Fancy something a little special? Looking for a perfect date-night spot? Onodera Restaurant in Mayfair is the place for you. Swish, cool, sexy, it’s one of our favourite new Japanese restaurant openings in London this year. Discover why below:

Ginza Onodera Review: The Lowdown

Ginza Onodera Review

A new Japanese haunt in Mayfair, Onodera is tucked away on Bury Street and the kind of place you have to know about. The restaurant is located in the basement – think lots of dark marble and a cool sushi counter for watching the magic happen – with a stylish bar on the ground floor. The restaurant is unassuming, and sexy, in its own way. Part of the Ginza Onodera group, which has restaurants in Tokyo, Paris, Ginza, Shanghai, New York and more, it’s about as authentic as it gets – and you can really taste that in the food. It’s all about the quality of ingredients here, bringing authentic Japanese traditions into the food, and presenting something truly magical, and frankly, rather spellbinding.

Ginza Onodera Review: The Food

Ginza Onodera Review

The food. Oh boy, the food. Prepare for an absolute feast at Onodera. Of course, being Mayfair, it’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for something luxury and a bit special, I cannot recommend Onodera highly enough. We started with a selection of small plates; the smoked zuke-salmon, which features Scottish salmon, smoked in-house, topped with seasonal herbs and Japanese vegetables is divine. You can’t miss the spicy tuna tartare, where raw tuna is marinated in spicy miso sauce with crunchy roasted pine nuts to create the perfect contrast – it’s totally delicious.

Ginza Onodera Review

Ginza Onodera Review

For something special, sample the seaweed and tofu salad – a mixture of red tosaka, ogo nori and wakame on a bed of tofu. Moving onto sushi and sashimi (the best bits by far!), there’s so many winners on Onodera’s menu. The rich marbled tuna and salmon sashimi are wonderfully fresh, whereas the sashimi assortment with yellowtail, tuna and salmon, is a great way to sample the best of the menu. Simple, refined and elegant, this is Japanese cuisine at its best.

Ginza Onodera Review

Ginza Onodera Review

If you’re in a hot food mood (try saying that after a few sake cocktails), then you can’t miss their teppanyaki and robata grill dishes. Our favourite was the Canadian black cod, cooked on a robata grill, which is wonderfully light, sweet and smoky all at once. The stuff of dreams.

Ginza Onodera Review
 Ginza Onodera Review

Ginza Onodera Review: The Drinks

Ginza Onodera Review

Ginza Onodera Review

There’s a fantastic selection of sake at Onodera, and their sake sommelier is more than happy to pair sakes with your food. The experience really elevates and the food, and we were excited to discover new sakes that we’d never seen on a menu before. If you’re more a cocktail person, there’s a great, hand-crafted selection of cocktails on offer, taken inspiration from the flavours of Japan. My personal favourite was:

Ginza Onodera Review: Our Verdict

Ginza Onodera Review

If you can’t tell already, we loved everything about Onodera. The food, the decor, the vibe, it’s just perfect for an exclusive, romantic night in the heart of London. The focus on flavours and simplicity in the cuisine really speaks for itself, and the staff couldn’t be more accommodating and knowledgeable. Take my word for it: just go.

Ginza Onodera Restaurant is at 15 Bury St, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6AL. For more information and to book, see here.