IMPORTANT UPDATE: Tokimeite London is permanently closed
Japanese cuisine is having a moment, as people switch to healthy eating and embrace new flavours. One of the best Japanese restaurants in London, in our opinion, is Tokimeite.
Tokimeite London
Located on upmarket Conduit Street, Tokimeite is a haven of calm in Mayfair. As soon as we stepped inside, we were warmly greeted by the maître d’ and his team.
The restaurant is beautifully designed with stylish lighting and subtle decorative touches. They’ve recently launched their lounge bar, open from 11.30 pm to 1 am on both Friday and Saturday evenings.
We’ve been fortunate to experience Tokimeite before and their delicious omakase menu. They are one of the rare places in London specializing in classic Japanese wa-shoku cuisine, to which they give their own contemporary twist.
Our dining experience kicked off with a welcome signature cocktail. It had some unusual ingredients including cucumber, mint, Luxerdo, Hendrix gin, sugar and lime. It tasted very refreshing and the flavours blended together beautifully.
Tokimeite has an open kitchen, in fact the work-space is directly behind the bar. It was fascinating to watch the chefs working whilst we dined.
They were busy chopping up ingredients finely – if only our knife skills were that good. It’s actually a great place to dine solo as the chefs chat to you whilst you’re eating.
Our first course was a pretty as a picture lobster carpaccio of lobster tail, vegetable crisps and edible flowers with a ponzu and yuzu dressing. Head chef Yoshihiro Murata has a grand total of 7 Michelin stars in his three restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo.
Tokimeite itself is worthy of a Michelin star and we wouldn’t be surprised if it gains one.
Next we sampled a moreish shrimp tempura, complemented by a shichimi and wasabi cream and topped with salsify crisps. These gave the dish an extremely satisfying contrast.
Tokimeitē is rightly known for its incredible wagyu beef, imported from Japan. We loved the tender wagyu tartare, finely diced and mixed with cucumber, poached quail egg flavoured in yuzu soy and shibazuke pickles.
Of course, no visit to a Japanese restaurant would be complete without sampling some sashimi and the three different kinds here most definitely didn’t disappoint – Paul loved the ginger too!
Our friendly sommelier suggested that we try something a little different to accompany our meal – a tasting selection of sake. We enjoyed the sake that we tried on our last visit to Tokimeite London but were intrigued to see how this trio would work with the whole menu.
The first one that we tried was quite subtle and matched our fish dish very well.
Our sumiyaki salmon confit was one of my favourite dishes of the evening. Served on a miso basil purée with crispy salmon skin, it reminded me of miso cod but it had a flavour that was all its own. Perhaps it was umami, that elusive Japanese flavour considered to be a fifth sense in addition to sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
Tokimeite is well known for its traditional hot pots, cooked at the table. Wagyu sukiyaki is a feast of a dish, with wagyu beef served in a miso sauce and topped with black truffle.
Diners can choose either Gunma rump steak or sirloin for their hot pot. The area of Gunma in Japan is close to Tokyo and famous for the quality of its beef, noodles and vegetables.
Our hot pot was accompanied by Masumi sake – it’s one of the most renowned sake brands in Japan.
The grand finale was a delicious dessert of yuzu cheesecake on Japanese Monaka wafers, with home made strawberry ice cream. The wafer’s texture made a nice contrast with the delicate cheesecake and it was the perfect way to finish our meal.
We tasted an unfiltered sake, Summer Snow by Kamoizumi with our dessert. Unlike some unfiltered wines which can be a bit rough and ready, this was a pleasant surprise with its mild and sweet aromas.
We’d definitely recommend Tokimeite for its exquisite cuisine and charming welcome. The lounge bar is a hotspot on the Mayfair social scene so don’t hesitate to check it out.
We’ve since had the opportunity to try Japanese restaurants in Tokyo and Oita, so Tokimeite was a great introduction to this delicious cuisine.
I’ve walked past this restaurant quite a few times but have never been in. The sashimi looks delicious and I love the concept of the late night lounge bar!
I love Japanese food (and Sake!) so I must check this out – your photos are fab as usual!
Thank you Becky, I’m sure you will love this place. The sake was not too strong but very flavoursome
Oh my this place looks amazing. I love Japanese food and looking at your pictures and reading your post made my mouth water. I am definitely adding this place to my list.
It was certainly mouthwatering! Hope you enjoy it if you visit
That food looks divine!
It was such a treat, Megan!
It has a very luxurious but low-key vibe, it was fun to see the chefs at work and they had good banter with the clients too!
It never crossed my mind that the Japanese restaurants’ popularity may be deriving from the fact that their food is actually very healthy. I guess you are right, although I’m sure it’s not only that. The taste of the Japanese food may be divine (if it’s well prepared). And you, lucky girl, get to taste all the good stuff that these restaurants have to offer. The yuzu cheesecake would be my favorite of all the dishes you tried. I think I could have a few of those deserts…
I definitely think that the healthy factor explains part of the appeal of Japanese cuisine but thankfully it tastes great too! The cheesecake was divine!
It was a real treat!
I have had many different carpaccio’s before but never lobster. The food looks wonderful and so beautiful Lucy x