London loves counter dining almost as much as it does a new speakeasy. At newly opened Miokuru in Soho, you get both.
It’s easy to forget you’re in a city of more than nine million people when sitting on a bar stool shoulder-to-shoulder with a stranger while a chef places dishes directly into your hands. “I wanted to keep everything I love about the quality and service you find in a proper Japanese restaurant but strip away the environment we’ve come to expect around it,” Miokuru founder Eliott Grabli tells Broadsheet.
Grabli enlisted Bloomsbury studio Block1: Design (Hoko, Gunpowder Greek Street) to give the Warwick Street 20-seater a feel that’s more “modern, moodier and darker” than the traditional light timber and white walls of a sushi counter – though, like the others, every diner gets a front-row view of the action. While the capital has no shortage of handroll restaurants – Temaki and Kumori both opened recently, and another arrives this summer – Grabli insists Miokuru is a “welcoming, unexpected and intriguing” addition to the London dining scene. Much of this is down to its backroom bar.
Hidden behind the main dining space is Eki, a secret bar where guests can enjoy local beers, Japanese-inspired cocktails like the Palume (which blends Japanese apricot liqueur with grapefruit soda and tequila) or fresh-from-the-keg sake from Kanpai. London’s first and only sake brewery, Bermondesy’s Kanpai shares the same approach as Miokuru: it leverages Japanese techniques to deliver distinctly British craft drinks to Londoners. “Every bottle we pour is a chance to put [a small producer] in front of someone new, and that visibility is how the craft survives” Grabli says.
This deep commitment to curating the best of British land and sea is continued on the food menu. “I think we’ve forgotten how good what’s on our doorstep actually is. This country has extraordinary livestock and some of the most productive waters in Europe around it, but we don’t always give it the credit it deserves,” Grabli says. The restaurant’s protein and produce come from a range of top suppliers like Flying Fish Seafoods – which promises Cornish fish “from ship to plate in 48 hours” – and greengrocer Shrub, plus there’s freshly grown wasabi from The Wasabi Company and meat from Yorkshire via Swaledale Butchers. As well as the signature rolls – of which the Cornish crab, seared dry-aged beef with kombu and pepper, and spicy yellowfin tuna are must-orders – the pressed hand-dived scallops drizzled with a punchy chilli sesame oil will undoubtedly become a fast favourite.
“Soho is the epicentre of London. Restless, generous, full of great neighbours who look out for each other,” Grabli says. “If Miokuru becomes the answer when someone’s looking for a quick bite, a date spot, or a couple of drinks hidden away in Eki, then we’ve done our job.”
Miokuru
7–8 Warick Street, W1B 5LU
Hours:
Mon to Wed 5pm–10pm
Thu to Sat midday–3pm, 5pm–10.30pm
Sun midday–4pm
