Ikeda
Fifty years on Brook Street, and Jake Missing's 8.3 rests on the rice: warm, lightly vinegared, and worth a handroll on its own.1
Why go
This is a Mayfair veteran that Harden's diners still call one of the best Japanese restaurants in London, with particularly 'good fish'
, while noting it has a lower profile than many newer and more flashy rivals
.2 The kitchen is open to the dining room, so the cutting happens in front of you, and the counter opposite the chefs is the seat worth asking for.21 Missing describes the assortments arriving with a mix of fatty to very fatty tuna, yellowtail, octopus, and more
.1 There are notes from Paul Simon and Steven Spielberg by the toilets and Fergus Henderson tells people it is one of his favorite restaurants in London, all of which Missing reports and then sets aside, which is the correct order.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: a supreme assortment, then a handroll for the rice. Missing:
the rice is also perfect. Warm and with a touch of vinegar, you'll want to get a handroll packed with the stuff.
1 - Avoid: going for the room. Harden's scores the ambience 2 out of 5 against food at 4.2
What locals & experts say
- Jake Missing, The Infatuation, January 2022, scored 8.3:
But those aren't the reasons to go to this old school Japanese spot in Mayfair. The sushi and sashimi is... It's delicious, high-quality fish that melts away until you're mourning it.
He closes on the price:it's worth knowing that Ikeda is expensive. But it's also very worthwhile.
1 - Harden's survey diners:
After half a century, this high-quality Mayfair veteran is 'still one of the best Japanese restaurants in London', with particularly 'good fish'... 'Having the kitchen open to the dining area adds some theatre to aid the digestion'.
2
Good to know
- Booking: essential, and ask for the counter.1
- Money: Harden's puts a three-course dinner with half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT at about 94 pounds a head.2
- The room is plain and the service is polite and unfussy. Nobody has ever gone for the decor.1
- Single site. One Ikeda, 30 Brook Street.
Verdict
should-visit — Half a century on Brook Street and the fish is still the reason people walk in. Jake Missing scored it 8.3 for The Infatuation and put the case on the two things that decide a sushi room: the assortments run from fatty to very fatty tuna through yellowtail and octopus and are 'delicious, high-quality fish that melts away until you're mourning it', and the rice is 'warm and with a touch of vinegar', which is the part most London counters get wrong. Harden's separately rates the food 4 out of 5 and the ambience 2, which is the honest shape of the place: plain walls, polite service, an open kitchen, and no interest in being fashionable. It runs about 94 pounds a head for three courses with half a bottle on the guide's arithmetic. Take a counter seat if you can get one, and treat the room as furniture.