Critic's choice: Top 5 Japanese
From a smiling sushi master with extra finesse to the historic artistry of a Kyoto kaiseki banquet, we reveal the restaurants where the couture is on the plate, not the customers...
SUSHI-SAY
33b Walm Lane, NW2 (020 8459 7512) £45
Refurbishment early this year means that surroundings now better reflect the finesse of the food prepared by smiling sushi master Katsuharu Shimizu. Yuko, his wife, speeds round the room with delightful politesse.
ATAMI
37 Monck Street, SW1 (020 7222 2218) £55
Having worked at Nobu and Hakkasan, chef Anthony Sousa Tam understands well how to find a delectable meeting place for East and West. Here, couture is on the plate, not the customers.
SAKI
4 West Smithfield, EC1 (020 7489 7033) £45
Deli, bar, paperless lavatory (warm air does the trick), restaurant; Saki - meaning happiness - is quirky and gastronomically rewarding. The sushi chef excels.
SUSHI-HIRO
1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Road, W5 (020 8896 3175) £22 (cash only)
Go early for lunch and early for dinner and tick the boxes of items you want to try. It's not a place for lounging but for loving sushi made with superbly fresh fish.
UMU
14-16 Bruton Place, W1 (020 7499 8881) £120
Expensive it certainly is, but a meal here is the closest you will come in London to the historic artistry of a Kyoto kaiseki banquet. Get someone else to pay, or go for the set-price (£22-£44) lunch.
Prices above estimate a meal with wine/sake for one.
