Sumi.

Sumi

Sumi is the casual room in Endo Kazutoshi's group, named after his mother, and its whole argument is restraint: The Nudge's line is that it sits back and lets the fish be the main event (The Nudge).

Why go

The pedigree is specific rather than decorative. Endo holds a Michelin star at Endo at the Rotunda in White City, and Sumi is the sibling he opened on Westbourne Grove, now run day to day by Executive Chef Christian Onia, who came from ROKA (venue site; The Nudge). It shows in the format: nigiri can be blowtorched to order and served as aburi, and the temaki are treated as a category of their own, the hotate built from thick slices of scallop with shiso flowers, soy and salt (Hot Dinners). The room grew into itself after about a year, adding 20 seats for a total of 60 across two dining rooms plus a covered terrace (The Nudge). Michelin lists it and opens its note by saying that of all the restaurants on Westbourne Grove, few are ever as busy as Sumi (MICHELIN Guide). The group also runs IGNI and Kioku by Endo, so the sourcing sits behind four kitchens (venue site).

Order this / avoid

• Order: the temaki first, hotate above all. Hot Dinners' verdict was we'd say it's worth you travelling for those temakis1. Take the aburi option on at least one nigiri. If the bill can stand it, the Japanese A4 wagyu striploin with charred puntarelle and yuzu onion sauce was hands-down one of the most delicious wagyu we've ever tasted in that same review. Finish with the matcha mille crepe cake. Prices quoted there were June 2021: GBP 8 for two nigiri, GBP 9 to GBP 12 a temaki, GBP 55 for the wagyu.
• Avoid: building the meal around the mains. There are only four of them, the wagyu is the expensive one, and the kitchen's actual signature is the hand rolls.

What locals & experts say

• The Nudge, Jason Allen: part of the brilliance of SUMI is its simplicity. Whereas some sushi hot spots throw all sorts of bells and whistles onto the plate, SUMI sits back and lets the fish be the main event, making this one of the most confident, and frankly coolest, sushi restaurants in London.2
• Hot Dinners, Catherine Hanly (2021): on where to sit, the seats right in front of the sushi counter will be the ones to grab, with a nice counter down the length of the rear dining room that'd be particularly great for solo diners. The piece carries its own disclosure that Hot Dinners dined as guests of Sumi.1
• MICHELIN Guide: listed as Japanese in the three-pound band, with the inspector note beginning There's a plethora of restaurants on Westbourne Grove but few are ever as busy as Sumi. Michelin truncates the rest on its own page. No star or Bib Gourmand.3
• Local rec: Jeff has it as the casual high-quality sushi option from Endo. REAL.

Good to know

• Timing: open seven days. Monday is dinner only, 5.30pm to 9.45pm last orders. Tuesday to Saturday runs lunch 12pm to 3pm and dinner 5.30pm to 9.45pm; Sunday dinner ends at 9.30pm (venue site).
• Terrace walk-ins: the terrace runs Thursday to Sunday from 3pm to 5pm and takes walk-ins only, which is the way into the place without a booking (venue site).
• Booking: recommended, through SevenRooms or by phone. Ask for the sushi counter.
• Dietary: nothing published. No vegetarian, vegan, gluten or allergen statement appears on any venue page, and this is a raw-fish kitchen, so call ahead rather than assume.
• Hygiene: FSA rating 5 at the Kensington and Chelsea inspection of 26 June 2025 (FSA).
• Getting there: Notting Hill Gate is the nearest tube, an 11-minute walk; Royal Oak and Bayswater are also close.
• Second site: SUMI Marylebone has been announced for 26-27 Devonshire Street W1G 6PL. This entry is the Westbourne Grove original.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: "Casual sushi place high quality from chef Endo" REAL.

Verdict

should-visit — Endo Kazutoshi's group runs this as the casual room, and the choice it makes is the right one: leave the fish alone. Hand rolls built on scallop with shiso flowers, nigiri blowtorched to order, and A4 wagyu on a four-dish mains list is a real menu with a point of view, in a 60-seat room you can actually get into. It is a detour rather than a pilgrimage: the cooking is confident rather than singular, and no critic of standing has ruled on it since the expansion.