Takahashi — Restaurant in London

I recently visited this Japanese restaurant for an omakase dinner with friends, unfortunately, the experience did not meet my expectations. The dinner was priced at GBP£400+ for two persons, which felt steep considering the quality of the food and the overall environment. In comparison, I had previously enjoyed an omakase dinner at Ta-ke in Lee Garden, Hong Kong, which cost around GBP£550+ for two persons and was far superior.

At Ta-ke, the Japanese chef is not only renowned but also very famous in Japan, ensuring that every dish is not only delicious but also incredibly fresh. One notable aspect is that the chef does not add soy sauce to the rice, as the warmth can cause the soy sauce to turn sour. Instead, diners have the freedom to adjust the saltiness to their liking by dipping the sashimi or sushi in soy sauce as desired.

Unfortunately, this restaurant I visited had several shortcomings. The sashimi and sushi were not fresh enough, which significantly impacted the overall taste. The abalone had an artificial, plastic-like taste, and the sesame tofu lacked any authentic flavor, tasting more like a solid black sesame. The fish wasn't fresh either, lacking the natural sweetness it should have. Additionally, the chef added soy sauce to the rice, but it wasn't enough to enhance the freshness of the dish.

Moreover, the environment of the restaurant was not high-end. It was clear that the owners hadn't invested much in interior design, which was disappointing given the price. For what I paid, I expected both the food and the environment to be above average.

Having frequently visited Japan while living in Hong Kong, I am quite familiar with what an authentic omakase experience should be like. Even in Hong Kong, you can find restaurants that offer authentic omakase. However, this particular restaurant fell short of that standard, despite having...

I have recently read a one star review on Takahashi, although I can echo with some of the comments I find a one star is definitely an unduly harsh review. Let’s bring some balance back here.

I had my sushi with their sake pairing experience. While I must say I have never been a fan of sake pairing as i don’t think they really do much to bring out the freshness nor enhance the taste of sushi, I only ordered it because the general lack of variety of sake in this country.

Unlike other countries, there isn’t much of a seafood culture in this country and most of the sushi is supplied, I believe, by one main supplier in London. The sushi is as fresh as you can get in London unless you go to one of restaurants of the supplier in London.

The location of the restaurant is obscure and definitely not the best part of London, however, the fact that people are willing to book months in advance and are prepared to travel to this restaurant goes to show the niche market for a good omakase restaurant. I think it is rather unfair to compare it to Japan or any of the Far East countries and territories as they are a completely different food culture. If the chef can make good money in such an obscure place with much lower rent, then kudos to him!

My take on the food, yes it is not world class but definitely one of the best in England.

Food - 8/10, ambience - 8/10, service - 8.5/10, value for...

Without doubt some of the best, or probably the best Japanese food I have ever had, including when living in Japan and having some excellent meals there.

You absolutely do pay for the experience, but I guess that is to be expected. I have some minor gripes, that the owners might take into account:

1. service was excellent, but an optional service charge on the bill of 15% is too high, especially given that the bill is likely to be £300 for two people (before wine) The UK does not charge this percentage - 10% is traditional, and some restaurants try and charge 12.5%. 15% looks greedy - this is not the USA!

With service hitting £50 a table, that's going to c.£350 in service charges a night for a single waitress Of course service is optional, but to haggle over service after such a lovely meal and good service feels embarrassing so I paid it, but it left me feeling a little uncomfortable. I would have been happy to pay 10%.

2. The cheapest bottle of wine was £50 (or £57.50 with service!) - this is clearly done with profit in mind (You could easily get a decent bottle of wine more cheaply that would accompany the dish.

3. The restaurant is very quiet, and even when full, I feel like talking in a whisper - it might be nice to allow it to be a little bit noisier and relaxed. Perhaps some koto music or something in the...