World Foodie Guide

[UPDATE:  09/01/08 I revisited Sake no Hana, so please read new review]

Successful restaurateur Alan Yau has done it again, with Sake no Hana, his latest London restaurant serving dainty, delicious Japanese cuisine. Having secured a table on Friday at 8pm during its opening week, I went with my husband and a friend, both of whom love Japanese food. At the time of writing, there were no other online reviews of Sake no Hana, so I thought World Foodie Guide could be the first to write one.

First impressions:

There was no restaurant sign, so we had to rely on the fact that we could spot a sushi bar through the window, and the number 24 (the restaurant is number 23). Walking along the dark exterior of the building, we found the equally dark entrance, which resembled a space capsule, automatically opening to reveal a doorman. It really did not look like a restaurant inside either, more like the entrance of a bank. I had to ask the doorman whether we were actually at Sake no Hana!

The welcome was friendly and genuine, with several people taking our coats and checking our reservation. We were then led up a very narrow escalator to the restaurant on the first floor. This was beautifully decorated in blond wood (ceilings, walls, floors) and very spacious with an extremely high ceiling – designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. Most of the restaurant featured tatami mat seating, with low, sunken tables. There were a few ‘normal’ tables, but the tables to reserve are definitely the tatami ones. I was relieved to be led towards one of these, even though I hadn’t requested it. Shoes off, of course, before we sat down on large soft cushions, with feet tucked under the sunken table. Even my tall husband found it comfortable enough.

A friend had warned that the service might be a bit haphazard, but given that it was opening week, I was prepared for this. We had a really superb server, who was friendly and polite and looked after our every need, along with another waitress. I must say that the restaurant looked incredibly overstaffed, with a ratio of at least two staff to each table. But there was none of that snooty, pretentious attitude that some staff love to adopt when they find themselves working in an upmarket venue. Top marks for service, even though the food did take a very long time to arrive.

The sake list:

Australian sommelier Stuart came over to introduce himself while my husband was studying the impressive sake and champagne list (there is no wine). Before he came back, we had to decide what we were going to have, as we were sure he was going to try and recommend one of the expensive sakes. In fact, none of the sakes were affordable! Some even cost hundreds. So I took charge, searched for the small sized carafes that were available (very few) and found two under the ‘Smoky’ category, at £14 for 180ml.

When Stuart returned, I pointed out my two choices and he suggested the Akai Sake, which is made from red rice, comes from Ibaraki, and goes well with many different dishes. What a relief that he approved! It turned out to be delicious and truly a little smoky. There are numerous categories on the sake list, including ‘Fruity’, ‘Funky’, ‘Milky’ and ‘Nutty’. Please don’t be put off by the cost of the sakes. Just do what I did! There will be many diners who don’t have a clue what to order, nor will they care about spending hundreds on sake, let alone a meal. But if you’re watching your wallet while wanting to try an unusual drink, then have a 180 ml sake. It’s a good size for two to share. The cocktails, all made with sake or shochu, are £8.50.

The menu:

I spent a long time working out what to order, as my husband is vegetarian (he eats fish, but not seafood). It was trickier than I thought, particularly as I had no idea of the size of the portions. The wagyu shabu beef (£70) had been recommended by a friend who had eaten there before opening week, along with the red king crab and Chilean sea bass. These were among the three most expensive items on the menu, but as she ate here for free, I don’t think she was aware of the prices! There was also no sushi available, as the sushi bar is not opening until next year, due to staff shortages. It’s currently only open for tasting, so not for Joe Public.

As the menu is not online, I’ve listed what I ordered, so that you can get an idea of what’s on offer, apart from the expensive dishes mentioned above, and the white truffle rice at £70. Remember I had to take into account the fact that my husband is vegetarian. Without this constraint, the selection would have been far more interesting. A point to note – the dishes are designed to be shared. You’d think they couldn’t get any smaller, but nevertheless, sharing is the order of the day here.

What I ordered:

Moriawase, mixed tempura (£12.00) was beautifully light, but it was also an extremely tiny portion. I made my husband order a few more vegetable tempura – onion, baby aubergine and shimeji mushroom, at £2.00 each. He was really shocked by what he got for the price, literally half a small onion, one mushroom and one baby aubergine. Niku jyaga, wagyu beef, konnyaku, potato, carrot (£6.50) is a popular Japanese home-style dish, in which all the ingredients are simmered. This was lovely. Another mini-sized dish of Nasu nibitashi, aubergine, daikon, dashi (£3.50) was superb. The flavours of each dish were terribly delicate and subtle, and the complete opposite of the Japanese-Peruvian fusion style on offer at Nobu (where I ate last night).

Another vegetarian dish arrived, mizuna usuage ohitashi, a small cold dish of mizuna leaf, boiled spinach and finely shredded fried tofu (£8.00). Tiny but delicious. The saba miso ni, mackerel, miso, spring onion (£7.50) was a lightly steamed, small piece of fish. Lovely, but really too small! I was, however, very impressed by the tori nitsuke, chicken, sake, soya (£4.00) for both its taste and value for money. Best of all was the unagi no hitsumabushi, grilled eel on rice (£13.00), which arrived in a large black cast iron pot and was served by our waitress into our bowls. Heavenly and plentiful.

One dish that I ordered never arrived, the korokke, beef, sweet corn, potato croquette, tonkatsu sauce (£4.80). The waitress eventually informed me that the kitchen said everything had been served. When I tried to order it again, I was told that they had run out. Several other things on the menu were also not available. By then, we had been there two and a half hours and it was getting hot, so we ordered dessert to finish off the meal. I chose the warm chocolate torte with matcha ice cream (£6.50) which was confirmed by all as delicious.

It took a while for the bill to arrive and by then, the restaurant was emptying. Having taken copious notes during the ordering, I immediately spotted two items for which we were overcharged, but the mistakes were quickly rectified, along with a heartfelt apology from the Japanese manager. Dinner was £87 excluding service charge (refreshingly optional!) for three, but we could all have eaten far more, particularly my rather dissatisfied husband. I had been counting the pennies and therefore chosen the cheapest dishes possible. Expect to pay around £150-£200 or more for a really decent meal for two, with alcohol. Of course, it entirely depends on what you order! And the reason why I don’t have photos of everything – I was stopped. Apparently it’s restaurant policy. So these may be the only unofficial photos you’ll see…

A tip regarding the toilets! These are only accessible by lift down one floor. The first time I went, there was a lift attendant inside the insanely small and airless lift. The toilets were completely done up in the same blond wood as in the restaurant. The cubicle door lock is about a foot high off the ground, which is very strange. Don’t panic when you want to leave, as there is a hidden grip to pull the door open with, as with the main door to the toilets.

The verdict? My husband and I had a big argument afterwards, which continued the next morning. He won’t be returning, as there really isn’t much here for vegetarians, or in his words, not much for anyone (in terms of quantity). See below for his comments. But I’m definitely returning! Once all the little glitches are ironed out, Sake no Hana is going to be a terrific restaurant that will most certainly be awarded at least one Michelin star, like Yau’s other restaurants. No doubt I’ll give it a 9 or even more on my next visit. Highly recommended for special occasions, even if you don’t have the cash to splash out!

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact Details:
Sake no Hana
23 St James Street
London SW1A 1HA
Tel: 020 7925 8988
reception@sakenohana.com
www.sakenohana.com

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: Alan Yau, dining out, food, Japanese, London, restaurant review, restaurants, sake, Sake no Hana, traveleating