A Surprising Omakase Tasting Menu – Yoshihiro Murata at Tokimeite

Every so often, an invitation drops into our lap that we can’t refuse. Sampling Yoshihiro Murata’s cuisine was definitely one of those. This famous Japanese chef has 7 Michelin stars between his three Japanese restaurants, with three Michelin stars at Kikunoi Honten in Kyoto. His London restaurant, TokimeitÄ“ is located on stylish Conduit Street, its discreet exterior is no hint of the culinary delights inside.

Tokimeite London Review

It’s the result of a collaboration with celebrated designer Yasumichi Morita, who also designed Aqua Kyoto nearby and operated by Zen-Noh Group, the business arm of Japan’s largest agricultural cooperative, JA. Spread over 3 floors, it’s inspired by the elements of fire, water and wood and the lighting is superb. We took our seats at the bar where we had a prime view of the action. In front of us, the chefs got busy preparing our 9 course feast.

tokimeite-chefs

Omakase Menu

They welcomed us with a cup of cherry blossom infused sake. I’m somewhat of a lightweight but this was a really palatable drink. Omakase was a new term to me – it means “I’ll leave it up to you” and so the menu was not revealed until the evening itself. I love a good surprise so this was right up my street.

There was a full wine and sake pairing on offer, starting with a refreshing glass of Ruinart Brut Rosé Champagne.  With notes of cherry and red fruit, it’s made with a high proportion of chardonnay.

ruinart-rose-champagne

We wouldn’t have thought to match it with Japanese food but it worked perfectly with our first course, morikomi hassun mukouzuke. This included 5 types of perfectly fresh sashimi: salmon, scallop, seabass, tuna and yellowtail. The scallops were a delight, with a firm consistency outside and soft buttery texture on the inside. TokimeitÄ“  means butterflies in your stomach and we were definitely starting to get those.

Tokimeite on Conduit Street, Mayfair - one of Yoshihiro Murata's fantastic group of restaurants

Kaiseki Menu

Chef Yoshihiro Murata is an expert in preparing a Kaiseki menu. This traditional Japanese dinner with multiple courses. Involving some serious knife skills and cooking techniques, it’s considered to be an art form in the manner that it balances flavours and colours.

tokimeite-sake

This dish was certainly colourful and a real joy to behold, with the serving dishes enhancing the overall appearance. Sashimi of butterfish and tai (red sea bream), wasabi, chrysanthemum petals, curled udo and carrot. I still cannot tell you what the jelly texture on the butterfish was but it was tart, soft and delightfully delicious.

Our next course was futamano, a traditional clear soup, served in a lidded bowl. It was a light, flavourful dish that reminded us of bone broth.

tokimeite-futamano

Next we sampled yakimono, or flamed chargrilled king crab legs cooked in an aubergine sauce. This was a definite highlight, with the green vegetables and lotus root being a perfect accompaniment.

yakimono-london

We were then served another interesting palate cleanser, atsukebachi, grilled tofu and vegetables in a savoury sauce. This paved the way for our next dish, a second yakimono, or flamed grilled seafood.

This was a beautifully seared salmon with seasonal asparagus. It may sound like a lot of food, but thankfully the plates are a reasonable size and many Japanese practice hara hachi bu. This means that you only eat until you are 80 percent full. It gives many health benefits and assured longevity.

The chefs had another palate cleanser up their sleeves, a strawberry sorbet with a crystallized strawberry on top and the surprising addition of wasabi – it certainly gave it a kick!

tokimeite-palate-cleanser

One of our favorite dishes was Yoshihiro Murata’s shiizakana signature dish,  wagyu beef with cherries that has first been clay-baked in salt. Whilst we did find the beef quite salty, the meat was incredibly tender and you could definitely taste the notes of cherry. It was also a real pleasure seeing it prepared right in front of us.

shiizakana-tokimeite-lonodon

Chef Yoshihiro Murata

Chef Murata came to introduce himself – he’s utterly charming and clearly passionate about what he does. Having trained in France and learnt the techniques of French cuisine, he has since focused on accurately communicating Japanese cuisine to the world. He exudes a Buddha-like beatitude and I think it translates to his cuisine which is traditional yet innovative at the same time.

Yoshihiro-murata

After all this, we were getting to the 80% full point, but we couldn’t resist our final savory course, a selection of sushi with assorted nigri and maki. It included the finest wagyu beef, which is unusual as part of a sushi selection but worked really well with the other elements of the dish. There was even a little paint brush to apply the soy sauce to the sushi with precision, giving it the appearance of an artist’s palette.

Tokimeite London

For dessert, we were given the choice between a matcha panna cotta, or Yuzu cheesecake on crispy Japanese Monaka wafers with a delicate green tea ice cream…

mayfair-japanese-restaurant

…or apple tatin with caramel ice cream. Both dishes hit the right spot, though I think I preferred the latter after becoming addicted to tarte tatin whilst living in France!

tokimeite-dessert

We’ve come to the end of our gastronomic journey, but we’ve since returned TokimeitÄ“ London for the launch of their new evening lounge. It’s definitely one of our favourite Japanese restaurants in London.

We’ve since been lucky to try some amazing Japanese restaurants in Tokyo and Oita, Japan. It’s good to know that we can find fantastic Japanese food in London too. Have you ever sampled omakase or Japanese food?

Address: TokimeitÄ“, 23 Conduit Street W1S 2XS, London, UK

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Thanks to Yoshihiro Murata and Tokimeite for the invitation to review

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46 thoughts on “A Surprising Omakase Tasting Menu – Yoshihiro Murata at Tokimeite”

  1. Beauty Follower

    Such a beautiful food styling!

    Have a lovely new week dear 🙂

    http://beautyfollower.blogspot.gr/

  2. Lux @ About Life and Love

    Look how elegant that chandelier is.
    And the food! I would love to sample them. 🙂

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      I really liked the lighting, in fact it would be a good place for a first date, it was so flattering! As for the food – equally fantastic

  3. I have never had any Japanese high cuisine! What an amazing opportunity you had to try these exotic dishes. I have heard of the 80% full rule. I’m sure that if I would apply it, the pounds would be falling off 🙂 Have a great week Suze!

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      That’s a good point, Japanese high cuisine in London is quite rare. I definitely need to stick to the 80% full rule if I can!

  4. Tales From a Fork travel blog

    This looks amazing! If you’re ever in New York, I recommend Sushi Yasuda for an omakase. Sharing this!

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      Ooh thanks for the recommendation, I’d love to return to NY so will bear that in mind

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      It was a real treat and now I’m looking forward to reading how you got on in Kyoto

  5. Claire @ Country Mouse Claire

    This looks amazing, Suze. I love that Ruinart rosé as well, it’s a total house favourite for us.

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      It’s definitely one of my favourite rosés and it went so well with the food!

  6. I’ve experienced traditional Japanese food when I went to Japan last summer – macha tea, sushi and various noodle soups. Everything super healthy and yummy! 🙂 Your food examples also seem so yummy! <3

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      I remember reading some of your Japanese travel tales, it sounded amazing!

  7. ♫ Alison M ♪

    I would love to go to a Japanese restaurant. This looks lovely, so nice to see the food prepared

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      It makes all the difference, seeing the food prepared and those chefs had serious knife skills!

  8. Planes & Champagne

    Wow what a fantastic experience! I love sitting at counters and watching meals being prepared in front of you – the Yakimono looks delicious and the duck with cherries clay baked in salt sounds interesting. I will definitely add Tokimeite to my never ending restaurant list 🙂

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      I think you’d definitely enjoy it – feels like you’ve travelled all the way to Japan without leaving London!

  9. Meron Dymphana

    Japanese are literally the best chefs and I love the fact that they cook delicious and healthy food. I do visit the Japanese restaurants in my country and you look amazing as always!~!
    www.fashionstylemogul.com

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      That’s a good point, it’s so healthy – if only I ate like that more often! Thanks for the compliment, so kind

  10. Left Bank Girl

    Everything looks incredible from the sake to the desserts! I can’t imagine the flavors that must have been bursting in your mouth. This is an experience to treasure! Fantastic post!

    Http://Leftbankgirl.blogspot.com

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      I was pleasantly surprised by that cherry flavoured sake, it was really good

  11. Miriam @londonkitchendiaries

    The food looks absolutely delicious! I loved our trip to Japan last year and completely fell in love with Japanese cuisine ♡

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      I’d really like to visit Japan, take a bullet train and see the cherry blossom!

  12. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

    Ooh Brooklyn is probably my favourite area of New York. I’d love to return and will definitely ask you for some tips if I do!

  13. Ayushi | The Foodie Diaries

    Japanese is one of my favourite cuisines in London! I’ve passed by Tokimeite quite a few times and having had a read of your review, looks like I really need to go in next time! Seems like such an exciting dinner – I love the surprise element 🙂 xx

  14. I love that the menu was a surprise until you got to the restaurant! And that salmon looks so delicious!

    http://thecourtneydiaries.com

  15. Thanks for explaining the term ‘Omakase’ and as always, my eyes are drawn to the dessert – such lovely presentation 🙂 I’ve no doubt it was a fab experience!

    aglassofice.com x

  16. Shikha (whywasteannualleave)

    It looks just divine Suze, not surprised you couldn’t resist the invitation! I used the term “omakase” a lot when I was in Japan last month – it took the hassle away out of the language barriers when ordering in the authentic restaurants and consistently yielded great results!

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      That’s a brilliant tip, as long as you didn’t get any unpalatable surprises 😉

  17. Frankie | TheMayfairy.com

    Omakase sounds brilliant – I hate having to make decisions! 😉

  18. Andrea Petersen

    WOW WOW WOW! Realy want to visit Tokimeite and even more so now after seeing all their delicious dishes. The duck sounds right up my street, as do the desserts and generally everything! Lots of love, Andrea xxx

    1. Suze @LuxuryColumnist

      The duck was wonderful and a really theatrical experience watching the preparation!

  19. Erin Niimi Longhurst

    This looks amazing – traditional with a twist! I also adore tasting menus!

    Erin xx
    islandbell.co.uk

  20. Oh wow what an invitation. The cherry blossom infused sake and duck sounds wonderful. Actually all the food looks so beautiful. Glad you had a wonderful time Lucy x

  21. I’m trying to figure out how I missed this post. The duck sounds absolutely amazing and the desserts.. we won’t even discuss those because I’d want some for myself lol. What an invitation.

    Kia / KTS
    www.houseofkts.com

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