Name: Wabi
Address: 36-38 Kingsway, London, Holborn, WC2B 6EY, UK

This new Japanese restaurant with ex-Nobu Scott Hallsworth at the helm opened its first branch in Horsham, West Sussex in 2010. Called Wazi Izakaya – fitting as “izakaya” means drinking hole, and it’s located in a pub – it’s been a big success in this market town, as well as attracting local-ish celebs like Jordan. But after glitzy Sushisamba, HKK and Chrysan, is there room for another high-end Asian restaurant in London?

The name Wabi comes from ‘wabi-sabi’, an artistic movement that revolves around the notion of imperfect or austere beauty. Wabi is sleek, and while it’s not OTT it’s not exactly austere. There is a fountain pouring down a wall by the entrance, and a staircase leads down to the restaurant, which is vast. As well as the dining area there is a lounge bar at one end and a sushi bar (overseen by fellow ex-Nobu chef Taiji Maruyama) at the other, with seating facing an exposed kitchen.

The menu consists of small plates to share - starters and main courses are passé, don’t you know - and is divided into cold, crunchy, BBQ, fire roasted and warm dishes; the suggestion is to order one from each.

Some of it is really good, like the incredibly creamy corn croquettes, with salad sprinkled with salmon roe and a wasabi butter that’s the very definition of umami, rather than having the fiery kick you’d expect. Soba pancakes, made from buckwheat and filled with shredded king crab, a chunk of avocado and yuzu mayonnaise, are very good too. The toro, sliced fatty tuna belly, is exquisite. The line caught sea bass with sake, soy, truffle and butter – a dressing my half-Japanese companion remarks tastes a bit like teriyaki - is perfectly cooked.

The BBQ pork belly in buns with spicy peanut soy sauce and cucumber pickle are recommended by the waitress; the pork is a little too charred, but the combination of meat with crunchy peanut sauce (which is more sweet than spicy) and slices of tangy cucumber is a good one. The wagyu and foie gras gyoza are very tasty, but using these luxurious ingredients minced and stuffed in a couple of dumplings bumps the price up to £17.

The “crunchy sushi” is wrapped in crispy seaweed cones, and served in shot glasses, its most remarkable aspect being presentation. The same goes for the Zen Garden, a dessert that looks great, but its hotchpotch elements of green tea and avocado sponge, a slightly tart, bright red jelly, and sesame sugar don’t quite work. The chestnut dorayaki on the other hand is delightful, with two sweet, chestnut pancakes sandwiched together with shiro-an, a syrupy bean paste, and served with a scoop of very moreish vanilla and salted caramel ice cream.

And the cocktails here are very good too. The Asakusa is for fans of robust drinks, as it’s a concoction of absinthe, sake and cognac, sweetened with fig liquor and served in a whisky tumbler with ice. The Fig Tree is sweeter and refreshing, made with tequila, passionfruit, herb-based liquor Yellow Chartreuse, plum wine, grapefruit juice and more fig.

Hallsworth spent several years at Nobu London before being picked by Nobu Matsuhisa to open the Melbourne restaurant. In between Nobu and Wabi he worked at Mirai in Dubai and Bahrein, so he’s accustomed to cooking flashy, aesthetically pleasing dishes. Some of the dishes at Wabi suffer a little for their art, but there is some genuinely creative cooking here.

Wabi

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Booking Advisable

Wabi Picture Gallery

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