It’s boomtime for London’s handroll scene, with restaurants like Temaki and Kumori opening recently, and another spot soon to be launched by the Milk Beach team. Also adding to the nori-and-seafood mix? Miokuru, a new 20-seat counter restaurant coming to Soho in July. It’s by restaurateur Eliott Grabli, who made the move into restaurants after working in hospitality investment and operations.
When Miokuru opens on Warwick Street, it’ll apply Japanese technique to British seafood in dishes like pressed scallops and seared chalkstream trout sashimi. At the heart of the menu will be made-to-order handrolls filled with Cornish white crab and wild garlic mayo; dry-aged beef tartare with wasabi mustard and herbs; and glazed and pickled wild mushrooms. Grabli says that while the menu reads traditional on first glance, it’s doing combinations that are a bit more unexpected.
“London now has so many great Japanese spots that it’s tougher and tougher to be different or bring something new,” Grabli tells Broadsheet. “With that in mind … most of our ingredients come from here as a showcase and tribute to British fishermen, farmers and brewers which need it now more than ever.”
Local is similarly the focus for drinks. There’s saké – including a sparkling white koji – by Kanpai in London Bridge and beer from Walworth brewer Orbit. Other drinks will include a mezcal miso Margarita and a melon Sour, as well as rotating sakés on keg and natural wine.
Anchoring the restaurant is an open kitchen overlooked by diners sat at the counter. “The counter itself plays a huge part in the journey, it puts you right in front of our chefs and you’re also not lost somewhere in a huge dining room, potentially forgotten about between courses,” Grabli says. The room is finished with dark woods and hammered stainless steel counters, with ceramics and soft lighting warming up the hard surfaces. There’s also a “hidden bar [is] tucked away in the back of the restaurant, for customers who aren’t just yet ready for their next step”, Grabli says.
“We wanted to break away from more traditional sushi counters where everything is a bit stiff and bring a bit of looseness and raucousness into the mix.”
Miokuru opens at 6–8 Warwick Street, W1B 5LU, on July 13.
