tldr - Spotty service but more than made up for by incredible food and a fun ambiance! (Great value too) Atmosphere: Bright, nice music, mural adorned walls; just a really fun vibe. We were there from 2030-2230 - it has to be said that the music got notably louder at 2200, such that you almost had to shout. It did however become notably better as well (more housey) so as long as you have a few drinks by 2200 you'll be fine. Food: Almost every dish was stellar. We had the: Aburi Salmon - fresh salmon pieces blow-torched at your table. Cool way to serve it and really tasty. Tostaditas, tuna and hamachi tartar, beef short rib, black cod, and chargrilled chicken and lamb chops - All of these were awesome and worth ordering. chargrilled octopus - the only more average dish but still good. Corn puffs - worth trying. Looks like alien corn; the kernels are massive. Had 2 desserts, the cheesecake and something else. Both good but didn't reach the heights of the other food. Service: 2000 reservation and we arrived on the dot. We were told that we had to wait a while for our table. Ended up waiting almost 30 minutes; we didn't actually mind as we were chilling on the single couch near the door and just talking but it's a problem many people seem to have. Our waitress was friendly but not always easy to flag down. They also took ages to bring/refill water. I ordered the sparkling sake and asked if it was sweet (was reasonably sure this was the case as every other sparkling sake I have had is); she said it wasn't and suggested something else. I decided to go with my gut anyway. It was lovely - sweet, light, and exactly what I expected. She should have checked instead of winging it. Others: Toilets are a bit weird - down 2 flights of narrow stairs and just a bit disorienting. Fun to check out though. So reasonable!! Maybe my perspective is skewed but for just the food, and for a lot of food, we paid around £33 each (one friend didn't drink hence we had to calculate the food price). Overall: As long as you aren't starving when you go, and are willing to overlook bad service for amazing food check it out! This is definitely a 5-star restaurant based solely on the food. read more

I think there's a joke to be made involving the phrase "chotto matte!" and dismissive service, but I'll let you put that together seeing as I can't be funny all of the time. First things first,it looks like they've got their act together pretty quickly as far as service goes. To sum up my experience at CM (thoughts echoed by my dining partner): good food with some great dishes, decent drinks, knows what it wants to be. To elaborate on the last point, the interior of CM is pretty cool...low light, glossy black walls, but with spray painted graffiti-esque murals and a UV-lit splatter painting in the basement next to the loos. As much as I like the space, it is undoubtedly trendy and we settled on 'effortfully cool'. Being food first, I would probably prefer to more quiet and minimalist setting in the same vain as Dinings, but it didn't detract from my experience, nor was it overly loud. The downstairs section is a bar, and there is a pretty extensive cocktail menu. I tried a reasonably light cocktail (combination of grapefruit, elderflower and tomato) which was not bad, although it did sound a bit better than it turned out to be (which, to be honest, is mostly to do that, for me, dark spirit cocktails have a higher ceiling for me than light spirit cocktails, but whatever, the drink was still enjoyable). We went for the Nikkei sharing menu II (recently changed from being termed a 'tasting menu') consisting of 10 shared dishes and a supplementary plate of Nikkei sashimi - a plate of thinly cut yellowtail with yuzu soy, tomatoes, and jalapenos. The yellowtail was a really nice dish, very much a ceviche-style dish with a lot of acidity and garnishing elements, but with the yuzu soy giving it that distinctive Japanese flavour. This was definitely a case of resisting the temptation to lick the plate (this was a common theme throughout the evening). Running through: - The first four dishes (IIRC) were i) a selection of tacos with three different fillings (snow crab yuzu/tuna in an interesting tangy sauce/crunchy vegetables); ii) scallops served in a ceviche-esque styly with coriander and jalapenos; iii) ceviche medley; iv) prawn spring roll. These were all good dishes - whilst there was no stand-out dish as such, they worked really well together. I guess some may find some of the flavours a little samey (the Peruvian influence brings a lot of tang and coriander which was a major part in each of these dishes), but honestly, I couldn't really get enough of it - this dinner definitely seemed to cure my case of scurvy. The salsa accompanying the spring rolls was particularly good in this respect and the sauce may have been drunk. - The next two dishes were more mains-y, consisting of black cod and a lamb chop. The black cod was very good , the yuzu miso being a nice touch (if you're not a fan of citrus, maybe this menu is not for you). The smoky lamb chop provided a nice counterbalance to the cod. Again, neither dish was necessarily outstanding, but they were both really well done and nicely complemented each other. - Sushi/sashimi rounded out the savoury section with a plate of maki rolls and a plate of salmon, yellowtail, and tuna sashimi. Overall, pretty good quality (as you'd hope), and a nice way to close out the mains. - The two desserts were really good - a chocolate fondant and a passionfruit creme brulee. These were probably the most standout individual dishes - A* on the sugar test (I don't have a very sweet tooth), and they worked really nicely as a pairing. It was nice having something a bit heavier after a reasonably 'clean' meal. I did wonder before I started, but I left feeling just nicely full. All in all, it's pretty decent value at £45 (averaging out at £9 per dish if sharing which does tally given the amount of seafood, and given my recent experiences, it could be all too easy to spend that much at an Izakaya-style place in this country) and the food is of a good standard, especially when taken as a whole. It's less fusion-y than I would have expected - the ceviche was very much ceviche and the sushi sushi, but I thought that the overall balance was great. As mentioned above, the service was almost faultless, my one criticism being that they could have given us a little more pause between dishes (I know it was Saturday night and all, but I hate hate hate that feeling of being rushed). That said, there were no glaring errors, no impoliteness, and the service was generally attentive, so I give them kudos for working hard to correct that. Ultimately, it's not the sort of place that would appeal if I walked past (unless I looked at the menu), but looking past the aesthetic, there is some really good food here and I'd quite like to return at some point to try the a la carte. There are plenty of 'cool' (yes, Dr. Evil quotation fingers) which would give much less thought to their food, but I give CM credit for its quality and for being just a little different. read more

Having not been a part of the Yelp crowd that attended this location for a birthday party, I decided to come here with my swimming buddy after one of our few swim + dine nights. We tend to pick places we haven't been to and this was one of the places that's been open a while that I've not managed to come to, since my partner would usually balk at the notion of beef hearts and octopus. It's a Tuesday night, and it's apparent the place isn't fully seated yet (we waltz in around 7:30). Thankfully, we're seated at the bar seats upstairs. When you first walk in, you feel like this place should be in NYC, not London. It's somewhat pretentious in decor, although, I couldn't quite place a finger (even now that it's been a few hours after the meal) about what I didn't necessarily like about the decor. I guess it's just that pseudo semi dark atmosphere that isn't done as appropriately and doesn't do the Peruvian portion of the menu justice. Anyway, the food here is actually really good, especially if you're not looking for authentic Japanese or authentic Peruvian. We ordered the Beef Hearts (Corazon), the Octopus (Tentaculous), Courgette with beetroot crisps, and the Sato Maki. All come really well decorated, and finely put together - somewhat. We had the pleasure (pain) of sitting right next to the area which the chefs prepare the sushi. Now, I've seen the folks at Taro Restaurant and a number of different sushi restaurants do it, and there's an adequate amount of care that goes in. It seemed here, not so much. Perhaps they were a little rushed tonight and many more rolls had to be made than usual, in a short space of time. We had the fun show of our own roll being made right in front of us, and when it arrived there was a little bit of theatrics with a blow torch (unnecessary pretentiousness again) but it was good. Could have used a little more wasabi, and a little less salt in the rice, but otherwise, very tasty, and well balanced. The Beef Hearts followed. Now, they were cooked perfectly and have a texture that's somewhat inbetween a fillet of beef and a kidney, and taste somewhat inbetween too. It was definitely very well done and melted in your mouth. The Octopus dish was the same way. I thought it would taste a little like squid, but no, it was tender, well grilled and the spicy aoili and purple potato made it an absolute delight to eat. All in all, this place serves really good food, but it's not a place I'd regularly return to, because it's not my "style" of place. It's got a fine dining feel, without the pull to return again. I've now tasted Japanese Peruvian, and I've gotta say, I'm good to go and don't need a revisit. Service wasn't poor for us that night, but I can't say that the atmosphere helps either. It seems like a place (and the clientele on a Tuesday night proved it for me), where corporate soho'ites come to dine because the company is paying for a good meal for a party of 6 or more. Not quite the intimate place that I'd bring a date to. read more

This place seems to have appeared out of nowhere - one day it was a Giraffe, the next day its a trendy Japanese/Peruvian restaurant. Unlike many other places in London, the restaurant is huge, and the atmosphere is very nice. I didn't get to try much of the Peruvian dishes, but the sushi rolls were very good - I'd recommend the Aburi, which they torch at the table in front of you. The menu is very elaborate with a lot of choice, and the drinks are very good. Definitely a great place for a romantic dinner. read more

Delicious, average prices not too expensive. Nice vibe. Must try's are: octopus, purple potato mash and courgettes with carrots. They are simply perfect. And as dessert you want the peruvian chocolate and dulce de leche thing - like heaven for your papillae! read more

This place is incredible. Such fucking good sushi, so many good vibes. Hell fucking yeah. Bouncers are great. Incredible music. The bathrooms are orgasmic. Everyone come here and fuck shit up. Hell yah read more

A cross between Nobu and Sticks n Sushi for Japanese/Peruvian izakaya style dishes. Yes the price is cheaper than Nobu, but I still could not justify it for the small portions, particularly when it's salmon sashimi. No real creativity when it comes to the variety of sashimi and sushi on offer. The miso cod is delicious, but again not justified by the price considering it is the same fish used in run-of-the-mill fish and chips! Lovely venue and atmosphere but I will not be rushing back here. read more

I came to the cocktail lounge here, we arrived around 10:30pm on a Monday and this place was quite busy! The music was louder than it needed to be, but the world cup was on so we decided to stay. Having never heard of this place before we were very impressed with the innovative cocktail selection. I got an extra dirty martini, as I normally use that or an old fashioned to judge the barmaids skills. I was pleasantly surprised! The drink was strong and tastey and at an average London price (9-12 quid). They had a lots of Japanese whiskies and unusual sakes mixed into cocktails and I will be returning for the food and more cocktails whenever I am in the area next! read more

I don't think Chotto Matte is for everyone. I was excited to come here, as I am a huge fan of Japanese food and I like to try new things. I think the problem for me is that I like Japanese food because it brings out the flavour of the actual ingredient, not just the sauce on it. The fusion with Peruvian flavour seemed to me to be about all the sauces and added flavours, most of which were sweet, and I don't really like sweet food. The best item for me was the miso chicken, which was well-made and well-presented. It tasted more like barbecue than miso though and was quite sweet. We also had some kind of vegetable fries, I forget now what kind but perhaps yucca. They were flavourless and after a few I couldn't force myself to finish them even though I was hungry. The salmon sashimi was fine but nothing special. The service here was attentive though and I am sure someone who really likes Peruvian flavours or sweet food would be happy here. read more

Chotto Matte - Miso chicken - Japanese Near Me - Soho, XGL

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Words really cannot express my love for this place. The atmosphere is on point, but beyond that, the food- wow. Have come on multiple occasions with different friends and tried different thing. The Peruvian corn, bbq chicken and anything with spicy tuna are my favorites but I've never had something not incredible. Have literally paused conversations to just say OMG after taking a bite (cue "I'll have what she's having"- like that was really our reaction). I love the cocktails too but generally end up with a bottle of waiter recommended cold sake. I can't wait to go back! read more

Great place to go with friends. The downstairs is very cool and the atmosphere is fun and lively. Food is quality! Although a bit on the pricey side it's worth it as it's a great evening. Staff are lovely and friendly too read more

Octopus here was amazing; my friend and I immediately ordered a second to share. Corn tostadas with various sashimi or meats were creative and tasty. To fill up on food here would probably cost £100 per person, before drinks, which can quickly almost double your bill. But it's all tasty, and the atmosphere is very modern and hip. The bathrooms were quite posh and interesting, too, with a black-on-black theme and odd mirrored lighting that turns on only when very close to a sink. read more

Great drinks and decor but a by pricey. Would love to come back and try the food next time.

Great food and atmosphere. Ceviche and rib eye were excellent. Came here on a Friday night with no reservation and got a seat in 20m - busy but not unmanageable. Prices are high but expected for the area. They did however forget our water and it took a while to order. Otherwise a very positive experience. read more

Food is not good. If you want good Japanese go to Koya right across the street. These types of Asian restaurants are so out and too gimmicky for me prefer authentic and restaurants really passionate about the foods they serve. Unfortunately Chotte doesn't fit into this category of restaurants. read more

Great atmosphere, the place looks great and food is really tasty and well presented. Cocktails are lovely too. A really nice night out.

Had sushi at the sushi bar. The quality of the sushi was very high! Nice atmosphere with an upbeat mood on a thursday. Great location

I tend to use this as a bar rather than a restaurant (although the sushi and ceviche are great). The ground floor is always buzzy and in summer the windows along the front all slide open for great people-watching. Cocktails are well-made and decently priced, my fave being their (Tanqueray gin) negroni which is served with a large hand-carved ball of ice. read more

The dim light, graffiti clad Japanese/ Peruvian fused restaurant, Chotto Matte which is spread of three floors and in the heart of London's Soho, was a brilliant location to host a celebratory 'thumbs-up' to the festivities due. Chotto Matte is an extremely lively restaurant, with a comparable 'Manhattan' style atmosphere and interesting choice of decor. My favourite find at Chotto Matte was undoubtedly it's toilets. Although having to descend down two floors or dark staircases in sky scraping Terry De Havilland wedges, I was pleasantly met by a sliding glass door and neon artwork before using an equally dark bathroom and a beautiful selection of mirrors by the sink. Please note, both the men's and women's bathroom were not easy to navigate correctly. Do not be surprised if you walk into the wrong sex bathroom because this is not clearly assigned, still the bathrooms in their own right were stylish, cool and worth their very own mention. The menu itself was extensive and quite overwhelming, especially as I was more interested in capturing great images of the venue, but luckily on hand, was a dedicated waitress who explained in full some of the best dishes and she wasn't wrong. We enjoyed a delicious array of 'While You Wait' starters including Cassava & waif Sweet Potato chips, salted Padron peppers, Oysters whilst for the main we went big on the sharing dishes and filled the tummies of five lively creatives with Turbot & Scallop Tiradito, Sea Bass Ceviche (a sublime dish), Cangrejos de concha blanda (a delicious soft shell crab) and the Lomo Fino, the must have dish (meat lovers only) on the menu. - See more at: http://www.chloepierre.com/search?q=chotto#sthash.UkcYPPzc.dpuf read more

BEST sushi in London we've had thus far. The rolls are creative and even the basic ones melt in your mouth. The ambiance is great too, perfect for any type of celebration or just a nice dinner. Would recommend to anyone. read more

The food was what drew us to Chotto Matte. The tasting menu is especially good value and you get to sample a variety of items from the menu. We were very impressed. The atmosphere is quite trendy, which may not be for everyone. We went on a Friday evening, so it was full of young, well-dressed Soho types! But even if that's not your style, go for the food! read more

It's always a shame when a restaurant has decent food and terrible service - unfortunately, this is a fate that befalls Chotto Matte. The service was so terrible that I couldn't enjoy my meal. Upon arrival, we were told that we would not be seated until our entire group had arrived and it was suggested that we order a drink from the bar while we wait. Fair enough. We waited at the bar. And waited. The bartender didn't even look our way for the next 20 minutes, at which point our entire party had arrived and we were seated. When we finally ordered drinks and they were brought to our table, the waiter spilled a gigantic cocktail all over a member of our party. Not a great start to the meal, but recoverable. A clean-up crew arrived with a mop and a "slippery when wet" sign. Annoyingly, the large plastic sign was knocked over by servers repeatedly throughout dinner service, creating a loud smacking noise as well as a creating a tripping hazard for servers and diners alike. The manager offered to pay for the guests dry-cleaning - more on that later. We ordered food and then things got interesting. We were told that the food would come out of the kitchen in no particular order. A little unconventional, but OK. However, waiters kept approaching our table, presenting us with dishes that they could not identify and that we did not order. This to me is a surefire sign that a) the kitchen has absolutely no control over the orders is it firing and b) the servers have zero functional ability to identify which tables ordered what dishes or the names of the dishes themselves! It was total chaos as the restaurant becomes quite loud and we kept having to confirm what was being served and then figure out if anyone at our table had ordered the dish being presented. Most times the staff got it wrong and we had to send back many dishes. The kitchen and waitstaff were so disorganized that a member of our party who ordered the tasting menu didn't receive two of the dishes included in the menu! The service was so bad, at one point we thought that perhaps we were on one of those prank TV shows. When the cheque finally arrived, we noticed we were charged for dishes we hadn't received from the tasting menu. When we asked for the bill to be corrected, the manager at first put up an argument. Hilariously, since the dishes were served in no particular order, the guest who ordered the tasting menu was due to receive two more seafood dishes after his dessert had already been served. When the manager finally came back with a revised bill, the unserved items were removed from the "optional service charge" (tip) instead of actually amending the itemized bill. By this point, the entire table had agreed that the service did not merit any form of tip or extra compensation - the whole thing was a bit weird. As for my cocktail-soaked friend, at the end of our meal, the restaurant manager suggested she remove the articles of clothing that required dry-cleaning (i.e. her entire outfit) and stated that she could return to pick up the items from the restaurant. Stunned, my friend replied that she did not particularly want to walk home naked under her trench coat and that she also had little desire to return to the restaurant for any reason, given the events described above. Suffice to say, none of us will be returning to Chotto Matte any time soon. The unprofessional service is surprising given that this restaurant is part of the same dynasty as the well-renowned Nobu restaurants. If something doesn't change at Chotto Matte, I don't see them lasting very long, no matter how good the food. read more

After searching high and low for a place to eat last night I was in London, I came across Chotto Matte. Being a massive sushi fan, I felt this would be the place for me and booked ahead. Once I had arrived, I was really impressed with how it all looked. Very modern and, to sound like an old woman, very "hip". We were quickly taken to our table and told about how it all works. We were told normally people order 5 dishes but that seemed a little too much for us. We had only really planned to have a bite to each and some cocktails. After sitting for a little bit longer than I usual, our waiter came round to take our food order. He started to walk off just as we gave our drinks order and told us he would come back. After that, we watched as he went round to every table bar us. It almost felt like because we didn't want to order 5 dishes, he didn't seem interested. The food itself was perfect and came out very quickly. Sadly several times we had to ask the other waiters about our drinks order and nothing ever seemed to come from it. Finally when we were on our last dish, we managed to get ahold of our waiter, who didn't apologise for forgetting our drinks or generally seemed bothered by us which was frustrating. Overall, the food was pretty amazing and the vibe inside is great but I was so disappointed with the service we received that night. read more

Good was good but the service and staff were lousy. When my friend asked why so slow on a Monday night with very few customers, the waitress insulted her! A nice night catching up with a beautiful friend ended with such rude indifference by their staff. She used to go there frequently and will never go back. read more

The food is very good and the service is realy fast even though it's crowded , but the manager was really rude I asked if they can make my sushi without caviar and seewead they asked the chef and he said no problem When it arrived it was with seewead and caviar so I reordered it and it came without seaweed but with caviar so I just bailed on the sushi , my friend also orders sushi without seewead it arrived with seaweed then cancelled and reordered but still came with seaweed . + I ordered chicken it was taking so long so I asked about it's status and they said you already ate it WTF? I didn't even get it so i talked with the manager and they ordered another one so when they were gonna give us the chicken the manager wanted to bring it himself and when he gave it to us he said we brought you another one and chuckles as if we were lying , man you don't need to be mean about it so when he saw typing this he gave us a free desert and the funny thing he got us the cheapest one read more

Our table was not ready for us when we arrived so we were asked to just wait there. There was a bar right there but we were not asked if we would like a drink while we wait. Strange. By the time we were finally shown to our table upstairs they were still having a staff meeting! Hmmm..... Anyway, now to the food: They have some nibbles they refer to as "something while you wait", we chose two options from here: the Taco Selection and the Cassava&Sweet potato chips. We did not like either. The seafood gyoza was too doughy and undercooked. The Following dishes were nothing special: The Pescaditos ( a selection of fried seafood), the arroz con verduras (fried brown rice with veg). The salmon and mackerel nigiri's were average but were ruined by the truly awful soy sauce. Unfortunately this also ruined the delightful FRESH wasabi. Shame. The dishes that were really delicious: the paperthin veg salad (wow!), the black cod, the tentaculos de pulpo (octopus so tender we were rendered speechless!), the lomo saltado (their own version of the Peruvian national dish in a roll). As for dessert, the chocolate fondant was better than the passion fruit brulee, we thought. Some dishes better than others. We shall be trying the other peruvian options in london soon. read more

Chotto Matte was a great surprise - an interesting combination of Peruvians and Japaneses cuisine. It has a really nice atmosphere, and the food is great. I highly recommend the warm beef fillet tataki (appetiser) - it's tasty and has a really unique flavor. Enjoy :) read more