Among most popular… London

The Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels Report, due for release on 22 May at this year’s Boutique Hotel Summit in London, will reveal the most popular search terms used online for specialist accommodation in domestic, short haul and long haul destinations.

“Boutique Hotel Summit was launched because we recognised the need for an event catering to this very specific niche in the hospitality industry,” says founder Piers Brown.

“To some extent, the plethora of online marketing channels levels the playing field and allows boutique hotels to compete with the industry’s bigger players”.

Among others, popular generic search terms include ‘boutique cottages’, ‘specialist hotels’ ‘unique hotels’ and ‘small luxury hotels’.

Major cities topped the list with London, New York and Paris as well as the UK’s Lake District and Sao Paolo among the most sought after locations for boutique accommodation.

The report, produced by digital marketing agency Greenlight, analyses brands, retailers and review sites and compares organic search results with paid online ads to reveal more than 50 per cent of the most visible websites rely solely on visibility gained in the paid ad listings on Google.

The report also assesses those players who interact well on social media networks, where hotel brands are noticeable for their absence.

www.boutiquehotelsummit.com

Hold on to your hat here. It’s crazy and you won’t know where to look first!

Elegantly sandwiched between the sombre, legal, august Inner Temple and the renowned University of London, number two Temple Place is a triumph of architecture and Gothic Disney.

Exquisite… Two Temple Place

An unsettling, architectural gem of a building, it is a clutter of wood paneling, pictures and paranoia.  So visually overpowering that if it weren’t for the immediate mugging by fabulous Mediterranean and Cornish aromas, you could easily miss lunch, altogether.

William Waldorf Astor, the dizzyingly wealthy creator of New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, built this Thames side, neo-Gothic, late Victorian mansion, (its that and more), in 1895, for £250,000; probably £25million at today’s prices.  It’s rumoured he believed his children would be safer here, from the threat of kidnapping.  With the touch of a button, it’s said, Astor could bar and lock all windows and doors.

And there are plenty of doors. The first one prepares you for what London’s evening newspaper called an “entertaining, camp, joyful and funny” building.

Two romantic cherubs, each holding a telephone, celebrate the then new age of telecommunication. There are carvings of characters from The Three Musketeers, 54 others from history and fiction, Pocahontas, Bismarck, and, probably for some good reason, Marie Antoinette. The Last of the Mohicans is there too, Rip Van Winkle with his dog, and 82 characters from Shakespeare.  To top out the restored, fake Elizabethan stonework there’s a Golden weather vane representing the Santa Maria in which Columbus discovered America. The Astor’s symbolic connection across the ‘pond’ is relentless.

All that and you still haven’t seen the pictures.

But not quite yet… pause here, follow your nose and sample the stupendous salads, good bread or a Cornish pasty. For me though their ‘take’ on a prosaic Egg and Watercress on Poilane rye was second to none.  Mint tea with real mint made me want to hug somebody.

Classic… Forbes’ A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach, 1885

Ok, now you can see the pictures.  They’ve only recently started to stage exhibitions and this one is the most significant grouping of Cornish art, outside Cornwall, in recent times.

‘Amongst Heroes: the artist in working Cornwall’, is a cornucopia of fish, fishermen, their boats and the sea.

Mostly not great art, and very much late Victorian to early Edwardian taste, these works are seldom seen, much of it tucked away in private collections or in museum storage.

There’s a massive Stanhope Forbes, ‘A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach’ which was done, we’re told, ‘as it happened’. There’s the chaotic but triumphant ‘trawling of pilchards’, painted actually on the sea from a neighboring boat. Everywhere are ruddy-faced seafarers in dozens of painterly works and drawings.  There’s even, rather oddly, a fragile Cornish oyster-fishing boat.  There must have been many drownings.  But for me the most thrilling picture is a small, 1930’s Christopher Wood fishing boat; clear and clean, a lovingly painted work from arguably the finest, certainly the most tragic, of the Cornish school.

Two Temple Place is worthy of half an hour of your life, even stripped of the paintings.  And, because this is not a ‘great’ collection, if you haven’t had enough of the very best, all is not lost. A short walk away is London’s greatest gallery, The Courtauld, home of some of the world’s most perfect art treasures. It’s currently staging a small, but perfectly formed two-room exhibit of Picasso works, all produced in 1901.

There’s been much talk about the disappointing, rambling Manet exhibit at the Royal Academy stuffed with lots of filler and few captivating pictures.  This one’s a no-brainer, save a few quid, and get a two-fer, combining the Courtauld with Two Temple Place.  Or, after such a splendid battering of art, you could just retreat to the patio behind the University and sit and watch the Thames.

www.twotempleplace.org

www.courtauld.ac.uk

Amy Hughes

Just off Shaftsbury Avenue, in the heart of London’s Soho neighbourhood, a glut of Vietnamese restaurants is emerging.  It’s a Saturday night, and, as usual, I’m in charge of the restaurant plans for a group of friends.  We’ve just been to see The Gatekeepers, the Oscar-nominated documentary featuring interviews with the former directors of Shin Bet, the Israeli version of the FBI.

Appetite stimulation… Cay Tre

After taking in all this intellectual stimulation and we head around the corner to Cay Tre, a busy place that feels like we could be in Ho Chi Minh City.  Waiters buzz around with stacks of exotic dishes, and diners are packed in tight against the white-washed walls in the cafe-style atmosphere.

The menu is long, and filled with things I’ve never heard of…jasmine bulb stir-fried with egg white, squid filled with duck confit, anchovied chicken wings, and lamb “wokked” (is wok now a verb?) with lemongrass.

As the Middle Eastern debate at our table rages between a Canadian Jew and a Lebanese Londoner, I concentrate on ordering dishes to distract the conversation.  We go for half a dozen things, and agree, the square pads of fried tofu with thick shiitake and hon-shimqui mushrooms is one of the best dishes for its warm flavour and substantial texture. Local squid “wokked” with cherry tomatoes, chilli and water spinach is spicy, but clean…everything the tofu isn’t.  The stewed pork in caramelised coconut curry is the only miss, but the Red Sea prawns with Chouchou make up for it with a light, but flavourful oyster sauce with dill and chilli.

It’s not long after the first dish is set down that my companions quickly forget about one-state versus two-state solutions to focus on the flavours, which are a refreshing change to our culinary routine of British, French, Italian and Lebanese, all of which seems to dominate London’s restaurant scene.

There don’t seem to be any Vietnamese desserts, so we retreat to a nearby bar for drinks, where even a 30-year old whisky can’t keep us from returning to the topic of world peace.  We agree to disagree about politics, but Cay Tre gets a unanimous vote of confidence.

www.caytresoho.co.uk

Amy Hughes

Move over Scotland, it’s time to make room on the shelf for English whisky. London’s first distillery in over a century is about to begin production of single malt whisky in a former Victorian dairy. Darren Rook and his partner set up The London Distillery after reading about Australian distilleries. “We wondered why there were none in London.”

Not just a novelty... English whisky

London did have a distillery once. Lea Valley Distillery, located at the site of the recent Olympics, was one of four English whisky producers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

It was also the last distillery to produce English whisky in 1897, before the entire building burned down a few years later.

There are a couple of theories about why the English stopped making whisky more than a hundred years ago. Whisky historian and author Kevin Kosar says it was down to supply and demand.

“The whisky market crashed in 1900. Leading up to that time, the Scots and Irish were overproducing whisky, causing prices to drop, and distilleries to go bust.”

Kosar says because of the long lead time involved in the production of whisky, many distilleries over-leveraged themselves.

“Distilling, whisky especially, is very costly. You put all this money out there for the equipment and staff, then you put it in casks and wait three years. There are a lot of upfront costs with delayed revenues.”

In order to generate income quicker, many distilleries, including Darren Rook’s, also distil gin which only takes about three weeks to produce.

Andrew Nelstrop has been at the forefront of the English whisky revival with his St. George’s distillery in Norfolk, producing whisky since 2006. He believes English whisky also suffered because of suppliers servicing the heart of the market.

“England became the capital of gin, and Scotland became the capital of whisky. Whisky needs to go into oak casks. Most of the oak casks arrived at the docks in Liverpool. By the time the English were producing whisky, which was much later, most of those casks were heading north, not south. If you haven’t got enough casks to pour your whisky, you’re out of luck.”

Passionate... Darren Rook

But casks are no longer a problem. And Darren Rook says only the Scots and Americans are bound to use oak.

“We’re going to use some oak casks, but we’re also going to experiment with other woods to see how it affects the flavour.”

Rook’s whisky won’t be bottled for another three years, but Andrew Nelstrop’s St. George’s whisky will begin exporting to the US in April. Nelstrop concedes Scotch has an advantage, being a brand in itself. Only Scottish whisky can be called Scotch. Instead, he’s hoping to trade in on England’s identity and heritage.

“When people think of England, they think of quality products. Think of Rolls Royce, Bentley and others. We need to provide a high quality whisky to match the expectation. We’re not a brand yet, so we need the national brand of England to sell our whisky internationally and generate interest.”

Darren Rook compares Scottish whisky to French wine.

“Scotch will always be the standard bearer for quality. We’re not here to compete with the Scots, we’re trying to create something complementary. We’re trying to create something we’re passionate about and proud of; something that people can see as a separate offering to excite and engage whisky drinkers in a different way.”

Rook says there are many English micro-breweries now trying to enter the whisky market. He predicts a surge in craft distilleries, but cautions the novelty of English whisky is just that, and only those pouring quality from their casks will survive against their Scottish rivals.

https://www.thelondondistillerycompany.com

http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk

Amy Hughes

It’s easy to see where America’s greatest illustrator took inspiration from as we pull into Stockbridge, a small, New England town in the Berkshires. Norman Rockwell, considered by many America’s most popular artist of the 20th century, made his home here in 1953. He became so attached to the community, he established a trust while he was still alive, ensuring his works would be left to the Stockbridge Historical Society, who later created the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Worth it... Norman Rockwell Museum

For starters, Rockwell has an interesting story. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.” Born in 1894, Rockwell always knew he wanted to be an artist. He studied art at the National Academy of Design and was already being commissioned to paint Christmas cards by the age of 16. As a teenager, he became art director of Boy’s Life, the Boy Scouts’ official magazine. 

Rockwell went on to produce work for Life magazine and other publications before painting his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post at just 22 years old. He would go on to paint more than 320 covers, all of which are on display at the museum. The weekly magazine covered current affairs, and Rockwell’s lavish covers were clever illustrations of topical themes making both the magazine and the artist wildly popular.

Legendary... Norman Rockwell

What makes the Rockwell museum so accessible is both its subject matter (which is sometimes challenging, as well as humorous, and often plainly pleasing), and its layout. Descriptive panels weave interesting back stories about each picture, rather than posit what Rockwell may have been trying to convey.

There’s something to identify with in most pictures, whether it’s the young boy cringing at the site of a doctor about to deliver a jab, or a warm scene of a bountiful Thanksgiving table where no one is fighting (okay, maybe not identifiable, but certainly idyllic), these pictures are visions of regular people.

Identifiable... Freedom from Want, 1943

The museum also works hard to stay current with rotating exhibits. It’s no secret galleries have to rely on a few tricks to pull people in these days, but the Rockwell museum remains the most popular in the region. It’s packed, in fact. Many have come for the Heroes & Villains exhibit exploring the art of Alex Ross, the prolific comic book artist responsible for Superman, Captain Marvel and other favourites. Why? Because Ross, like so many American artists, was heavily influenced and inspired by Rockwell. The PR man at the museum gives me a wink and explains it’s “a bit of a stretch”. But I disagree.

Rockwell is the real deal; an American icon, and it’s fascinating to see the impact of his work on modern artists. Further, let’s be honest, it’s an exhibit that runs over Christmas and February vacation, and if it lures kids into the museum, which it does, then I think it’s a grand idea. Rockwell took a fun approach to chronicling life in 20th century America, and it shows at the museum. There’s nothing stuffy about it, in fact, if we had more time, we’d sit and stare for a good long while, and one of us is definitely NOT a museum person.
 

www.nrm.org

Cruising in style... Regency

When it comes to luxury, nothing spells it quite like a sleek and swanky sports car. 

Regency, the UK’s number one service for self-drive sports car hire and prestige car hire, boast one of the country’s largest fleets.

With an extensive range of high-end luxury car models, there’s something to suit all tastes – from Mercedes and Bentley, to Lamborghini or Maserati.

Self-drive sports car hire vehicles include air conditioning, reclining seats, state of the art entertainment, plasma screens, champagne bars, sunroofs and more.

Regency is part of Transport Broker Group and offers luxury car hire across all UK locations including London, Bristol, Brighton, Bath, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Cambridge, Oxford, Cardiff, Swansea, Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

www.regency.co.uk 

St Paul’s in the City is a neighbourhood that hardly beckons me from my comfy West London surroundings.

After all, I don‘t work in the City, and there are plenty of good restaurants between South Kensington and Mayfair, which don’t even require a Tube journey. 

But, a networking event at the relatively new One New Change complex, built to provide lunchtime and after-work distractions for all those office workers keen to blow their wages on the latest trendy togs and fashionable cocktails, lured me east.

It’s also a great opportunity to try some of the new restaurants clustered in and around the eating/shopping centre. 

Among them, is the latest addition to Gordon Ramsay’s empire – Bread Street Kitchen. And on this Monday night, the man himself slips past me at the entrance. It’s rare to see Mr Ramsay “working” as it were, and bodes well for the rest of the evening.

It wasn’t without a little trepidation that I suggested it. Ramsay’s menus have never appealed to me. There always seems to be one or two ingredients that get in the way of a perfect dish for me. Or maybe it’s just the fact that Gordon’s food, like the man, is very, very English and my taste buds, and I are very, very not. 

But having glanced at BSK’s online menu, I decided to give it a go. Unlike his other London spots, BSK is neither a place for precious fine dining, nor a pub where he tries to pull off “gastro” fish pie. Instead, BSK has a New York, Soho feel about it.

It could be the black and white checkerboard floor, or the tall ceilings with exposed heating ducts, or the vintage dark green leather banquette seating and retro office lamps. Whatever the case, the large, open space with multiple dining areas feels distinctly different to any other London restaurant. 

And the American influence on Ramsay is obvious elsewhere, like on the bottom of the menu, where it announces the Wifi code, and the fact that, also unlike almost any other restaurant in Britain, BSK serves food between 3-5.30pm.

They call it a late lunch, at the latter end, it could easily be a pre-theatre suppper. They also serve breakfast as early as 7am, a meal which has become far more fashionable to do business over, in these belt-tightening times, and encourage meetings in both the bar and restaurant.

None of these things should be terribly special, but London’s service culture is still evolving, so BSK is on the right side of the curve. But how’s the food? 

Well, for starters, the menu is easy to read, divided up into sections: raw bar, salads, hot kitchen, wood stone and sides. And the number of dishes seems perfect; not too little, not too big. You can’t waste time wading through an overly long menu when you’re about to cut a deal. 

But back to the food; it’s inventive. Dishes like crab and apple cocktail, and egg with aubergine, garlic and anchovies make a welcome change as so many menus these days are mirror images of one another.

We order beetroot tart and salmon ceviche as appetizers. The tart is good, but suffers from an overly generous dollop of goats cheese which makes the dish more fromage than anything else, and the pastry not quite flaky enough.

But the ceviche is well-flavoured, bar a couple of bites which taste fishier than they’re meant to. We move on to seabass served with razor clams (a treat in London), samphire, a shellfish dressing, and braised leeks, which are tasty, but suffered from the leeks tasting of very little apart from butter, when Ramsay should have done them in olive oil, or even hazelnut to keep the dish light. 

The fish is delicious, though. And the veal gets high marks for its tenderness and the accompanying celery, anchovy and chilli salad. 

A side salad of heritage tomatoes, basil and balsamic is lovely, though the chef confuses balsamic for pesto. 

No matter, it’s still luscious. Though it sounds like we’re not happy, we do give the food an overall 8.5 on a scale of 1-10. And the atmosphere is perfectly buzzy without being overbearing. It’s that rare combination of busy-ness and good music, yet quiet enough to be heard from across the table.

All I can say about desserts is that the few that whisk past us look amazing, and if I wasn’t worried about calories, I woudn’t think twice about ordering one, or three.

This is one of those restaurants I wish I lived closer to. It’s got everything: ambience, a good menu, and a relaxed environment, and the bill comes without sticker shock.

Bread Street Kitchen is one to go out of your way for, even if you are averse to the big, bad City.

Bread Street Kitchen

www.breadstreetkitchen.com

10 Bread Street 

London, EC4M 9AJ

England +44 (0)20 3030 4050

Amy Hughes

London is home to some of the finest restaurants in the world, but how do the city’s hotspots keep customers coming? 

Many enlist the help of a secret weapon – a menu consultant. And it may be one of the best jobs around, for serious foodies.

I dropped in on a development meeting to find out more about the art of creating a great menu. 

It’s lunchtime at The Folly in London, and while diners place their orders, food consultant Alec Howard has arrived to review the current menu.

“We work with restaurant and hotel groups to conceive, design and deliver pitch-perfect menus,” he tells Lunch Magazine.

Alec is the guy who’s watching all the food trends and reporting back to these restaurants to sex up their menus. The obvious question is just how much sampling is involved? 

“Far, far too much. And I have the waistline to prove it. We’re probably out eating three nights a week. Some of the most exciting and edgy stuff will be in street markets and pop ups rather than three course restaurants.

"I’m looking for three things: something interesting with ingredients; getting ingredients to stick together in a way that’s unusual. I’m looking for a style of presentation or a carry of the dish that might then translate into a restaurant, but what I’m looking for most of all, is something that, when you’ve eaten it, you can still remember it the next day.

"That’s what we call addictively delicious, where the flavour’s dialled up in a way that just makes you want to come back, because that’s what drives customers back to a particular restaurant. “

I ask Alec for some examples of dishes that began from food market tastings.

“The thing that sticks in my mind initially would be a dish we developed around burger, but how you could infuse blue cheese in a burger. It came from a street vendor who had a fantastic 36-day aged burger in a sourdough bun with some blue vinney cheese on top, which is great in that environment. We then want to translate that into a more casual dining environment so we developed, through tests in the kitchen, a blue cheese stuffed burger which is addictively delicious.”

 Alec’s job is sounding better and better. But there must be some challenges.

“Apart from keeping the weight off? The biggest challenge is to keep pushing your knowledge of what’s happening in the marketplace. It’s our job to make sure we know what’s happening everywhere.”

But another challenge Alec hasn’t mentioned is selling new concepts and dishes to chefs like Rob Mitchell, who oversees 65 chefs at The Folly, and four other restaurants.

“There are times when I look at a dish and I go, yes, it may be a great dish, it may work out on the river, but in my restaurants I have a very personal feel for the menu and I always voice it. The most important thing in our relationship is that we work together. We start off, we write down our ideas.

"We’ll have in the region of 100 dishes. And we’ll whittle that down to about 30 dishes and then from those 30 dishes we’ll start our cook offs. We often do the testing of the dishes on the specials of the day, that way we can get some feedback from customers, find out how many have sold, what sort of price range we can go for on that dish and also we can work out our costing and our profitability for that dish because, as a menu, it has to reach a good profit margin.''

But some dishes are so addictive, I wonder if chefs like Rob could risk alienating his customers by removing them from a menu. 

“Burgers, fish and chips, staple diets in England, that’ll never come off.  But it’s all the bits around the edge that you can play with, all the sides, salads, and starters … all those dishes that are very seasonal, you can change and it doesn’t upset anybody. If the chef’s done his job properly then he’ll have replaced it with something that you’ll re-fall in love with and won’t get bored.”

But sometimes the problem is the dishes that haven't become addictive.

Alec and Rob discuss a salt cod hash on the menu that’s not a hit. Rob reports, “It’s not a winner with our customers. We got that wrong.” 

They agree, if re-engineered into a fish cake, the cod could work.  Re-engineering isn’t the only tweak which can help strengthen a menu. Rob says the entire positioning of a menu can change just by playing with the wording.

“The idea is to get somebody who isn’t a chef, somebody who’s a bit more descriptive. We do the background work, they do their little slant with the wording, which together, makes a great menu.”

It’s time to start testing dishes, and Alec and Rob head into the open kitchen to come up with a new red trout ceviche. A discussion about slicing versus dicing results in dicing, to avoid uniformity. After dicing some red trout, and marinating it with a bit of chilli and coriander, we taste a wonderful ceviche. 

Alec gives it his seal of approval, “The heat’s coming through quite well. It looks absolutely beautiful. This is gonna’ end up on the menu, isn’t it?”  Rob nods, “Ah, it could, possibly.”

And, another hopefully addictive dish, is created.

In the heart of London’s theatre district, one woman has been serving customers for more than 70 years and she’s still going. Elena Salvoni is heralded as the unofficial Queen of Soho, greeting a loyal, and famous fan base once a month for lunch.

Little Italy, Soho...Elena Salvoni's highly theatrical stomping grounds

I was desperate to find out the secret behind all those years of fine service, so went along to one of Elena’s lunches. It’s 12.30 on a Wednesday, and 91-year old Elena Salvoni is working front of house at Little Italy in Soho, the heart of London’s theatre district.  After seven decades of service, Elena’s as much an institution as the restaurants she’s worked at. She’s served the seedy, the up and coming, and the theatre establishment. And every second Wednesday, many of her famous fans still gather to be greeted and seated by Elena.

She’s busy organising tables, making sure singles are well-looked after, and catching up with old customers, but manages to find a few minutes to share the story of how she first got into the restaurant trade.

“I left school at 14 and I went to work as a seamstress. I was already making clothes for friends and I said I was really desperate. The girls were working in a cafe around the corner and they said, ‘All the boys have gone off to war. They’ve got to employ women. So I went to see the boss and I got the job.”

She’s been at it ever since and after thirty years, moved on to a restaurant named for her, called Elena’s Etoile. When management decided Elena should retire, her old boss at Bianchi’s, (now called Little Italy) re-installed Elena to host lunches for old regulars and newcomers. It’s been a win-win for both Elena and the restaurant, with anywhere from 60 people, to over 100 attending, including many famous names from the West End who Elena has known since their starving artist days.

“I’ve worked here 30 years and have known almost all of these customers from when they were all struggling. Even when they became famous, they’re still coming, like John Hurt. I’ve known John Hurt for so many years.”

91 yr old Elena Salvoni...hostess extraordinaire

The restaurant’s close proximity to London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s jazz club helped bring Elena big name patrons.

“Have you told them about Ella Fitzgerald, your great friend Ella?” one of Elena’s patrons asks. “Oh, Ella, at Ronnie Scotts…I used to take pasta over to her…fettuccine alla crema. And she used to say, ‘Elena, I shouldn’t eat all that. Can you share it?’  Oh, I’ve had a rich life.”

And theatre greats like producer Cameron Mackintosh, known best for Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis, credits Elena with keeping him and countless others well-fed during the lean years.

“To come and see Elena is always a great pleasure.  I’ve been to this room since I was 18 years of age when, like many people in the West End and the theatre, none of us had any money, Elena, who used to manage this place, used to find out how much money you had and then direct you to what you could afford on the menu and ply you with endless free rolls and butter and fill yourself up on the rolls and butter and then you’d get whatever she could secret out of the kitchen.  And I don’t think our business would be afloat if it wasn’t for her generosity and her brilliance at spotting the fine talent even if they couldn’t pay their way.”

Actress Maureen Lipman joins the table of Elena’s old girls who make the lunches a tradition, waxing nostalgic about her maternal instinct for them.

“When I lost my husband, after a few years, I met a man and I thought the first thing I have to do is take him into Elena to have him vetted.”

Similar dating stories were told countless times as Elena’s customers recalled their years together.

David Read sits on the board of London’s Academy of Food and Wine and explains why Elena is held in such high esteem.

“She’s definitely a role model. I think it’s her Italian descent that perhaps brings out that passion for service in a way perhaps the British don’t. But actually, she’s become an icon in the industry now. She’s become almost like the Queen Mother. The whole industry sees her as the pinnacle of achievement.”

But it’s more than her Italian background at work. I ask Elena the secret to her success.

“I love people. I like being around people. They come in the door, you’ve gotta be there. Even if it’s not your station, just acknowledge them, and when they leave, you’ve gotta be there to say goodnight. Never ignore them. You must think of it that you’re inviting people into your home.”

Judging by the warm smiles in the crowded room, it’s hard to know who enjoys the lunches more…Elena or her loyal patrons. 

It’s a lovely, unseasonably warm, early spring evening. The perfect evening for a cold, refreshing cup of Sake.  A big-shot publicist friend is in from LA and has a hankering for Roka. I suggest Watatsumi instead, since it’s on my list of places to check out. The chef-owners met working in the kitchen at Nobu Park Lane, which seems like a good sign. 

Just off Trafalgar Square, it’s perfectly placed for tourists, pre-theatre, and the post-work crowd. And, at 7.45, it’s nearly full with couples, colleagues and visitors. The room is instantly imposing, with massive, square columns revealing the building’s past, slightly at odds with the Japanese screens. 

Apart from the columns, a school of illuminated fish form a lovely welcome mat and are mirrored in the form of a beautiful, circular, floating fish lamp at the reception desk. We’re off to a good start. We do, indeed order a carafe of sake, skipping the Japanese whiskies and themed cocktails (think goji and wheat berries). It’s cool and crisp and goes down easy.   

Watatsumi boasts a raw bar and even offers Master Chef classes. It’s true; the sushi and sashimi selection is overwhelming. I’m actually relieved not to see all the usual Nobu rip-offs on the menu. After all, almost every trendy Japanese restaurant in London has the classic yellowtail with jalapeno on the menu.  

We start with the duo tartar, perfect for someone indecisive like me, and the tuna tataki. The tartar arrives as two perfectly scooped ovals of tuna and salmon. The salmon is the star, with a clean, light flavour, a hint of citrus and the perfect amount of scallions. The tuna is a totally different sensation, bowing to those who favour a sweet and sour taste.    The tataki are lovely triangles perfectly seared and doused in a light, but slightly sweet sauce.

Instead, we go for the sashimi selection in hot oil, and the prawns in garlic yuzu sauce. The sashimi is a seriously loaded plate of salmon, sweet prawn tails, sea bass, and tuna. The citrus oil is well, oily, though it makes a nice change from soy and wasabi. The prawns are delightfully displayed standing upright, wearing a thick coat of spicy, chilli sauce. It’s a meaty dish and great for sharing.  “Don’t order the prawns, you can make them at home,” my friend says. We agree, these are NOTHING like what I’d make at home. The sauce is pungent and distinctive.

Not surprisingly, the tea menu at Watatsumi is impressive. I’ve never even heard of Hojicha, a Japanese roasted brown tea bag. Too bad it's too late for a caffeine fix. There’s also a lengthy list of flowering teas. We share the chocolate fondant with Matcha green tea ice cream. It was set down on the table in a Bento box … part gimmick, but equally charming. The green tea ice cream is strong but the chocolate sauce tames it down perfectly. 

For a million reasons Watatsumi is neither Roka nor Nobu. The best part is, it’s not trying to be. It’s more chilled out, undemanding, and definitely won’t leave a financial trail of destruction. If a raw bar is on the agenda, in a central spot, Watatsumi fits the bill.

Watatsumi

www.watatsumi.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7036 8520
7 Northumberland Avenue
Trafalgar Square
London. WC2N 5BY