Kikuchi London

There’s a wide variety of sushi restaurants in London, to satisfy a range of budgets. Starting with the cheap mass-market chains such as Yo Sushi and Wasabi, through to the super high-end such as Araki where prices start at £300 for a meal. Then you have the trendy places such as Nobu or Zuma, with fusion sushi and sleek décor that caters to a jet-set crowd. The sashimi presented in fancy ice-bowls look impressive but masks the fact it’s overpriced and is more of a ‘concept’ than the real deal. When we feel like splurging and crave a truly authentic sushi restaurant experience, we’ll head to Kikuchi.

You won’t find rainbow rolls or fancy décor here – but it’s a firm favourite with Japanese businessmen missing home or entertaining their customers. The restaurant offers a range of Japanese delicacies and we’ll usually order some grilled or fried dishes before finishing with a selection of sushi. The fish is as fresh and varied as you’ll find anywhere in London, with plenty of attention going into the rice – something which is criminally overlooked in a lot of the other places.

A word of warning – Kikuchi is definitely not a cheap dining experience, and they do have a minimum charge per head of £40. But I do think it offers a very good price to quality ratio when with comparing some of the higher end Japanese restaurants in London.