Roketsu — Restaurant in London

This is my fourth time in the span of two months. Roketsu is my favourite Japanese restaurant in London, and one of the dearest in my heart of all time. Chef Hayashi is truly brilliant. He is one of the kindest and most humble chefs I have ever encountered. His character reflects every aspect of his restaurant. The sourcing of ingredients is truly impressive, from an ornamental leaf to a piece of furniture—no detail is too little or overlooked. Chef Hayashi’s food is beyond just a feast of the senses. His dishes touched my soul and have created wonderful memories that I treasure. Some of the most memorable include toro sashimi with egg sauce, rice cracker battered lobster deep fried, summer truffle and ikura rice donabe with lobster dashi. These are but a few of the delectable dishes he has set before me. In addition, the general manager and sommelier, Ryosuke Mashio, is also incredibly knowledgeable in both food and wine. Ryo San not only oversees the wine and sake, but also provides most of the explanation of the dishes in English. Just like the chef owner, the GM is also very kind and friendly. They are exemplary in defining the highest level of Japanese hospitality—professional, polite, attentive, and anticipation of needs before one even thinks of making said requests. Even after trying some of the most highly acclaimed Japanese restaurants in London, no one else comes close. When the shoji to the dining room closes at Roketsu, one truly feels transformed to the top kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto. The entire staff, minus one lovely European apprentice chef Isa, is Japanese. They’re all impeccably dressed with genuine smiles and ready to present the best of what Roketsu has to offer to the diners. I have not seen a team of smarter staff in any restaurant in London. When presenting dishes, they work in perfect harmony with one another. Even in performing the most mundane tasks, the Roketsu team move about with a rhythm of grace. Coupled with the understated yet luxurious decor of the restaurant, one truly feels zen when sampling the complex and subtle flavours meticulously assembled by the master, Chef Hayashi. He is a gentle soul who is a giant in the London restaurant scene. His humility and pursuit of perfection is in the soul of the restaurant as reflected in its very name which is derived from Taoist master Zhuang Zi. Despite London’s very vibrant F&B space, its Asian cuisines still fall far behind other major global cities. I believe Roketsu is the first significant ripple that will revolutionise the Asian F&B scene here in London. Chef Hayashi is an ambassador of the highest level of Japanese cuisine and cultural...

I really wanted to like Roketsu but it unfortunately fell short. I have been to Japan 7 - 8 times and am a big fan of this style of dining, so was super excited to try this place in the neighborhood. While I can appreciate what they are trying to do, I did feel like the marriage of the Japanese cooking methods with UK isles ingredients didn't quite work seamlessly. I also felt that many of the dishes were woefully under-seasoned - some additional salt would have really opened up the other flavors as well.

All that would still warrant a 3-star review, possibly even a 4 if some dishes were particularly good. What I could not forgive, however, was the additional black truffle supplement offered for 25 GBP. It ended up having zero fragrance and just added an unpleasant "chewy paper" texture to the soup / stew dish. I was honestly shocked, because at this price point I would expect the truffle to be completely fresh and radiating fragrance and flavor. It was just utterly dead. My fault I suppose for not at least trying to give it a sniff first, but I would never expect this at this sort of dining experience. Hugely disappointing and really calls the rest of the operation into question. As I had already eaten it, I didn't want to ask the restaurant about it at the time (unfair if they tried to adjust the bill) and also did not want to impact the other diners' experience in any way, but really feel like the negative experience needs to be highlighted.

Hopefully there is some constructive criticism for the restaurant here, and I really do wish them all success in the future. However, I am unlikely to return and cannot...

Dined here for a special occasion with family last night. Sadly, the overall experience especially the service was a let down. We were greeted by the male Maitre D’ on arrival who was cold faced and disinterested in small talks. We were shown to the private room downstairs. Our main waiter was also cold faced at first (warmed up a little later) and when we said we needed more time to think abt the add on options (eg special mushroom rice at 75 quid for 2), we were told rather abruptly that we had to make a choice on the spot. The room door was left open after most courses despite my constant asking that it be closed for us to not be disrupted by the chattering from the bar area next door. The bill I had to go upstairs to ask personally as no one came to check on us after our dessert.

The food was bit of a mixed bag. Some courses were good like the sashimi. However the others were over seasoned and too salty like the Wagyu beef sauce and lobster dashi. There were crab shells in two of our starters.

Overall I was disappointed by the experience as I expected more for a dinner for four with no alcohol that came to nearly £1000 (which includes a 15% service surcharge).

I have dined in Roketsu shortly after their opening when the experience was better so I m sad to see that it has taken a clear turn to the worse since.

The one plus side is the special bday pink sorbet that was offered therefore I have given this review a 2 star instead of 1. The young female waitress who served us was courteous and...