The search for good authentic Japanese food in London is never ending, but last night I found a place that goes right to the top of my list. It’s Kirazu, a tiny restaurant on Rupert St, just off Shaftesbury Avenue and opposite the stage door of the Gielgud Theatre. It bills itself as specialising in ‘Japanese tapas and takeaway’. So what made me like it so much?
The chef, Yuya Kikuchi, is from a farming family in Kanagawa, in north east Japan. He’s a trained fugu chef (fugu is the fish you have to serve very carefully without the poisonous liver that could kill you). He worked at Japanese restaurants in Brussels and in Australia before coming to London and joining the Mitsukoshi restaurant in Lower Regent St. We all know what happened to that earlier this year don’t we? (If not, check out my post on it here). But good has come out of it – it was the closure of the Mitsukoshi restaurant that led to Kirazu, which opened in April this year.
Kikuchi’s focus is on healthy food and in particular the classic soya-based flavours of miso and soy sauce. That’s not to say it’s a vegetarian restaurant – it isn’t. I had an excellent karaage (deep-fried chicken in batter), juicy and full of flavour.
But the flavours of miso are used in a lot of dishes, like this aubergine in miso sauce.
I love lotus root so was very happy to find it on the menu. It was crunchy and flavourful, just as it should be.
There are dumplings too, served in little bamboo baskets like dim sum in chinese restaurants. I had the prawn dumplings which were delicate and melt-in-the-mouth.
And of course I ordered the staples of any Japanese meal, white rice and miso soup. ‘Taste that,’ said the Japanese businessman sitting across from me, pointing to my soup. ‘That’s not made from stock powder like in a lot of places – that’s the real thing.’ And it was.
One thing you need to know about Kirazu is that it’s very small. It has a little counter in the window and a couple of long wooden trestle tables and that’s it.
It makes for a cosy atmosphere, with customers falling easily into conversation with each other (the other customers were all Japanese when I arrived, though some Europeans arrived later). It’s friendly and relaxed with authentic Japanese touches, like the hangers along the walls for you to hang up your coat, and some charming and quirky decorations.
It also has a bewildering variety of dishes, some listed on the ‘tapas’ menu on the table, others on blackboards at the entrance and over the bar. I’d recommend going in a group so you can order a variety of dishes to share.
There are plenty of servers but not much room for them to operate in, and customers have to come to the bar to order their drinks so you can imagine the potential for chaos. But it’s controlled chaos in a typically Japanese way.
Kirazu is open for lunch, and dinner from 6:30 in the evening. You can book but expect to share one of the big tables unless you’re a large group. It offers a good range of sake.
Looks interesting and the dishes look tasty too. I’ve made a note in the back of my diary as the last time I met my sister in London we spent about an hour wandering round Greek St etc etc trying to agree on somewhere to have lunch! Somewhere with good food, informal atmosphere and a bit different – this would have been perfect.
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I’ve not tried it at lunchtime so I don’t know how busy it gets. But it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
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Lovely photos and a good recommendation for when I’m next in London – thank you!
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You’re welcome – hope you like it!
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Thank you for the review! I’ll definitely visit them in near future. ☺️
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I’ll be interested to hear what you think.
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Thank you so much and for those great photographs too!! The last time i was in London we went to Okan in Brixton Village – a similar sort of small cosy set up but this one looks like it has more variation.Arigato gozaimasu!!
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My pleasure. Soho’s less of a trek to get to than Brixton, which is an advantage for North Londoners like me.
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Hurrah! That’s going on my list. BTW, don’t you think the word ‘tapas’ is over-used? I’ve seen Indian tapas and Mexican tapas etc etc. Japanese tapas is a new one. Not sure why I’m so grumpy over the word tapas. Must need more coffee.
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Yes, I find the idea of ‘Japanese tapas’ a bit strange, but on the other hand it did mean I understood that I was going to get a lot of little dishes and that can’t be bad. 🙂
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Brixton is very handy for those of us who live there! 🙂 But will try Kirazu next time I’m in the West End.
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Let me know what you think of it.
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I really wanted to like Kirazu but unfortunately, when I went earlier this year, I had such a poor experience, it’s one of the more negative restaurant reviews I’ve ever posted. A shame, as I really hoped for better. 😦
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Oh what a shame! I read your review and if it’s any consolation some of the portion sizes were larger when I was there – as you can see from the picture of the lotus root.
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That’s good news, though combined with the service issues we experienced, I’m not sure it’s enough to tempt me back… but good to know you had a better experience.
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I think the service has improved too – my meal certainly came quite fast at any rate.
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🙂
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Thanks for posting this review Fran – I have made a note of it as my son loves Japanese food and this would make him very happy. Just the other day we were wandering around taking in the Christmas lights and ended up in Shoryu on Denman St for a bowl of ramen – which was delicious by the way!
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Yes, I love Shoryu, though I go to the one on Lower Regent St.
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