REVIEW: Sake no Hana, Fitzrovia

Sake no Hana is the sister, or rather closely related cousin, restaurant to Hakkasan - one of my favourite restaurants in London. Unlike Hakkasan and its modernist twin HKK, Sake no Hana specialises in Japanese cuisine rather than Northern Chinese. As with the cousin restaurants, each dish is expertly executed by a team of top rate chefs from stunning ingredients. Dishes are stated on the menu in Japanese and English with optional wine pairings at the dessert courses. Overall, it's pretty smashing.

For my visit we were invited to try out the Umai Sushi Saturday's; a 7 course feast with champagne, cocktails and dessert for the massively underrated price of £49pp (£37pp for vegetarians). This is not just incredibly good value: it's a bloody steal! The food is absolutely incredible and definitely the best Japanese food I have encountered in a while. Though Chisou remains my favourite Japanese restaurant due to the mind blowing experience we had, there is no denying the excellence at Sake no Hana.
Situated just north of St James' Palace and just south of Fortnum & Mason, Sake no Hana could give off the an air of exclusivity. And although I wouldn't turn up in my gym kit, the restaurant feels surprisingly welcoming. I found the escalators up to the dining space hilarious and once we entered the Kengo Kuma designed restaurant I felt a sense a calmness and serenity. The walls are actually all floor to ceiling windows with traditional wooden blinds to protect diners from the setting sun, while the roof is adorned with a intricate wooden structure that has echoes of traditional temples. The open kitchen is quiet and focused ( no Gordon Ramsey's here) with each chef working diligently on their dish.
So hopefully that little into has set the scene for Sake no Hana. Enjoy today's review and let me know if you visit the restaurant soon.
Where
Sake no Hana, Fitzrovia
When
Saturday afternoon, from 1pm
What we ate
The Umai Sushi Saturday menu
What we drank

• Still water

• Cocktails: Tokyo slide; Cucumber and ginger spritz

• Champagne: Louis Roederer premier NV

Review
The opening course of Miso Soup was lovely and warming with mini enoki mushrooms to bring added texture.
The next dish of spinach in sesame was absolutely delicious and, in my opinon, the best way to get greens into your meal! The flavour was super savoury and yet very fresh - a great start to the menu.


The next course consisted of tempura aubergine, raw tuna sashimi and a beautiful tempura prawn with wasabi mayo. The aubergine was surprisingly light but sadly soggy on the bottom, which wasn't too enjoyable. The tuna had a really light flavour with a lovely sesame and truffle oil surrounding it. The topping of fresh roe added texture to the spoon. Finally the single prawn was lovely and juicy and sweet. The wasabi mayo wasn't too hot and I actually liked it, which if you've been around for a while you'll know I hate wasabi.

The sushi course of fresh nigiri was beautifully prepared with very little rice compared to the size of the fish. This is a more authentic way to prepare sushi and therefore you can enjoy the flavour and texture of the fish. The Amaki tuna again was so fresh and had a soft texture; the salmon too had a gentle sweetness about it that I really enjoyed eating. The hamachi (or yellowtail) nigiri had a much lighter flavour to the Amaki tuna which was quite refreshing and finally the seabass (or suzuki) fish finished the plate with a notably more meaty flavour. I really didn't like having the wasabi already on the rice and this was the only downside for me.

Moving onto the main course (I know, I was pretty full by this stage too!). We opted for the sharing dish of Sukiyaki with yuzu candy floor. This dish is shared between two people and cooked at the table. Despite the fact I have eaten fish at this dinner, I was not going to eat meat. The dish normally comes with sliced rib eye beef or chicken, then served with tofu, mushrooms and vegetables. For our dish, the team kindly added more tofu and vegetables and less meat, meaning that Alex got to enjoy the stunning rib eye beef, while I could enjoy the tofu and vegetables. I know this is not normal practise for vegetarians, as the beef would have compromised the whole dish, but I am the kind of person who is willing to compromise to fit both parties.

As you can see in the video below, the waiting team bring the large steaming pot to the table, along with a HUGE candy floss made from yuzu (a type of citrus) and a little camping fire - seriously it was adorable. The dish is then cooked live at the table with the yuzu candy floss bringing a distinctly sweet flavour to the sauce. Honestly this dish has to have been one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. The tofu was soft, silken and squidgy and the veggies still had plenty of crunch. It is difficult to describe the flavour but it excellently balanced sweet, salt, sour and hot notes making it incredibly moorish. The side of truffle rice too was pretty incredible, though I have to say the side of rice at Hakkasan is truly mind blowing - but hey, two different cultures call for two different dishes!

Before moving onto our desserts we were treated to a final plate of expertly made sushi. This course featured spicy salmon maki (salmon, shiso, cucumber and mango), crunchy yasai maki (pepper tempura, avocado) and California maki (snow crab, avocado). My favourite of the three was, surprisingly, the yasai maki - a totally vegetarian dish. The sushi combined a crunchy red pepper with the ultra-soft avocado which I felt worked beautifully! The spicy salmon too was really nice as the mango brought added sweetness to the sweet salmon.

And finally, dessert! I chose the dish of white chocolate and bamboo - which I found surprisingly tasty. The flavour was not actually very sweet, despite the dish featuring a white chocolate tube, and the savoury soil really helped to bring balance. Alex's dessert of apple tarte tartin was very similar to the dessert I had enjoyed at Hakkasan. Once again the flavour did not disappoint and the stunning, ultra-soft textures really brought the dish to life. 

We finished our meal with a whisky and chocolate flight; a story of one man's journey to discover the best flavour combinations of whisky in the world. Though I am not normally a fan of whisky, the excellent choices and flavour combinations of the whisky and chocolate flight at Sake no Hana put rest to my reservations. The exclusive flight features three stunning whiskies: Nikka whisky and Alto el sol chocolate (both with a rich aroma and fruity notes); Hibiki 17 and spiced kumquat and nutmeg ganache (the chocolate's 72% cocao ratio enhances the spicy notes in the whisky); and finally Nikka Yoichi paired with a smoked salt ganache (the salt brings out the extremely smokey flavour of the whisky).

Overall, my experience of Sake no Hana was absolutely mind blowing. I have never visited a restaurant with such a stunning eye for detail and that makes each guest's experience totally unique. I am incredibly grateful to Sake no Hana for hosting us at this meal and I will be definitely going back for another Sushi Saturday!

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