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| Courtesy of Kouzu |
Arriving far too overexcited for my own good my cousin, Mr H, and I arrived at the impressive Grade II listed building and were greeted with warm smiles from the FOH and a resounding “Irasshaimase”, from the sushi chefs, meaning “Come on in”.
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| Courtesy of Kouzu |
The restaurant is set over three levels. A lower ground 'chefs table', a ground floor dining room (where we were seated) and an upstairs more casual sushi bar. Minimal, muted tones run throughout the space and a rather impressive chandelier dominates the entrance hall...
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Settling down at our table we decided on a rather delicious bottle of Sicilian white and nestled into the menu. Expect classics as well as restaurant specific signature dishes, to be honest they all sounds pretty incredible and looking at the plates going past our noses we weren't going to be disappointed.
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Plates are made for sharing which is always a winner with me and first up was one of the best things I have ever eaten...
Torched scallop Nigiri. A mouthful of perfectly 'flame licked' buttery scallop served with a plum and tomato compote. Literally heaven. I am going back purely for another one (or ten) of these...
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We tried their Spicy California rolls which had a great balance of both texture and flavour. A decent kick from the spiced mayo and again, merit to how fresh every ingredient was. I was told they source and ship every single ingredient directly from Japan so, this is more or less as authentic as you can get.
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We then started to move onto our bigger plates. Yellow tail with truffle dressing was the first of these and it was, delicious (I say this a lot through this review!). Sashimi was easily the best I've ever tasted and (again) wonderfully fresh. The truffle was only slightly apparent so's not to over power the delicate fish and teamed with ponzu giving it a good sour tang.
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Prawn tempura was served with a fresh citrus dressed salad and a spiced mayo. Perfectly light, crisp tempura batter coated six jumbo, juicy prawns. A thoroughly well executed dish and one that I would definitely order again and insist others do the same.
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Less associated with traditional Japanese food we chose, on recommendation, the lamb chops served with a spiced miso paste, rocket and vegetables. Served pink, both meat and fat were juicy, lightly charred and wonderfully sweet.
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We moved onto pudding and seemingly all are traditional Japanese delicacies with a twist. They looked as impressive as the savoury dishes I had just
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A sign of a good restaurant is how much you talk about it afterwards and, In this case, the conversation was enthusiastic and very animated. Our praise continued well into the night. I know, already, this may be my new 'go to' place for exceptional sushi. Leaving on a high after a thoroughly enjoyable evening, I immediately booked the next day...
T: +44 (0)20 7730 7043
A: 21 GROSVENOR GARDENS|BELGRAVIA|LONDON|SW1W 0JWW: http://kouzu.co.uk/
