Let me get a couple of things out of the way right up front: 1. I grade on a curve. If you're a pub I grade one way, if you're a fine restaurant I grade another. 2. I don't mind dropping 90 quid on a dinner if the experience makes it worthwhile.
Unfortunately, this place disappoints on both counts.
When I stopped at the desk I was offered the choice between Maze or sushi. I opted for sushi after being told the restaurant had just opened and was a first for Gordon Ramsay.
Upon being seated at the sushi bar I was greeted by a very friendly waitress who highlighted the tasting menu, the ala carte and, most importantly, the cocktail menu. The cocktail menu wasn't anything overly special, and the in-house drinks were mostly vodka based so I went with a negroni. I moved on to the ala cart menu and made my selections of a snow crab "salad", a roll, and a few sashimi items.
At this point I'd love to be able to refer you to the pictures I took. But the place was way too dark for pics sans flash. In fact, the place was too dark to see your food without a flashlight. When I go for sushi in a nice restaurant I expect to be able to see and enjoy the artistry - great sushi embodies the phrase "eating with your eyes". As for the sushi itself, it was great. Not amazing, but great.
And that's really where the place falls flat. If they spent a little less time trying to be hip and a little more time on trying to be an amazing sushi restaurant they'd have something special. As it is, it's not worth the price tag. read more