Taku: Is This London’s Best Omakase Experience?

Trust lies at the heart of omakase – so it’s all the more pleasing when every morsel is just right. Nestled in the heart of Mayfair and helmed by Chef Takuya Watanabe, formerly of Jin, Taku achieves just this. Jin was Paris’ first sushi omakase restaurant to achieve a Michelin star – and Taku followed suit just four months after opening last year. Here’s why it’s well deserved.

Chef Takuya Watanabe

Restaurant Review: Taku, Mayfair

Settling into one of just 16 stools at Taku, the intimacy is immediately clear – as is the impeccable service. Sitting face-to-face with Watanabe’s coterie of cooks and sushi masters, surrounded by soothing natural wood and stone interiors, we begin with a glass of fizz and decompress from the work day just passed, but a hushed reverie soon descends as our omakase journey begins.

The open kitchen nature of a sushi bar highlights the theatrical underpinnings of all kitchens, and this is underscored evermore at an omakase restaurant: utilising world-class ingredients, transforming them with the sharpest of knives, the steadiest of hands, and delivering them with a flourish before the guest’s hungry eyes. Dishes are small, often one bite only – but each perfectly balanced thanks to Watanabe’s signature unique rice recipe and soy sauce blend, with help from head chef Long Ng.

Seafood and fish naturally rule the day but, at Taku, each bite also champions the British Isles’ best offerings, totally transformed into an authentic Japanese bite (and served from behind a striking counter of English oak, no less). With a 17 course lunch menu and a 20 course dinner menu available, dishes change each day depending on seasonality and daily availability of ingredients, ensuring the highest quality fish, seafood and vegetables across the board. Right now, this means warming umami mushroom dishes are also on the roster, joining ever-pleasing bites of ngiri crafted by hand and passed into your palm. The freshness is palpable, each dish exuding purity as well as deliciousness (not to mention museum-worthy beauty – though photos are discouraged). Splice delicate bites with tentative sips of subtle sake, chosen with the help of sommelier Bowie Tsang.

For an added dose of luxury, the Prestige omakase includes additional dishes and premium ingredients like truffle and caviar – and there’s a wine, spirits and sake pairing option, too.

Chef Long Ng

The Final Word

With faultless food, Taku is a must-visit for omakase lovers – especially joined by fellow foodies.

BOOK IT

Taku is open Wednesdays to Saturdays for three sittings: Lunch at 12.30pm, and Dinner starting at either 6pm or 8.30pm. Tables must be booked in advance at takumayfair.com

Address: 36 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JE