Following in the footsteps of my mentor, Kang, I decided to pay a visit to the Sushi restaurant he has declared his new favorite, since I never did manage to make it out to his old favorite Sushi Hiro. I still hold Sake no Hana on a pedestal as my gold standard for sushi, and fair or not, that’s the guideline I use for comparison. Of course for a fraction of the cost I’m not expecting to meet the same level of amazing service and surroundings, or the bar’s arsenal of sake selections, but I do hope to find at least something comparable in the quality of the fish.
My first mistake was to ignore Kang’s suggestion of pre-booking the entire meal and ordering the special set meal. But knowing that my companion might not be able to handle as much raw fish as would be on offer, I was compelled to go a la carte. But I did want to make sure I touched on at least a few of the top recommended items from the menu.
Octopus tako wasabi. Although we weren’t doing the set meal, I still wanted to venture out from the typical sushi mold and try something special this chef had to offer. But this turned out a bit weird and not as tasty as I expected. Small chopped pieces of octopus, still fairly chewy texture, some lemon and a bit of wasabi and red pepper. This really required my top skills as a chopsticks expert. It was quite syrupy, well that’s how I described it. I guess I was expecting something more akin to the “Aji sashimi with mooli” in one of Kang’s reviews, but this wasn’t it.
Miso soup. Normally I skip the soup at sushi restaurants – having had broth with tofu and seaweed more than enough times, it usually just seems like a waste. But given this was my companion’s first real sushi experience, I wanted to make sure we had this for completeness. The soup actually did turn out to be pretty nice. Very salty, brothy, and I noted “smoky” flavors. However, no toasted rice bits as in Kang’s version..
Mixed nigiri platter. We ordered 14 pieces from the menu, including 3 varieties of tuna, unagi eel, egg, scallop, and aubergine. Note the presentation with little dollops of wasabi on top of radish slices – nice touch!
Scallop with truffle nigiri. I have to admit I think I have probably not had raw scallop before, as seared in butter always seemed like the more appropriate way to eat that particular item. But this was not a bad idea, and Kang was right, with the addition of the truffle oil on top, this piece pretty much stole the show! Really delicious and elegant.
Tuna nigiri. Check. I think this is a standard requirement and you can either get it right or wrong, and this was good. Note the sinewey tissue. Nice. Also note the “tuna tartar” pieces in the back – different from what I am used to, and also good but not great.
Chu-toro fatty tuna. Very nice. Not sure what the garnishes were about here, and (shame on me) I admit I scraped them to the side before popping these into my mouth. Didn’t particularly like the topping on this one though, but don’t recall what it was now.
Wagyu seared beef nigiri. Another hit, absolutely delicious and tender, with a tasty topping of I can’t remember what.
Maki, salmon, tuna, and california I think – standard and forgettable, but not bad. Note again the wasabi on top of raddish piece for that extra touch.
Homemade plum-wine sorbet. Very nice, my companion had never even had plum wine, so it was interesting to see her reaction. But she liked it. And for me it definitely brought back memories of the last plum wine I had, and dare I say this is probably a better way to serve that flavor than as a glass to drink, given how sweet it is?
The bill came out to £75 and change, including service, which if I recall correctly was actually discretionary? That in itself is a nice touch, I am just so sick of seeing the pre-included “optional” service charges every time I dine out in London. Not exactly cheap considering I didn’t go all out at all on this occasion as I had done in the past – we only had a couple of rolls and a medium plate of nigiri pieces, and a small sake. I would have been happier with a charge around £60 for all that. But I guess miso soup and dessert makes a big difference..!
I could imagine returning for a few select pieces, possibly the scallop and the beef. But it’s a bit of a trek for me, and I’m still happy with Feng as a cheap local alternative, and then of course Sake no Hana when I get my next big bonus. Overall I think what we had was a fairly average Sushi meal for a slightly over average price, whereas I was expecting something a bit more extraordinary along the lines of Kang’s two meals. Maybe I should really go for the pre-ordered set meal next time and try my luck again..
Sushi of Shiori
http://www.sushiofshiori.co.uk
144 Drummond St
London
NW1 2PA
United Kingdom
020 7388 9962
The original set of high-res photos is here.
