Defune — Restaurant in London

Traveling in London from San Francisco, and spotted this well rated place near my hotel. Full disclosure, this place is alright (better than your average sushi roll joint), but given its price and ratings, does not deserve more than 2 stars in my opinion.

I was enticed by the "meal", thinking it would be omakase. It wasn't -- just a set meal, mostly meat. I'm a pescatarian, and it didn't seem like they could sub things, so I ordered a la carte.

The service was.. strange. I was seated at the corner of the sushi bar with no one else around, and one sushi chef working at the opposite corner. As soon as I sat down he asked if I was ready to order. I asked for a moment or two, and then could not get his attention from that point on and had to order through the waitress. The waitresses were friendly, but a bit slow given hardly any one else was there, and when I left, no one even noticed nor said goodbye (strange for a sushi restaurant).

The fish was fresh, albeit limited. There was really nothing beyond your run of the mill pieces, and they were out of most of my favorites (amaebi, uni, etc.). I did get two pieces of otoro, which were fairly poor cuts, with lots of tough fatty pieces (not marbled fat).

Admittedly, I'm being a bit critical for what is really a neighborhood sushi joint. But, the price (I spent £115 to be full) and the ratings are not on par...

I rarely eat slowly, much to my mother’s chagrin. But the dishes here made me slow down in hopes of making the flavors last a bit longer.

My husband took me here for my birthday and it was perfect. Not that the place or food were “perfect” — there is no such thing. Instead, this lovely calming place with pretty and simply yummy dishes hit the spot. The spinach with sesame sauce was delicious — crunchy and flavorful. Then we each had a set menu. Each of the three-piece seafood dishes was delicious in their little distinct flavorful sauces. The chicken seafood (??) broth in what looked like a tiny teapot was our favorite — we both fell silent as we appreciate the earthy umami flavor. And the delicaye sashimi was delicious.

The main dishes — me steak, husband seafood — were nicely done, but we preferred the previous dishes

Loved the mochi ice cream! But that’s not a revelation.

The service could not have been better — attentive, friendly and welcoming without being intrusive.

In sum, a very special place annd evening that’ll be hard to replicate, so we’re going back as...

We were at Defune on Thursday evening at 7pm.Four of us sitting at the sushi bar expecting an excellent meal. We took 2 guests who have traveled extensively round Japan and they were looking forward to their Japanese meal.

The service was terrible and there was only one chef preparing sushi for everyone on the ground floor. I ordered salmon teriyaki, miso soup, tempura vegetables and 2 salmon nigiri. The soup, nigiri and vegetables arrived eventually and no sign of my teriyaki. I asked on several occasions for the salmon and it didn’t arrive. In the end I said I am not waiting any longer as we had all finished and cancelled the salmon.

This is not good enough in a high class restaurant charging exorbitant prices. My guests also waited a long time for their last dish to come . As other people came I think they totally ignored us. Needless to say we will not be returning as there are lots of Japanese restaurants in London where the food and service is so...