London’s Raffles at the Old War Office is home to a collection of some of the finest dining experiences in the city. We are huge fans of Mauro Colagreco and the Spy Bar, and recently had the opportunity to experience Kioku by Endo.
This Japanese fine dining restaurant combines stunning rooftop views of London and the legendary cuisine of sushi master Endo Kazutoshi. Trained in Japan and formerly head of the Zuma empire, Endo-san is a master of combining the freshest seafood from Britain with meticulously sourced ingredients from Japan, including rice and seaweed from his own farm.
We started with two of the Japanese-inspired signature cocktails, also made with proprietary ingredients developed in house. Both were minimalist and elegant, and both completely different. The negroni featured white vermouth and house-pickled rhubarb cordial and tasted much “cleaner” and lighter than a normal negroni. The rum-based cocktail was, in appearance and taste, the ultimate refinement of a Pina Colada. The obvious risk with a cocktail like a negroni before sushi is that it would assault your tastebuds and throw off everything following, and the bar seems to have dialed in the pre-sushi drinks so as not to do that.
Kioku offers several tasting menus and an à la carte menu. We chose to tailor our own experience more toward the seafood and sushi selections, starting with the grilled Sicilian red prawns, the Akami and Chūtoro Tartare, and the “Pastrami,” a house-cured tuna served over homemade focaccia. The prawns were our son’s favourite, with the rich juices from the head squeezed over the tails, while we preferred the cleaner but equally rich Chūtoro.
The sushi selections were among the best we have ever had, including at multiple Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in Paris. The attention to detail in the rice and soy sauces makes an obvious difference, and we especially loved that they served a more delicate soy sauce with the sashimi selections and a bolder version with the nigiri. The presence of brill, one of our favourite Cornish fishes, in the nigiri was a testament to Endo-san’s adeptness in working with British ingredients.
We rounded out our experience with the tagliolini, which featured king crab, brown crab miso and shiso butter. Again, the house-made pasta and house-made sauce made all the difference to the finished dish. The server explained that the sauce is made with the crab shells and brown meat and advised us to eat it quickly before the pasta soaked it all up.
The wine list featured an exceptionally broad selection of wines at nearly every price point, and more impressively, the largest selection of sake in Europe. You can also experience this collection of sake downstairs at the Kioku Sake Bar.
Two of the best kept secrets at Kioku by Endo is rooftop terrace, which offers outdoor dining in pleasant weather, and the private tower dining room with a giant round table seating 12 and record player, so guests can tailor the experience to their musical preferences, a feature that is echoed downstairs in the sake bar.
When we lived in Switzerland, Paris was our source for sushi and all things Japanese. Now we know we can find it right here in London, thanks to Endo-san.
Note: Kioku by Endo provided support for the reporting of this story.