figuratively sitting in. Speaking of which, almost all of those seats look out over the cityscape through floor-to-ceiling windows.
The concept is driven by the Japanese concept of ‘onkochishin’, which apparently means looking into the future through the perspective of the past. This is because Endo’s father was a sushi chef, and Endo’s grandfather was a sushi chef. So Endo has spent time researching his grandfather’s 200-year-old notebooks in order to dig out and refresh some of the recipes.
Those recipes are going into the ever changing menu, because for dinner, you’ll get the omakase: a 18-course parade of sushi showcasing the best things they’re serving that particular evening. And on any particular evening, Endo shouts. He proclaims, and evangelises, and enthrals. He brings a showmanship to the meal. He actively encourages discussion and debate amongst the diners, and he turns each meal into a masterclass, a spectacle, and a conversation all at once.
At £275 per person, it’s certainly not cheap, in fact it’s whatever exists two levels above ‘expensive’. But it’s also worth it.
If you can get a rezzie, that is.
NOTE: Endo at the Rotunda is open now, Tuesday to Saturday. Reservations are hard to come by, so you’ll need to keep a keen eye on the official website.
Endo at the Rotunda | White City House Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR
Love sushi? Then you might want to bookmark our guide to the best sushi restaurants in London. There are some good’uns.
