The main dining room at Kioku by Endo
What can you tell us about Kioku by Endo?
This is probably the most eagerly awaited opening at what's been a massive undertaking of remaking the Old War Office into The OWO, a huge hotel with lots of restaurants. Mauro Colagreco may be the chef with multiple Michelin stars to his name, but Endo Kazutoshi is already a star here in London so his restaurant here gets top billing, in our mind. And while his flagship Endo at The Rotunda is being revamped, this is the place you're likely to see him in the kitchen.
Kioku is very different to his White City restaurant though - it's a much bigger affair that mixes up Japanese and European cooking alongside a stellar sushi offering.
Where is it?
Kioku is right at the top of the OWO, but it does have (kind of) its own entrance on the corner of Whitehall Place and Whitehall itself. Head in there, turn left after the bar (we'll come back to that) and you'll find a lift that will take you right to the top of the hotel to Kioku.
Before heading up there - where's a good place to drink?
Coming to the hotel is probably your best bet. It already has a couple of good bars with both The Guards Bar and the lower-ground Spy Bar (which has half a life-sized Bond movie Aston Martin behind the bar) being very good options. But really, the best place to start is at the Kioku Bar.
This is actually their own photo of the bar, mainly because we were too busy marvelling at the design that we forgot to take a photo ourselves...
This bar on the ground floor of the OWO is easily one of the most beautifully designed bars we've ever come across in London. There's an incredible attention to detail throughout and it's also one of the new wave of "listening bars" with a turntable down one end (the music level complements the atmosphere as opposed to taking over). However, the following feature is easily our favourite:
In the bar, you'll find this tiny phone-booth-sized table - and both of those doors close for complete privacy.
At Kioku Bar, the drinks are primarily a mix of cocktails and over 100 bottles of sake which they keep inside a tiny refrigerated room labelled "Sake Safe" (you should poke your head in there for a look, if they let you). If you can, try both the cocktails and sake.
Starting with sake, there's a near 40-page list to check out which will make aficionados happy, but it's also the ideal place to get a recommendation if your sake know-how isn't quite up to par. If you're going by the glass/pot, prices start at about £11. Moving onto the main bottle list, prices are steep-ish, starting at £90 a bottle (around 72cl) with most being over £100. You can, of course, go a bit crazy with a 230cl bottle of Dassai Beyond for £3200.
Cocktails are well worth a look too. Sake does make an appearance, with Japanese flavours and spirits very much at the forefront. Here are a couple of examples:
Cocktails at Kioku Bar - these are on the left the Kinoko (Japanese whisky, Daruma Masamune 3 year old koshu sake, roasted hazelnut, mocha vinegar, cacao nibs and sake lees caramel - £22) and on the right Goma (£22) - Toasted sesame spirit, Nikka from the barrel, Beniotome sesame shochu, preserved yuzu, fermented ginger and roasted sesame oil.
And what about the main restaurant?
That's a real looker too. It's a pretty large restaurant; there are two main sections to the dining room, one looking into the kitchen (that's the photo at the top of the page), and another beside the upstairs bar (which is more of a counter dining option. But that bar does have a pretty great view:
If you're sat at the bar upstairs, you get a great view of an iconic part of London.
Most of the tables should get something of that view, looking out onto Parliament and Big Ben (you can still see it even if you're on the other side of the room). It's an impressive vista of classic London architecture and that's even before you get outside.
So there's a pretty big terrace up here?
There are actually two. Along the length of the restaurant is a narrow terrace where there are tables that look down on the courtyard below. These are already great tables but there's another larger terrace space and if you're eating outside, that's where you want to try and be.
The main terrace outside - these will be the most prized tables if the weather is behaving.
And there are some private areas as well?
Yes, there are several options. There's the chef's table which is directly opposite the kitchen (which also has a great view) and even a "cigar terrace". But the main private room is one that takes over one of the towers on the terrace. It's a jaw-dropping space:
The private dining room is in a small tower beside the main terrace. It's an absolutely gorgeous room and, as you can see, has huge windows all around, delivering a spectacular view.
Enough about the building - what about the food?
The word Kioku means "memory" and the food here is said to be inspired by Endo's travels and inspirations throughout his life, with inspiration coming particularly from Yokohama, Tokyo and Spain. There are definitely hints of Western cuisine coming into the menu here, and they say there's also a Mediterranean influence. So the main menu is a little different from what you might expect at his signature restaurant Endo at the Rotunda, with pasta making a notable appearance here.
The menu is split into starters, Sakana, middle course, mains and desserts. Ideally, you're going to want to have something from all of those, but if that all starts to get a bit spendy (as we're definitely in high-end territory here), you could probably cut one of them out.
What's the Sakana course?
This is the fish sushi and sashimi section of the menu. If you've never tried Endo's sushi before, you're going to want to pay attention to this section specifically. It's priced at two sashimi/one nigiri each with prices starting at £10/£7 for trout and heading up to £18/£15 for red prawn. Your best bet here is to go for the chef's selection:
The chef's nigiri selection (£62) - a fantastic selection that's a must-have if you've never tried Endo's sushi
And what about the rest of the menu?
Here are some of the highlights from our visit:
King crab chawanmushi, ginger kaffir and yuzu (£22) - if you love chawanmushi this is going to be a real treat for you.
Scallops, grilled radicchio, smoked lemon ponzu and myoga (£22) - a fresh, citrusy hit of scallops to start.
Chashu pork ramen ravioli (£18) - the middle course is where the Western influences are more obvious, with this delicate ravioli something you mustn't miss.
Lobster, fregola, shiso oil and sancho pepper (£28) - another wonderful dish with the fregola cooked in an intense lobster bisque.
Aged monkfish, smoked eel, potato rosti, watercress and ginger sauce (£26)
Duck breast, fermented chili, barley miso and hispi cabbage (£26) - a very visually appealing dish
And hold something back for dessert?
Absolutely. We'd happily steer you to either of the below but the strawberry mille-feuille with pink pepper also looked pretty great (and very pretty).
Twig tea crème brûlée with cream cheese ice cream and soy tuile (£9)
Amazake custard tart and peach (£9)
What about drinks?
Cocktails are available up here and if you haven't had a chance to pop into the bar downstairs, you should try them up here. Plus there's a good selection of non-alcoholic cocktails (and an impressively large soft drink offering).
On the wine front, there's an extensive wine list, with a few Japanese wines on there. Wines start at £55 a bottle and £14 a glass, so as with the food the pricing is on the high-end of things. There is sake here too, but not quite to the extent as in the bar downstairs (although we'd assume they'll let you order a bottle from that selection if you wanted). We'd absolutely recommend trying some of the sake, particularly getting the sommelier to recommend pairings for certain dishes which we thought worked particularly well.
Overall thoughts
It's already clear that Kioku by Endo is a big hit - and that's even before they've been able to put the outside terrace to proper use (thanks, British summer). It was still in the early days when we visited, the restaurant was already packed, and we overheard a few diners saying they'd come as they were fans of Endo from his other restaurants. It's a beautifully designed affair with fantastic views, excellent food throughout and it's complimented by a wonderful bar downstairs. It's, deservedly, the hit that The OWO needed.
More about Kioku By Endo
Where is it? The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Ave, London SW1A 2EX
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @kiokubyendo
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Kioku. Prices correct at time of publication.
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