It seems vaguely surreal, but when chef Kazutoshi opened his first sushi restaurant in Japan during the ’40s, there were people in the Old War Office at Whitehall actively thinking up ways to conquer his entire country…
…and now, his grandson Endo Kazutoshi is about to open a sushi restaurant in that very building.
In case you don’t already know the man, he’s the same Endo behind the insanely good Endo at the Rotunda, a Michelin Starred omakase restaurant that’s become all but impossible to get a seat at. And, having interviewed him, we can attest that he’s a lovely human being too.
His place in the Old War Office is going to be called Kioku by Endo, which is the Japanese word for ‘memory’. The idea is for it to take all of Endo’s important memories and collect them together in one place, weather they be about his childhood in the fish market with his father, creating art with his mother, or travelling & eating his way across Spain with his friends.
The space itself is going to be quite impressive too, being up on the roof of the stately building, overlooking the corridors of power in Westminster, and with its own private dining room housed within the War Office’s huge turrets. Down below he’s just cut the ribbon on a sake bar too, with a menu curated by Natsuki Kikuya (who headed the bars at both Zuma & Roka and opened the Museum of Sake). And as well as some first rate rice wine, there’s also a record player playing music chosen by the guests themselves.
Which puts a new spin on things.
NOTE: Kioku by Endo is set to open on 15th May. The sake bar is open now. You can find out more at the website right here.
Kioku by Endo | The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Avenue, SW1A 2EX
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