Ginza St. James's - Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in London

We had high expectations of going here for our anniversary dinner. To spend 280 pounds for 2 people I don’t think you can call this cheap! The service was good as expected. On a Saturday night we had a wine specialist there too who was friendly and made the wine choices for me. However , please take into consideration the other reviews as I also felt the same about the negative ones since I did not look at any reviews beforehand as this was a surprise booked for our anniversary night. At the end of the night - my boyfriend said his Favourite dish was actually the Prawn tempura . That is shocking to say the least. We ordered wagyu beef - As I wanted my boyfriend to try the experience since he loves steak, having tried this a few times before myself. They told us that the wagyu unlike other restaurants came from Japan, so we were intrigued. We were hugely disappointment - they served on a cold side dish plate which is awful choice for a high end Michelin star restaurant - I am baffled at who is responsible for such decisions like this, as by the time we were expecting our 3rd course this was already cold, it came with two side sauces - which was quite the average! It looked like it was thrown from the teppan with lack of class or consideration of the customers dining experience. It was also over cooked though we asked for it not to get to medium well. My boyfriends exact words were ‘I can’t taste any difference from any other steaks!’ And this was his first time trying the Wagyu as a steak. You don’t have to be a food critic to know what tastes good or not! I think we were paying for the transportation fees from Japan than the actual quality or experience of the Wagyu!

I was surprised at this dismay and tried this as well for myself and I didn’t even want to break it to him that I felt the same as it was not as how it should have been at all!

We felt too embarrassed to mention anything as our waiter was actually very nice to us. I rest of the dishes- I enjoyed the Black cod though the sauce did have sweet miso in it. The tuna tartare - was average- I found it was too warm and perhaps seeing it is cold dish- I would have preferred it to be served cold and not warm as the menu suggests. The sashimi was probably the most enjoyable out of everything. The spicy edamame was nothing special I’m afraid, I think better sticking with the usual edamame as it tasted like it had Thai sweet chilli given it is a Japanese Michelin star restaurant! It definitely wasn’t an overly authentic Japanese restaurant taking into account it is Michelin star, I highly doubt the chefs and overall restaurant had an authentic japanese dining in mind when creating the dishes, it had some elements shine through as Japanese but definitely shouldn’t be branded or marketed as an...

Difficult to recommend, after a disappointing experience that really did not meet expectations. This is a restaurant that poses and prices itself as being higher end, yet they really struggled to come close.

Service was where Ginza fell down the most. Whilst staff were nice, they were ineffective. Service was disjointed, with very poor internal communication. I was provided the incorrect cocktail to start, so I had to explain this. The waiter was a bit of a shoulder shrugger regarding the error, since he did not take the order, but at least my drink was changed. Our main courses arrived at very different times. My chicken was pretty cold by the time that the cod came. They said that the next dish would be along "in a minute", but it was nowhere close to a minute. There was no apology for the lateness. I ordered a bottle of wine. It turned out that they didn't have it, which is fine. They found a suitable alternative. When it came to the bill, it turned out that they had put two bottles on my bill - both the bottle that they didn't have in stock and the more expensive bottle that they offered as an alternative. When I had the bill changed accordingly, I was still charged for the more expensive bottle that they'd substituted. In my opinion, it would be more appropriate to charge the bottle at the price of the slightly cheaper bottle that I had not been able to have. I certainly wasn't going to debate the matter, since I was already aggrieved at having to discuss the incorrect bill. Our wine was kept in a very distant ice bucket. Our waiter lost track and left our glasses empty for quite some time. However, he was at least apologetic when he remembered. All of these service headaches, and they still put on a service charge of 15%. In order to elevate from the standard 12.5%, I feel that service should be good. The restaurant certainly wasn't busy, so it would be hard to blame being inundated with customers.

The setting is very pleasant. However, both ladies' and gents' toilets were out of action. This required the entire restaurant to rely upon the singular disabled toilet. I think it reasonable to expect better of a higher end restaurant.

Food was generally tasty, although not very memorable. Fried squid was light and not chewy. Fried chicken was very juicy. The baby chicken was fine, although it really was just a little chicken, nothing else to the dish. The miso cod was the highlight - a tasty and innovative dish that was well presented. Desserts were panna cotta and matcha crème brûlée. Panna cotta was okay. The brûlée was extremely dense, not the light dessert that I had in mind.

I can only advise instead going to another of the excellent restaurants in the area, Ginza seems to have fallen...

I previously had afternoon tea at many British establishments, but today I went to Ginza St James, which has been recognized by Michelin as one of London's best Japanese restaurants (Michelin official website: The Best Japanese Restaurants in London) to enjoy Japanese-style afternoon tea.

🍵 They offer a variety of tea options that differ from other afternoon teas, such as genmaicha.

🎏 Unlike the typical British tiered afternoon tea, Ginza serves theirs on a three-tiered round stand, reminiscent of a pagoda, exuding a strong oriental ambiance.

🥪 Let's start with the savory section.

🥑 Top tier: Salmon avocado sushi rolls & Japanese fried chicken.

🍣 The sushi rolls are quite substantial, filled with generous amounts of salmon and creamy avocado, providing a satisfying bite.

🍗 The Japanese fried chicken is paired with fresh thyme leaves, crispy on the outside and tender inside, with a crunchy skin and juicy meat.

🔥🐟 Middle tier: Seared beef slices & black cod croquettes.

🥩 Seared "たたき" (Tataki) is a common Japanese cooking technique where only the outer layer is seared while the inside remains tender and rare. The beef slices are accompanied by yuzu vinegar (Ponzu), offering a refreshing and delicious taste.

🇫🇷 Croquettes (French: croquette, Japanese: クロケット) were first recorded in a handwritten cookbook from 1661 by the French king Louis XIV's chef. They have since become a beloved food, with a crispy exterior and a filling of mashed potatoes and black cod fish, complemented by a zesty yuzu hollandaise sauce.

🎐 Bottom tier: Mini Okonomiyaki. A crispy and tender griddle-cooked Okonomiyaki, with a crunchy exterior and a soft and flavorful interior, paired with okonomiyaki sauce and tonkatsu sauce, it's simply irresistible.

🍔 Additionally, there are mini Wagyu burgers. These petite Wagyu burgers are bursting with flavor, with the Wagyu beef patty exuding a rich meaty aroma, all encased in a golden and delicious brioche bun – truly satisfying!

🍰 Moving on to the sweet treats. Tiny mochi ice cream, melt-in-your-mouth coconut tofu pudding, and matcha-flavored Nagasaki cake – each one delicate and perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness.

🍵 Finally, there's matcha. A lady performs a matcha tea ceremony with graceful and fluid movements, a sight to behold, which left everyone quite impressed.

✨ In summary, Ginza offers excellent food, ambiance, and service. The cherry blossom tree at the entrance is a beautiful touch, making it perfect for a romantic date or a gathering with friends for...