Soseki
Chinese and East Asian
0.5 miles
20 Bury Street (overlooking The Gherkin), City, Central London, EC3A 5AX
If you were to walk into a sushi bar in the heart of Japan, the chances are that you'd order omakase. Not an exotic menu item, but a Japanese term indicating that the customer desires the responsibility of ordering to lie with the chef. Enter the restaurant with no menus - Soseki. No more endless perusing of a long and complicated list of dishes - here the chef prepares an exquisite meal within the budget you've set, creating the finest Japanese cuisine with the fresh ingredients available to him that day. Intrigued? There are even greater depths to this gem of a restaurant. The dishes are made according to the principles of kaiseki-kappo, a style of cooking that originated in high-class restaurants for wealthy merchants. The meal is composed of several dishes made using different and specific culinary methods.
Owner Caroline Bennett - who introduced conveyor belt sushi to England with her first project, Moshi Moshi - has imported 1920s antiques from Japan to evoke the atmosphere of a Taisho-period teahouse. Caroline has even enlisted the services of Yusaku Kaneshiro, Japan's leading designer and a man with over 400 Tokyo restaurants to his name; hence the kimono fabric covering the chairs, the hand-painted ceilings and the tatami mats.
After enjoying your delicious and ethically sourced meal, don't forget to sample chef's incredible homemade chocolate. This restaurant is unlike any other - a truly unique experience awaits at Soseki
Owner Caroline Bennett - who introduced conveyor belt sushi to England with her first project, Moshi Moshi - has imported 1920s antiques from Japan to evoke the atmosphere of a Taisho-period teahouse. Caroline has even enlisted the services of Yusaku Kaneshiro, Japan's leading designer and a man with over 400 Tokyo restaurants to his name; hence the kimono fabric covering the chairs, the hand-painted ceilings and the tatami mats.
After enjoying your delicious and ethically sourced meal, don't forget to sample chef's incredible homemade chocolate. This restaurant is unlike any other - a truly unique experience awaits at Soseki
Open: Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm