Endo at The Rotunda
White City, London
* The restaurant is closing for a major refurb on 15 March 2024. Scheduled to reopen late summer 2024, with the promise of a 'more immersive and personal omakase experience'. Watch this space.*
It feels very ‘Tokyo’ to sit down to sushi in an eighth-floor restaurant looking down over the twinkling lights of a shopping mall. But Shepherd’s Bush isn’t Shinjuku, as third-generation sushi chef Endo Kazutoshi reminds us with his exceptional 20-course omakase experience based on spectacular seafood sourced almost exclusively from the British Isles. As guests make their way up in the lift, a slab of tuna from Cornwall awaits. But first, deliciously firm udon from Okinawa, anointed with bottarga and seaweed oil. The aforementioned tuna, in a seaweed sandwich so crisp it snaps in the mouth, is Endo-san’s ‘business card’, his signature. Later on, a handroll involving creamy, briny Icelandic uni (sea urchin) is even better. The menu (and the specially commissioned soundscape) changes with the seasons. To single out some key dishes, we have to mention the chawanmushi – a slippery savoury custard with Orkney scallops, trout roe, crispy lotus root and a sauce made of 20 Cornish lobsters (like bisque to the power of 100). Other highlights roll off the tongue: the Tokyo-style Irish oyster nigiri, brushed with soy sauce passed down by Endo-san’s master; an Orkney scallop, sweet and buttery, set against the warm rice from Endo-san’s own farm and the salt of the generous Tibetan caviar garnish; and a sublime simmered 'takiawase' of sesame tofu, mussels and yam. Only a few dishes fail to land: a ‘main course’ of wagyu with porcini and Brussels sprouts is lukewarm by the time it reaches us, while a koji brûlée gains nothing from the addition of popping candy. There’s no question that this is among the capital’s best Japanese restaurants but quiet luxury does not come cheap. It’s £250 per person, paid in advance, and that's before drinks and 15% service are added on the day. To justify the cost (not that our fellow diners look like they need to), the experience is perhaps best viewed as a particularly well rehearsed, produced and choreographed piece of theatre performed over three hours. And like a true star, Endo-san even signs your menu at the end of proceedings. Whatever you make of the narrative twists and turns (is choosing your own chopsticks fun or pointlessly twee?), it’s impossible not to be captivated by the master, eyes closed like a concert pianist, forming perfect mouthfuls of sushi that you will very likely remember for a long time to come.
Dining Information:
Counter seating, Pre-payment required
8th Floor, The Helios, Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, White City W12 7FR
