23 November 2007

For Goodness Sake

Sakenohana Restaurant Opens

You could recite the entire Yauatcha dumpling menu. You practically live at Hakkasan.

So you’re understandably excited about Alan Yau’s latest venture, Sakenohana, which opens on Monday. (‘Sake’ incidentally refers to the drink; ‘hana’, to a delicate flower.) Designed by hotshot Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the restaurant is spread over two floors, with a sushi bar downstairs and a resto and bar upstairs. Expect traditional raised platform seating and plenty of raw Japanese timber.

Food is a modern take on rustic Japanese, using seasonal ingredients. Look out for akazaebi ni (langoustines) and shabu-shabu with Kobe beef, as well as sushi and sashimi; aburi toro (seared blue fin tuna) is a favourite. Desserts are just as colourful.

Most certainly, you’ll be tempted.

After all, it is all about Yau.

Sakenohana, 23 St. James Street, SW1A 1HA (020 7925 8988).