Ginza St. James's

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Ginza St James, and it was an unforgettable experience. The food was absolutely amazing—every bite was packed with flavor, and the steak was so incredibly soft, it melted in my mouth like butter. The taste was so perfect that I didn't even need any sauces to enhance it. We sat at the chef’s counter, which was a real treat. Watching the chefs work their magic and prepare our food was fascinating and added an extra layer to the experience. The service was impeccable—attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. The mocktails were not only beautifully presented but also delicious, balancing both aesthetics and flavor perfectly. To top off the evening, they brought out a lovely happy birthday plate, which was a thoughtful touch that made the night feel even more special. If you’re a foodie or looking for a place to celebrate a special occasion, I highly recommend Ginza St James. It’s a memorable experience from start to finish!

This place including bar & kitchen they know what they are doing! A great welcoming bar & atmosphere with excellent level of attention, encouraging hospitality! Cosy and great clean atmosphere! And now I don't know how is it but the kitchen really does some magic with the food! The quality of food is way above than many other place in the area, comparable with Michelin star restaurant food quality! A real Japanese inspired gem in London and quality place go to enjoy hospitality, have a great time and drinks together and have some amazing quality of food! Thanks for the whole team and the management flagship Richard and Antal makes a real expertise and asset in restaurant hospitality!

Visit Ginza for our anniversary dinner. We had a hot diners offer of 50% off. I felt the food was a bit underwhelming for a fine dining restaurant. Nothing stood out for me except for fried chicken which you can get in any regular Japanese places as well. If I paid full price for my food, I would be very disappointed. I think there are better options for halal Japanese fine dining. . Also, I had mentioned it was our anniversary and I mentioned in the booking but they had done nothing special which is usually expected from these up market fine dining places. Fair to say, I would not be going back any time soon

I can't believe I can eat such delicious Japanese food in London. I feel like I'm a really lucky person!! I had the lunch course, and every single thing was delicious. On top of that, the wonderful service from the wonderful staff made it the best. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is really sophisticated and luxurious, so I would recommend it to people having a meal with their family or for an important occasion! If I ever go back to London I will definitely stop by here!

The food at Ginza was amazing, particularly the Ginza maki and the uni from Iceland (which was the best I’ve ever eaten in the UK)! Our waiter, Daniel, was absolutely brilliant and very friendly. The only thing which could have been improved is that the front of house staff member did not offer to take our coats until we asked despite taking other customers’ coats, even after we had finished our drinks at the bar while we were waiting to enter the restaurant. Overall it was a very lovely experience and we will hopefully visit again!

First impression was 'how posh.' it was a beautiful restaurant, the waitresses were brilliant. First afternoon tea we have been to. It was more than I expected. The prosecco was delicious, but the food was the show.

I had an amazing experience at Ginza St. james! The ambiance was warm and welcoming. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, making sure every need was met. (Thank you Mr. Richard) The food was absolutely delicious. It was flavourful, beautifully presented, and clearly made with fresh ingredients. I will definitely be returning and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a top-notch dining experience.

The attention of the staff , the delicious food made the night unforgettable it was the anniversary of me and my girlfriend. Veronica gave us a very warm welcome , later we got a good recommendation of sake from Madalina that we both enjoyed and of course our service from Daniel was amazing with explanation and suggestions making you more confident of what to order.

It was really hard for me to give that final star, which is usually only saved for the outstanding unparalleled experience, including service. However, I have to say that the initial service was a little cold in the beginning. Once I got to the ordering part, things warmed up a little. Also, while the bar upstairs is usually empty enough to accept walk-ins, the restaurant downstairs requires reservations and a presentable wardrobe. I've noticed that a lot of the negative reviews have to do with a few of the seafood platters and comparisons with other establishments under the same name in different countries. Since this is my first experience at Ginza, I can't speak to those claims. However, I can say that I have no such qualms with anything that I ordered during my visit. To start off, the cocktails here are LEGIT. Rarely have I had such well-balanced alcoholic beverages in London. While all of them have something new to offer, regardless of what you're into, my absolute favorite was the Kohï Espresso cocktail made with Mozart Dark Chocolate and Aluna Coconut, for that smooth, creamy finish. Food-wise, I'm not a big seafood person, (I know; why did I come to a Japanese restaurant?), but they have a well-rounded menu with plenty of meat and veggie options to satisfy most palates. I would highly recommend the Nasu Truffle Miso aubergine dish, which has the most delicious sweetness to it, with a soft texture that hardly requires chewing. It comes complete with caramelized pecans for that crunchy finish that makes it all the more satisfying. If you're not a seafood lover, I would choose either one of their Robata or Teppan Yaki meat selections, ranging from £30-£200+. For me, it's the Teppan Yaki Steak Fillet, for the win. Melt-in-your-mouth, perfectly-cooked steak with a sesame black pepper sauce that will leave you craving more. I would have liked more veggies- as the 3 that came with it just weren't enough- but I've rarely had a more delicious steak. Is it true that the staff will try to upsell you? Probably. Will your food and drinks cost an arm and a leg? Most definitely. But, if you hold true to your ideals and the remaining money in your wallet, you have nothing to worry about. Just don't expect the red carpet treatment once you've paid.

The foods are ok, but experience is not. I ordered a normal Japanese whiskey without age, but they give me the wrong whiskey and charge me near 100 ponds more! Also the food was wrong, wagyu beef was served wrong as normal beef. What I ordered is hibiki whiskey without year, the waiter misunderstood to hibiki whiskey 17 years, which there is near 100 ponds price difference. When checked out I found that not right and discussed with the waiter. What he told me is they don't have hibiki whiskey 17 years, so he upgraded to 21 years for me, which he think is already a kind of make up. It is really ridiculous, you placed the wrong order, and I was been told to pay for it, what you do is just a kind of make up, you should just charge me the price for the whiskey I really ordered, the price for hibiki whiskey without year! If, you really don't have hibiki 17 years as you said, why don't you just told me when served? Rather than after I found the mistake of the order? More, what I ordered is hibiki whiskey without year, whatever you serve me 17 years or 21 years are all wrong, and you still charge me for that. Also, I am suspicious of such upgrades, I ordered whiskey with ice, so it is hard to distinguish the year. And he told after I have my whiskey when check out, who can make sure about such upgrade, my stomach? About the food, I ordered wagyu beef, and they wrongly served me with the normal sirloin. After I finished I complain those to their manager, until now, already one week, there are no any apologize or feedback. Is that your attitude after make mistakes? Your waiter really needs to be trained before work rather than let your customer to pay for his fault.

England is not known for great food. After having one of the worst afternoon tea. I was surprised and excited to stumble into a Ginza Onodera group restaurant in London (having been to their locations in japan and LA). Unfortunately, the experience is not really up to par as compared to other location. The good- Teppanaki- one of the very best I had. The lobster was perfectly seasoned and cooked. The tomato sauce with a kick at the end really goes well with lobster. The chef also kept the best part of lobster on the side. Amazing dish. The main course Miyazaki beef also was cooked to perfect medium rare as I liked. Overall the teppanaki was excellent. Had not been excellent teppanaki. I would have gave the restaurant a 1 Star. The bad 1. Sushi #1. The Uni Gunkan seaweed was soggy. A place like this shouldn't serve such poor quality of seaweed. 2. Sushi #2. The Otoro was poorly sliced. There was far tendon that wasn't treated. This is unacceptable mistake. 3. The shape of the sushi is ugly. The rice grain was shaped all different direction. Just looked like a kid was making the sushi. 4. The tempura was also bad. The batter were to thick in some location and thus undercooked. 5. The tempura shrimp was crooked in shape. Just not tempting. The LA store is a sushi focused restaurant, it's tempura was on par with top restaurant in Japan. The tempura here is no better than cheap Korean run bento box place. Complete waste of a good shrimp. That shrimp died an ugly death. 6. The daikon was pressed too hard and didn't dissolve well in the tempura sauce. Overall the tempura and sushi is a disgrace for a Ginza Onodera restaurant. The mistakes aren't just minor.

What a disappointing experience. The restaurant was empty yet we waited up 930 for a reservation. Between the pushy waiter attempting to upsell us, the horrific service, food not coming out together and one forgotten altogether - the entire meal should have been comped. We were given sake, but are not really sake drinkers. Stay away - go anywhere else

Let me start by saying I'm From NYC, have dined in all the best sushi restaurants from Yasuda to Poke however Ginza Onodera is above them all. Absolutely delicious, fresh and creative. I was blown away by the sashimi Ume platter. As well as the dish Witt truffle. See my pics. A must is to ask for sommelier, Manuel, who was so knowledgeable for pairing wine with sushi. Highly recommend a dinner here. Rarely do I write such raving reviews

Lovely sushi and cocktails! The staff was incredible as well and gave good suggestions.

Expensive but tasty food, authentic but a bit stiff and cold atmosphere - good for a business dinner but not for a date.

Since the take over this place is nowhere near as good as it used to be. Previously Matsuri St.James and previously a much better restaurant. We dined with 10 people. They've removed more or less all the teppanyaki tables so the teppanyaki dishes had to be brought to the table so you can't (for larger groups) experience the fun of watching the teppanyaki chefs. This is a major blow in my opinion. It's what used to separate this restaurant from others. Dishes kept coming out at different times so people had long waits and the cooked food became cold. Wine servers kept topping up drinks way too keenly which meant going through a lot of expensive alcohol. Being a large group I wanted to pre-arrange some of the courses to suit needs and manage costs. I tailored a menu (thanks to the help of the nice staff at the front desk) which included teppanyaki courses. Even though I ordered around 4+ courses, totalling around £90 per head (before alcohol) they would not allow us to have the egg rice, only steamed. Might seem like a minor thing but the fact they were so inflexible annoyed me, especially given our spend was high and the restaurant was less than half-full on a Thursday night. Previously at Matsuri this would have been full. Sad to say but this is no longer a go-to place for me. Used to take clients and they loved it. Now looking for a new venue in London. Shame.