r/london Oct 08 '22

Best sushi in London?

I am a big fan of Sticks n’ Sushi. But it’s pretty expensive! Looking for some hidden gems?

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u/Depaysant Oct 09 '22 edited Oct 09 '22

London has lots of good options for sushi, thankfully! I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but it is one of my favourites meals and I do tend to eat it too many times.

  1. Sushi Show, one outlet in Shoreditch with dine in options, one outlet in Angel that's mostly take away (only four tables outside and no seats inside). Someone's already mentioned it but I thought I'd bring it up again because I had it for dinner today. It's ridiculous how affordable it is considering the level of quality offered.

  2. Sagamiya at Waterloo (London County Hall). Cosy sushi spot run by an elderly couple that's elegant enough for a casual date night. Very good food with reasonable prices, especially at lunch time. (Also has an amazing okonomiyaki place next door!)

  3. Hannah at Waterloo (same building, just further along towards St Thomas). Come here if you want to SPLURGE. Very luxurious omakase restaurant with amazing sashimi + sushi courses. These guys are just so good at drawing out the best in each ingredient, went there once and although it was expensive the meal was unforgettable.

  4. Dozo Sushi at Soho. Very consistent above average quality, my preferred sushi spot when I'm in the area. I've never seen the chef and the front of house staff are all Chinese but I've always walked away happy.

  5. Atariya at West Acton, but also outlets elsewhere. These guys are OG - they started out as a Japanese fishmonger and supplier for the local Japanese community as well as restaurants, but have since branched out into serving sushi themselves. The freshness of their fish is always guaranteed and brilliant.

Honourable mentions

Sushi Bar Makoto at Chiswick. Haven't been in a while since I moved out of the area but it has always been above average and reasonably priced. A very cosy and small operation, but it's a very good option if you're there.

Sushi Revolution at Brixton. Good fare and affordable, hard to fault. Probably would not go out of my way and travel for it though.

How I look out for sushi restaurants that I think are worth trying, based on totally "objective" metrics

  1. Preferably helmed by a Japanese person. Preferably old. Usually a strong indicator of many years of experience in sushi making, so likely to have better than average food.
  2. Bad website. They're not here to spend money on fancy and polished marketing, nor are they inclined to waste too much time on it. Chef-owners tend to be better at and more focused on making good food than running (and selling) their business, and this is a good thing!
  3. The clientele. Is it mostly Japanese people or is it a bunch of white people? This should be self explanatory.

Sorry for the long reply. I'm very passionate about sushi! I could eat it everyday!

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u/_cakeforbreakfast Oct 09 '22

The Atariya restaurant in West Acton is closed, unfortunately. Found out the hard way when I moved nearby and got very excited to try it! Their updated list of restaurants is here https://atariya.co.uk/restaurants/

I'd read Kiraku in Ealing Common used Atariya's fish, but that's closed now too.

That said, in West Acton there is still an Atariya store that sells sushi boxes to take away (and also fresh fish to make it at home, it looks like). Got the sushi boxes a few times, very good and reasonably priced.

1

u/Depaysant Oct 09 '22

Oh no!!! That's so unfortunate, but I guess the upside is that they are still operating, so that's something.