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Japanese omakase restaurants (which roughly translates as "leaving the menu up to the chef") are a big thing in London. Long tasting menus, often sushi-led, are delivered in some of London's most beautiful dining rooms. Here's our pick of the best in the city, along with a guide to the restaurants where you can get the experience on a (slightly) smaller budget.
High-end omakase restaurants
Dining at the very best omakase restaurants in London doesn't come cheap, but on the upside, you know that the quality is going to be outstanding.
Endo at The Rotunda
White City - Television Centre, 8th Floor, The Helios, 101 Wood Ln, London W12 7FR
Endo at The Rotunda is the flagship restaurant of sushi chef Endo Kazutoshi, who now has a mini London restaurant empire (including Sumi and Kioku at The OWO). His West London Michelin-starred restaurant, which has recently had a major redesign, enjoys views over White City from the top of the old BBC Television Studio with a counter made from 200-year-old Hinoki wood at the heart of the restaurant. Sushi is handed directly to you from the chef to the diner's hands and the sake-pairing takes it to the next level. It's very difficult to get bookings.
How much: £225
How big: 15 seats, two sittings
Sushi Kanesaka
Mayfair - 45 Park Ln, London W1K 1PN
Chef Shinji Kanesaka's restaurant inside 45 Park Lane currently boasts the title of London's most expensive omakase offering. It's a very beautiful room (that counter is carved from a single piece of hinoki wood) and the service is impeccable, overseen by an okami, Nanami-san. Expect up to 20 courses of exquisite sushi and if you're already spending this money on sushi, you're probably going to want to push the boat out on some amazing sake here too.
How much: £420 per person.
How big: 13 seats - with a further four counter seats available in a private room.
The Araki
Mayfair - Unit 4, 12 New Burlington St, London W1S 3BF
Opened by the hugely well-regarded sushi master Mitsuhiro Araki and now presided over by his protege Marty Lau, The Araki is one of those singular sushi spots in London where you're as likely to be sharing the counter with A-listers as you are hedge funders (or whoever can afford it). It may still be seeking a Michelin star but the lack of them doesn't appear to have dented its popularity at all. If you're looking for a Tokyo-style edomae sushi experience, this is the place.
How much: £310 per person
How big: Nine seats at the counter and a private dining room seating six.
Photo: @cris_foodplog
Humble Chicken
Soho - 54 Frith St, Soho, London W1D 4SL
Having started life as a chicken-based yakitori restaurant, Angelo Sato's Humble Chicken 2.0 now has the Michelin stars to match its name. Perch up at the counter and enjoy an omakase menu that takes its influences from both Japanese and European cooking. The shokupan and butter course is a good example of why Michelin called Sato's cooking 'thrilling'. It's something to go to if you're looking for a proper twist on a standard omakase dinner.
How much: £185 for a 16-course tasting menu. Saturday lunch, 12 course omakase for £135.
Taku
Mayfair - 36 Albemarle St, London W1S 4JE
Taku comes from Chef Takuya Watanabe who left his restaurant in Paris for London and was rewarded by getting a Michelin star in London in a matter of months. The signature omakase menu is the main affair, but if you're feeling extremely spendy, the Prestige adds on extras like caviar and truffle making it one of London's most expensive omakase menus as a result. Here, dishes are prepared in edomae style, a traditional technique dating back centuries, where fresh fish is cured and stored in vinegar to bring out the flavour.
How much: The prestige omakase is £400. The signature omakase is £300 for 20 courses and it's slightly cheaper for lunch where a 17 course menu is £160.
How big: 16 seats
Maru
18 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7QH
Maru took over the space that used to be Taka (before it migrated to Marylebone) and comes from the same people. The focus at Maru is on Omotenashi, which means that everything centres around the diner's experience (adding a little bit of theatre). The chef, Taiji Maruyama, has also gone the extra mile in being involved in the look of Maru - from the interior design to actually handmaking the crockery himself. Seasonal and local ingredients are another focus here and they aim to source all ingredients from the British Isles.
How much: £210 (£175 for lunch on Saturday).
Kurisu Omakase
Brixton - 58D Atlantic Rd, London SW9 8PY
While many omakase restaurants are based in central London, this Brixton restaurant is an outlier in location as well as style. It originally popped up at Ichiban Sushi before taking over the space completely. It's a much more laid-back iteration of an omakase menu, particularly one based around a counter (here all the main tables are put together to make the counter). So if you're after a slightly more casual experience (it's a real family affair), this should be worth a look. It's led by chef Chris Restrepo, who studied at Tokyo Sushi Academy.
How much: £150
Sushi Tetsu
Clerkenwell - 12 Jerusalem Passage, London EC1V 4JP
Sushi Tetsu is one of the more longstanding omakase restaurants in London and one of the smallest too. Let by another husband and wife team (see also Roji above) Toru and Harumi Takahashi, the restaurant is one of the hardest to get a seat at in the whole of London. They also keep things very secretive - preferring diners not to take photographs or video inside. If you do manage to get a booking (you can book for only the week ahead every Monday, from 11am to 2pm) then you'll be part of a very rare group that has dined at one of London's very best sushi restaurants.
How much: Circa £160
How big: 7 seats, two seatings
How to book: Call 020 3217 0090
Juno
Notting Hill - 2-4 Farmer St, London W8 7SN
Chef Leo Tanyag's teeny Notting Hill omakase manages to turn the traditional omakase experience into a particularly engaging one. There are just six seats here making it one of London's smallest. The menu combines both Japanese and Mexican influences and is also both gluten and dairy-free. Elements of each day's menu are chalked up on the wall as you enter and if you take over the whole place, you also take over the sound system.
How much: £200 for food and service.
How big: 6 seats
Not so high-end omakase restaurants
Here are some places where you can still have that omakase experience, but your bank balance takes less of a hammering.
Sushi Kyu
Soho - 30 Brewer St, London W1F 0SS
From the same owners as Cube this newish Sushi spot is an extremely useful place to know about if you find yourself hankering after sushi in the West End but don't want to fork out crazy money. Your omakase experience might take in sashimi, temaki and gunkan-style sushi and while sake is obviously a good match, the English options on the wine list can be a good way to switch things up.
How much: £71.70 for dinner; £51.80 for lunch.
How big: 10 seats
Sushi on Jones
King's Cross - 11 Goods Way, Kings Cross, London N1C 4PW
Sushi on Jones originally started out as an outdoor sushi counter in New York before coming to London as part of the Goods Way venue in King's Cross. Here, it's more of a traditional omakase venue, seating eight around a counter on the first floor. It's a speedy affair, taking only about 45 minutes to go through the whole dinner, but if you're looking for an introduction to omakase, this is a good start.
How much: £68 for 12 courses. £100 for 20 courses.
Junsei
Marylebone - 132 Seymour Place, Marylebone, London W1H 1NS
Junsei sees more skewer action at the heart of its menu, being primarily all about yakitori. For the omakase menu, you'll ideally be sat at the counter but it's also available throughout the restaurant. They'll pick some of the best skewers from the menu for you, as well as a few off-menu specials. It's a zero-waste restaurant using every bit of the chicken so if you're after omakase that's also sustainable this is a good choice.
How much: £71
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