21/4 updated with new pics
Yes it is indeed Spring, don't let that cold weather fool you. And with Spring comes the cherry blossom and one of our favourite London pop-ups, Sakura at Sake No Hana. Simply put, the bar is completely redesigned to become an indoor cherry blossom garden. You can see more about last year's pop-up here which is all part of the Japanese tradition of celebrating the cherry blossom season.
There will be an entrance surrounded by and scented with blossom and inside two cherry blossom trees that link together to form a canopy. And all that will smell of Eau de Parfum Cherry Blossom by Floris, a Mayfair family perfumer since 1730 who also happen to be Royal Warrant holders for perfume to the Queen.
All that - and there are some special limited edition cocktails and dishes too:
- Violet Risshun Cocktail (£12): This comes in two parts - the first, a carafe of Jinzu Gin, green chartreuse, grapefruit and lemon juice, shiso syrup and Burlesque bitters. The second is a jug with Belsazar rose vermouth, maraschino cherry, cranberry and lemon juice. There's a coupe glass sprayed with a violet mist too and you can try the drink from the carafe and then mix it with the jug to make a second cocktail. It sounds amazing.
- Sakura Tea (£4.50) - pot of tea made from the leaves of cherry blossom trees
- Sakura Gozen (£32) - this is a bento box served with a white miso soup starter and sesame spinach with cassava chips. The box contains sashimi (kuro-kanpachi, salmon, sea bream); nigiri (o-toro, chu-toro and akami) and maki (spicy tuna , salmon avocado and crunchy California. It comes with a Violet Risshun cocktail or non-alcoholic cocktail.
- Sakura Cotton Cheesecake (£8) - a baked cheesecake with fresh cherries, cream cheese and cherry sorbet
- Cherry blossom macarons (£1.80 each, 5 for £8) - vanilla macarons with cherry blossom tea ganache
The Sakura pop-up at Sake no Hana runs from 20 April to 20 June at 23 St. James’s Street, London SW1A 1HA. Follow them on Twitter for @sakenohana more information.
