London Restaurants | London Guide

YO! Sushi Launches Will and Kate Wedding Kitsch

Commemorative royal wedding plates don’t have to come from the back pages of weekend supplements, have “real gold” embossing or be available to buy in six “easy” installments.

Instead, embrace the kitsch with YO! Sushi’s limited edition kitten bride and groom plate, introduced especially to mark the wedding of the year.Wills and Kate are affectionately portrayed as loved-up lucky kittens, standing in front of a Union Jack with the date of their nuptials clearly displayed. 

From the 29th April, a plate will be available to buy for just £2.50 (payment in installments will not be available). Just 2,000 of these highly collectable pieces of post-modern art have been commissioned and all proceeds will go to the Help for Heroes charity, which seeks to rehabilitate wounded British soldiers – a cause close to Prince William’s heart.

In addition, a special sushi dish has been created in honour of the happy couple. The smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber sushi ‘sandwich’, is priced at £2.50 and served without a hint of irony, although at this stage it is unclear whether Buckingham Palace will be serving the dish at the official reception. This exclusive sushi dish will be available a week before the wedding, from 22nd April– again, all proceeds from sales will go to the same charity, so get in touch with your charitable side and buy both the sushi and the plate. Hurry while stocks last!

Available at all YO! Sushi restaurants nationwide. www.yosushi.com

MORI Japanese Restaurant to Open in Chelsea

MORI, the casual restaurant group focusing on healthy, quality Japanese food,which launched in London’s St John’s Wood just one year ago, has just signed on what will be its third branch, in Chelsea.

The site, at 99 King’s Road, is scheduled to open in early 2011. It offers 1,500 sq.ft of space, which will include an expansive chilled cabinet housing the full range of MORI dishes, a feature display of MORI’s frozen yoghurt together with 20 seats for eat-in. The site will also offer a delivery service to addresses across South West London.

For more information on the group, visit www.mori.uk.com

Christmas Dinner in a Sushi Roll

 
Just when you thought you had seen it all, along comes Christmas dinner in a bite size roll. YO! Sushi’s everyone’s favourite Japanese restaurant, has taken the traditional and added a touch of Tokyo-style fun to their famous ‘kaiten’ conveyor belt by diligently developing the world’s first all-in-one Christmas dish, available from 30th November.

Combining turkey katsu, sage and onion stuffing, pickled beetroot, teriyaki glazed walnuts and red current jelly in a sushi roll, gift -wrapped in Savoy cabbage!

Santa wouldn’t want it any other way and neither would we, with three tasty bites for just £4.30, why not pop in and enjoy the taste of Christmas time and time again. If that isn’t enough to tempt you, then fear not, as YO! Sushi have even added ‘Devils on Horseback’ (dates wrapped in streaky bacon with red current jelly dip) and a ‘Mince Pie Mochi’ (rice cake filled with mince pie and white chocolate ganache coated in desiccated coconut), both £3.80, to the menu to celebrate their very first YO!-EL.

All three dishes will be available from 30th November to 23rd December in YO! Sushi’s nationwide (except Heathrow T3 and Edinburgh Airport). If you are still making plans this Christmas, YO! Sushi have teamed up with Lucky Voice offering two hours of festive karaoke and five plates with a drink from as little as £28 per person. Or, simply pop down to one of the restaurants for a YO! Sushi’s Christmas Meal Deal where you can enjoy five plates and a drink for just £20!

www.yosushi.com

Christmas Party Deals at Yo Sushi in London

Put a Tokyo style twist on the traditional festive frivolities and take advantage of YO! Sushi’s range of Christmas party packages including karaoke with Lucky Voice, Christmas Meal Deal and exclusive hire of the iconic ‘kaiten’ style conveyor belt.

Forget Silent Nights with YO! Sushi and Lucky Voice’s Christmas Karaoke:

Invite Shakin’ Stevens, Noddy Holder and Wham! to your Christmas party as YO! Sushi and Lucky Voice join forces to offer you and your mates two hours of karaoke plus five plates and a drink from as little as £28 per person.

Enjoy the most liberating, heart-racing, life-affirming private karaoke experience on earth, take centre stage and spend up to two hours singing from Lucky Voice’s list of almost a million songs in the comfort of your very own private karaoke booth, complete with waiter service and a full range of the most recent chart toppers. With the option to build online bespoke song-lists before you arrive, queue up your favourite festive hits and rock-out till its time to eat.

Christmas Restaurant Menu Deals

With stomachs rumbling and vocal chords worn out head to YO! and enjoy Christmas lunch or dinner between 12noon and 6pm, Tuesday to Friday, from 30th November–23rd December, featuring five plates and a drink from the delicious Christmas menu.

Take advantage of this outstanding offer at YO! Sushi Poland Street, Angel, Sedley Place and Brighton. 

Christmas Meal Deal – 5 plates and a drink for £20

If you fancy a sushi style spin on the traditional festive fayre and karaoke leaves you cold, enjoy YO! Sushi’s Christmas Meal Deal and eat like a king with five plates and a choice of drink for only £20 per person.

For the first time ever enjoy Christmas dishes, including a full YO! Sushi style Christmas dinner Turkey Katsu, sage & onion stuffing sushi roll; a twist on Devils on Horseback featuring dates wrapped in streaky bacon alongside a red current jelly dip and a tasty Mince Pie Mochi: a delicious rice cake filled with festive mince pie and white chocolate ganache.

Alternatively, enjoy the full range of classic YO! Sushi favourites or six hot winter dishes from the unique ‘Kill Chill’ menu, including Beef Gyudon, Salmon Katsu Roll, Koya Tofu Katsu Curry, Spicy Miso Beef Ramen, Crab Onigiri and Spicy Chicken Wings marinated in a sake and soy sauce.

Hire the YO! Sushi Belt

Break away from the boring and bring the party to you, with exclusive hire of the iconic YO! Sushi ‘kaiten’ conveyor belt from as little as £12 per person.

This outstanding offer is ideal for everything from the office Christmas bash to sophisticated seasonal soirees, so let YO!’s experienced team of kitchen ninjas create a bespoke menu, tailored to ensure your guests have a night they will never forget.

Alternatively, choose from an amazing array of traditional hot and cold dishes including rice and noodle dishes, teriyakis, hairy prawns, sashimi, makis, hand rolls, gunkans, salads and delicious desserts.
Why not also treat budding sushi lovers to the perfect stocking filler and enroll them in sushi school, where they can learn from a sushi master on how to slice, dice wrap and roll like a professional kitchen ninja.

For more information or to book your private party email antony@yosushi.com or call 07825 056 042

www.yosushi.com

Inamo to launch Second Restaurant in Mayfair

Inamo Restaurant, a popular Soho joint, reviewed here by me some time ago, is to open a second venue in Mayfair.

Inamo's second site, which is scheduled to open in December, will be a 300-cover venue including a destination bar, restaurant with two private dining rooms and sushi counters. It will be housed in Christopher Corbin and Jeremy King's former St Alban restaurant, which closed last Christmas.
Noel Hunwick, who founded Inamo together with business partner Danny Potter, said the new site offered remarkable potential and complex challenges in equal measure.

"Naturally we're delighted with the success to date of our first Inamo but understand that this is a completely new project, irrespective of certain similarities, and the scale of the restaurant is not to be taken lightly," he said. "We've worked hard, however, to put together a talented and experienced team in the kitchen, bar and front of house."

The kitchen at Inamo St James will be overseen by head chef Sebastian Francis, who previously worked at the Sanderson Hotel. The entire operation will be managed by general manager Anthony Lyon, with assistant general manager Stephan Venter, restaurant managers Bartek Rusicki and Martin Tarnoczy, and bar manager Rudolph Garland supporting him.

Interiors at Inamo St James will feature Japanese-inspired natural elements such as back-lit semi-precious stones and a Japanese garden with water feature.

www.inamo-restaurant.com

Me Love Sushi opens at Imperial Wharf

Me Love Sushi has opened its third restaurant in London and plans to open another two sites by the end of next year. 

The new site at Imperial Wharf is almost 6,000 sq ft and will also be used as a central location to prepare food for all the sites.

“This gives us the opportunity to become more efficient and keep costs down. We’ll be preparing everything we can in advance at this site and that will reduce labour time elsewhere and also ensure high levels of consistency” said operations director Julian Bartlett speaking to Big Hospitality.

Mr Bartlett added that the streamlining will help prepare the group for further expansion next year. By spring 2011, the company aims to have a fourth restaurant in central or south west London, with a fifth expected to open in the autumn.

“If all goes well, we’ll then be looking at doubling our site openings the following year. But we’ll take each quarter as it comes” he added.

Me Love Sushi began as a takeaway bar, opening its first restaurant in 2008 in Swiss Cottage.

“As well as our restaurant offering, we also have a takeaway and delivery service, which makes up approximately 40% of our revenue. So this can offset any quiet times we have in the restaurants. 

“We’ve also benefitted because we offer good value for money, we’re consistent and we offer the health aspect to food. These are our key drivers, and they are what have helped us achieve around 20% year-on-year growth” he said.

The Boulevard, Imperial Wharf, London SW6
Tel: 08448 552255
www.melovesushi.com