Kikuchi

Having done the research, it was with high expectations when I finally step into Kikuchi. Memories reminiscent of Tokyo's sushi bars/restaurants surfaced as familiar smells and sights assailed my senses. We sat at the counter this night (with the counter only reserved for guests who order the omakase tasting menu). On a whim, we decided to order the sake tasting menu as well and were delightfully surprised by their selection - neither my wife nor I are huge alcohol drinkers and we were very pleased with their selection (+ point no. 1). The first dish was the sea bream in salad. The salad was doused with the chef's own plum sauce which went very well with the sea bream that was topped with uni. So far, so good (+ point no. 2). The second dish was the sashimi - 2 pieces of Hamachi, one huge razor clam, and pickled ginger. Both the hamachi and razor clams were fresh and a bit of lime and wasabi went very well with the crunchiness of the razor clams (+ point no. 3). The third dish was the customary grilled fish. Now, I'd name the dish and we did ask twice, but we didn't hear properly so it was something like Eel cheeks (?) but if that piece of meat was the cheek of an eel, that eel would be (holy f**k)-sized. The dish was done to expectations, skin crisp (check), sweet flesh (check), lightly salted (check), grated radish (check) (+ point no.4). Now remember, Kikuchi is a SUSHI restaurant. With the right notes made with the first three dishes, I cannot understate the level of expectation that I felt towards the sushi part of the course. Would the rice be prepared with red or white vinegar? How long would the fish be aged? How would the shari perform with fish taken from this region - would the chef be able to adapt? To cut a long story short, the sushi part of the course was a let down. For starters, the rice was not cooked in vinegar (or maybe the chef had an off-day). The chef then lathered the fish with copious amounts of sauce - all I could taste was salty, rice, and fish meat - the taste from the aging of the fish were all masked. And the uni........ Now uni needs to be done correctly else it will taste rotten. Yeah, the uni just did not work. So to cap it all off, it was an experience. Would it be an experience I'd like to repeat? No. Is it value for money? For £300 and for me, sorry, no. However, do note that they did do things like the sashimi and the cooked stuff quite well, so there's that to look forward to.

My husband and I really enjoyed the omakase! My husband booked our reservation the night before so the only option was a table instead of the bar but overall the experience was great! The service was great and the food was very fresh and delicious! The one thing that I wasn't a fan of was the wait between the meals. Only two chefs were working and the restaurant was pretty packed on a Friday night. For the price I would say the overall experience was good. There is a spending limit per person at this restaurant so make sure to check..in case it changes but I believe it was 40 pounds. We were there for about two hours total for the omakase.

Seriously , if you are looking for quality sushi with the best sake pairings, this is the place to go. It's at par with the amazing sushi restaurants I have visited in Tokyo! The prices are higher than usual but you need to treat it as an experience. The look inside is unassuming, but you'll be surprised with the quality and freshness of the food. My fave was the lightly seared fish (I think it was tuna, which was blowtorched). Check the photos I posted!! The chef apparently creates his own signature sauces as well so make friends with him! They're hard to find in the street, hopefully they'll put up a much better sign.

This place is definitely not worth it for sushi. The fish was of mediocre quality, ikura tasted horrible, and worst of all the neta was assembled onto cold shari (rice). #whotheheckeatcoldsushi???? Sushi is supposed to be served at room temperature or whichever temperature is optimum for that particular fish! But definitely not cold!! Service was impeccably slow ==' Overall, for this price it is not worth my time and a waste of calories. For traditional sushi lovers, i recommend Sushi Tetsu. And for fusion, try Dinings.

If you ever want to try some fantastic sushi at london, remember three places for sure: Araki, Umu, and Kikuchi. I might be exaggerating here, but I highly recommend Kikuchi if you are looking for a quiet, yet accessible top-tier sushi experience. Wonderful service, and the omakase went smooth. Most of all, the sushi--definitely try the typical omakase style and eat sushi one by one. Fantastic experience. In fact, I thought I would lose my appetite in any other Japanese restaurant after I visited araki. I was proven wrong--Kikuchi, while sticking with the traditional way of making sushi, continually improved the tasting experience. The chef tried their best in enhancing the taste of each fish piece on sushi by playing some tricks--maybe use lemon juice on squid--that does not hurt the ingredient but rather fostered a non-monotonous tasting experience. I was definitely impressed by its unique miso soup with prawn head and clams. I already had a lot of good feelings about pieces of sushi here without even telling you how awesome the sake is here! The only thing I think the place can improve further more is to vary the tempura options and starter options for Omakase, but it still does not hurt to give a well-deserved five star rating.

Fantastic, authentic and good service. We had the sashimi platter and the sushi mixed platter plus some different starters with squid as you can see on the pictures. The sake menu is well balanced and offers also nigori sake. The guests were mostly Japanese as far as we could identify We specifically asked to get seated at the counter to watch the sushi chef do his magic. The assortment and variety of fish they offer is pretty good and it is perfectly presented. We loved this place and for sure will come back soon. For sure the prices are high and you also need to be aware that there is a minimum spending policy of 30 pounds per person , but first of all the quality is great and second of all you will get to this amount in lightspeed... Lol.

My moving from Los Angeles to London was a relatively painless experience except for the fact that I couldn't get a decent taco (at all) or find a good sushi bar without spending half my paycheck. I had yet to find the brightly lit, no-frills, best-sushi-ever house that I had known and loved (and that can be found in abundance) of my former city. Then a couple weeks back Jay Rayner from the Guardian writes about this place and I know my search is over. Saturday night my hopes and dreams are realized. I need not ever say again that London does not have good sushi. And please don't talk to me about Roka or Nobu - I like my sushi a little more anthentico than what those places offer. And I feel that an over-designed restaurant where all the pretty people hang out isn't what I go for when I go for sushi. I like my sushi like this: simple, extremely fresh and of the highest quality. I really like it when you can see the chef taking a lot of pride in his fish, from the way he cuts it to how it tastes. That's what I think separates the good from the great sushi bars and Kikuchi is a great sushi bar. Everything was fantastic but I particularly enjoyed the stir fried aubergine in miso, the miso soup with clams, the tuna sashimi, the super fatty tuna (aka toro), and the scallops in butter. This place is as good as it gets.

I thought I was back in Tokyo when I walked in, and for a few hours forgot I was in London. The sashimi and sushi is excellent. The chef remembers every order from each table as each waitress shouts the order one at a time, this is impressive enough. Sushi price is reasonable but the sake price was a bit toppy.... There is plenty of good sake that can be bought at a lower price but the menu seems to have that completely missing. Go for the experience as well as the food.

Where do I begin??? The yelp reviews are really what drew me to dine here vs. any of the other better known sushi spots in London. I know that London is not known for it's sushi, but I was craving it, and couldn't wait till I got back to LA to have it. So I walk in to this place, and it was pretty crowded maybe one open two top and a couple seats at the bar. I told the hostess that it would just be myself. She said something to the chef, he said something back, then she told me, "Sorry." I explained that I didn't understand what she meant, I can wait for a spot, I have no problem with that. She simply told me, "No." So instead of being a normal person and storming out and saying I would never go there, I was determined to eat there that night. I went back to my hotel and had them make a reservation. There is a 25 Quid minimum per person, to eat there. When I came in there and said I had a reservation, she seemed upset. I quickly told her that I would spend 50 Quid no problem, she seemed a little happier. So now to the food... I ordered Omakase (Chef's choice) and was far from impressed. It was NOTHING even close to LA or SF sushi as people wrote previously. It was all Sashimi, and was mediocre at best. I ordered a few pieces of sushi after the Omakase plate, and the rice was horrid. Probably the worst sushi rice I had ever had. I would say that they purposely sandbagged my meal because they didn't like me for some reason, but I watched him cut the fish from the same pieces he used for everyone else, and they obviously didn't make a new batch of horrible sushi rice for me. Overall, I would not recommend that anyone visit this place ever. The only reason I gave it a 2nd star is because I didn't get sick.

I once took my small, Northern mother for a sushi blowout at Jenny's in Manhattan, keen to introduce her to my new favourite thing. She flashed me a helpless pleading look as the enormous plate of mixed sashimi and nigiri landed and I hastily ordered her a side salad with (cooked) tuna before nailing the lot myself. If you were a sushi newcomer, Kikuchi probably wouldn't the most accessible entry into the world of high grade fish. Even for people who know their nigiri from his nitsume we had some problems with the ordering. The staff might be bright and friendly but given the extremely high ratio of Japanese customers, they assume that you know exactly what you're doing here. Asking for advice on the sake generated confusedface from our waitress who stabbed the page at random and shrugged apologetically. Similar worry radiated when we asked whether we'd under ordered, although looking at my ever expanding stomach probably made that a more delicate question. The supermodel of Japanese food, black cod, marinated in miso is one of my favourite plates in a good Japanese restaurant. It's an expensive fish, but the flavour is divine, here it's one of the best I've had. At £20 for a single fillet it's steep, but against the £42 you'll pay at Nobu it's a steal. If you wanna spend a lot of money on food, go for sushi. Every time. It's the food choice of the gourmet aesthete and the cash loaded philistine alike. The former seeking out the rare and the subtle, the latter seeking priceless ostentation. It's overtaken caviar, even among the Russian super rich (though to be fair that's probably more the influence of their fashion conscious girlfriends). At the other end of the pricing spectrum, we shared a small hot plate of sliced fish cakes - thin patties of crab and shrimp and other white fish, compacted into a thinly fried slice, a grownup fish ball if you will. Nigiri - a good selection freshly made, more fish than rice and every piece exceptional. We had 12 pieces to share, each with a different payload. Fatty o-toro tuna was, as expected, the standout for flavour. Marbled like a fine steak, potentially an ecological worry but unavoidably gorgeous. Eel was dark and brooding, a tang of the esturine to go with the fresh flesh of the open sea. Buttery and sweet silken tuna reared its fin again as thickly sliced yellowtail sashimi, close to perfect for my gaijin tastes. The only disappointment was a final menu Tourettes order of duck skewers, too quick off the grill and still shocked to tight chewiness by the lick of the flame. The crowd are as you'd expect from a high-ish end sushi joint in central London. There are a fair few tables of Japanese businessmen, interspersed with the odd couple on a special date night (guilty) and a scattering of braying hedge fundies, piling in with the sad acceptance that there's nothing like this for them in Zug or Zurich.

A sushi to die for. I took the chef' special and it was pure poetry. Every fish was like butter on my tongue even the always thick prawn. I was in trouble using soy sauce because the nigiri was so well balanced in favour that the sauce could just ruin that perfect balance. I've also got the tofu miso soup with mixed miso paste (so tell me in which jap restaurant they put on the menu options about the miso paste) and it was so tasty and the tofu was so fresh and firm...ahhh. The only drawback of this otherwise fabulous venue is the price. For water, green tea, sushi, and miso soup I spent 40£. So not a cheap place to go but believe me, it worth every single penny. P.S. Try at least one nigiri with fatty tuna if you want to go to Nirvana and back. P.P.S. The minimum order charge is about 25£. Expensive, but if you think that the chef's special sushi (9 pieces) is around 23£ is not too difficult to reach it.

Outstanding. Authentic. Owner behind the sushi bar making the magic happen. The place was filled with Japanese business men and couples, which I always see as a good sign. Perhaps because I wasn't Japanese they gave me a little bit of a hard time with repeated questions of whether I had reservation and whether I knew there was a £25 min per person. After gaining their confidence I sat at the sushi bar for what was one of the best sushi meals I've experienced in London. Super high quality of fish and presentation of dishes. Nice Sake list which is expensive but also served in wooden boxes just like Blue Ribbon Sushi in NYC. The sliced Spanish mackerel sashimi with spring onions in ponzu sauce was brilliant. The omakase nigiri was fabulous as well. Previous reviews have mentioned poor quality rice but it was in proper form tonight. In all, a true gem. I'll definitely be coming back often and soon. Contender for best sushi in London.

I don't get the chance to travel to Japan with work any more. It's just the occasional holiday these days and one of the things that makes the time until the next trip bearable is Kikuchi. I'm not sure I can add anything the other reviews haven't said. Sure, it's expensive but I've yet to find a more authentic japanese restaurant this side of, well, Japan. The sashimi and sushi was outstanding, totally fresh and melt-in-the-mouth. We followed it up with grilled aubergine in sweet miso paste and prawn tempura, again, both outstanding. We finished up with grilled sardine and miso soup. Service was brisk but friendly from a staff mostly, if not entirely, from Japan. When we left, it was a shock to find ourselves in Tottenham Court Road and not Shinjuku.

Just absolutely the best sushi I've ever had. My favorite restaurant and a regular stop when I visit London. Small and quaint like a Japanese restaurant should be.

Good but completely overpriced. But hey. I'm an L.A. Girl trying to eat sushi in London. Recommend the fatty tuna roll.

Food was very good, however I felt the price was quite high. I was appalled by them charging for green tea after dinner which really made me felt nickeled and dimed after spending 70 pounds on sashimi and one drink.

See Greedy Diva for photos and more extensive review @ http://greedydiva.blogspot.com/2010/04/kikuchi-again-second-bite.html It was rather remiss of me not to try the sashimi at the time of my first review of Kikuchi (on the Greedy Diva blog). Please excuse me. But the time has come to share the good word. Kikuchi has now become a regular haunt when we crave good, local Japanese food. Or the bustling atmosphere of Tokyo. Or a night on the sake. So, we've been diligently saving up our vouchers from each visit (£5 for every £50 you spend) and recently had a big blow out which the neighbours of Hanway Street are still talking about. So, I won't rave on (and on...) (again...) about Kikuchi (see my earlier review for more details). But I will say there's a big difference between bad sushi and good sushi. This stuff's good. The happy hoards of Japanese business men crowding the room are a testament to the fact. Sit in front of the cartoon character-like sushi bar man, knock back some sake or Japanese beers and watch as the chef's selection of deliciously fresh slithers of fish, lush flavours, and slippery smooth textures are lavished up on you. Bless him. The nasu dengaku (aubergine grilled with miso sauce) is another essential for us. The miso caramelises in the grilling process over the smoky aubergine scoop it out, sit back and luxuriate in the sweetness. If you don't normally like aubergine, this is the one to convert you. And I always like to finish off with some cold buckwheat noodles (soba) which come with a side of spicy dipping sauce (often bland, but delectable here). There are reportedly over 30,000 soba restaurants in Japan. Soba noodles have been eaten in Japan for over 400 years, and it is a distinguished Japanese art to perfect them so they stay firm, slippery and intact. Close your eyes, slurp loudly and wallow in the traditions behind your feast. It's all wonderful, and you'll even feel healthy* when you finish (*depending on beer consumption). Book ahead, and don't forget the £20 minimum food spend (plus drinks/service).

Amazing place, excellent japanese restaurant. The sushi are excellent (they are the best i have ever eaten), nice ambiance, nice service... Even the appettizers deserve to be tasted one by one. I really recommand this restaurant even if it s expensive, but it worth it

Great place I would definitely recommend! Good fish quality and very well made. Service was pretty fast and got lucky to get a table at 7 pm even though the reservation wasn't made.

finally found a decent sushi place that's the closest to LA/SF quality. best thing was the omakase sushi and sashimi (esp the razor clam) and the aji w/ponzu. the only bad thing was way too much rice on the nigiri. there was also the sign of authenticity = a lot of japanese ppl eating there.

Best Japanese place in London, period. Run by Japanese, as authentic as it gets. Sake selection is very well selected and fish (for sushi/sashimi) are as fresh and raw as they can get. I'm a huge fan and that's where I'd bring Japanese clients from out of town / country. Place isn't big but good size for a party of 4-6. Price is high but I know exactly what I'd get, so it's cool. This review was long overdue....

Best sushi I've had in London to date. You should go here if you care about the quality of the fish, they just serve great quality sushi, nothing fancy. Certainly was not cheap, but the sushi was fantastic. Service was great and straightforward.

generally the quality of all the non-sushi/sashimi items was of a high standard. Be aware there is minimum spending policy of £30 per person but to be honest it is difficult to spend less as at the end of the day, this restaurant is hardly cheap.

Divine! I'm normally not much of a tuna fan, but their fatty tuna blew me out of the water. Will definitely be back.

upon booking you will be reminded that there is a min of £25min per person.... don't go thinking this will be hard to achieve.... the mataike mushroom and egg japanese style was yum. in broth, and was very filling for a starter. delicious. (£6) i got the mixed sashimi platter on vinegar rice... very very good and fresh... had a range of sashimi pieces, tobiko and salmon roe (£28) also had the beef skewer and the miso marinated cod... (£20) which was about 4cm by 6 cm... that's IT.... a bit disappointing really. it came to £85 for two ppl. a bit tooo steep really but yes... definitely delicious!!! oh ny sushi how much i miss thee!!!!

Kikuchi is the most unassuming place you'll find. Behind curtained doors lies a little Japanese restaurant which serves what I think is almost the best sushi out there! The selection plates are delicious and good value but watch out if you hit the a la carte. With individual nigiri's starting from £2 and going up to £8 (for a toro nigiri) your wallet will start to hurt!

Avoid this place like the plague. Natto omelette was very good but in general the food is priced at twice what it deserves. There is a 35 pound minimum food spend per person and the staff boot you out after 90 minutes. A relaxed supper is something else.

Best Sushi I've had in London. It even rivaled some of my favorite places in LA.

This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. All the fish is perfectly cut and the rice is excellent. They even have ankimo and botan ebi (with the fried heads!), something that is every day in L.A. and NYC sushi bars but is unusual here. This is my new favorite joint in the UK.

I have been to this restaurant many times and enjoyed copious amounts of the extra fatty tuna, which is some of the best in London. However I will never return. This evening I was refused entry because I was with my one year old daughter. Apparently children are not allowed as it upsets the "business customers". I was forcibly stopped even entering, whilst carrying my child. What kind of service is this??? If I'm spending £200+ on a meal for 2 then I do not expect to be vilified for having a child in tow. I am livid!!!

Best sushi I've had in London. And I don't understand the service complaints. Perhaps some find cultural differences more challenging than others, but, as an American who can't say more than hello, goodbye, and thank you in Japanese, I was able to order and enjoy with no problems.