Eat Out London!Sushi Tetsu
Sushi Tetsu is a traditional Japanese Sushi Bar owned and run by husband and wife combination, Harumi and Toru Takahashi. Specialising in Sushi and Sashimi, Chef Toru has a vision of bringing a relaxed sushi experience to the hidden alleyways of Clerkenwell, London.
Sushi Tetsu - Traditional Japanese Sushi Bar
Sushi Tetsu is a traditional Japanese Sushi Bar owned and run by husband and wife combination, Harumi and Toru Takahashi.
Specialising in Sushi and Sashimi, Chef Toru has a vision of bringing a relaxed sushi experience to the hidden alleyways of Clerkenwell, London.
Nicknamed 'Tetsu' when an apprentice working in Kobe, his belief is to source the finest ingredients to create mouth watering dishes, whilst making a connection with each of his diners.
For the best Sushi experience, leave your dining in his hands.
Reviews and related sites
Bitten&Written | Restaurant Review | Sushi Tetsu
food
Sushi forces you to make a serious effort to find the good stuff.andarrived last month in the tiny alleyway in Farringdon with space for so few covers it requires a double-take.
Atyou’re a part of the dance, you’re on stage with the other diners, Toru and Harumi loving every moment - if the staff are having a good time, chances are you’ll be having a good time too.
Blowtorch comes out for this one, one of many intermittent moments of Toru Theatre – cheeky smile as he sees the squid curl up adds to the fun.
- After the masterclass that precedes the roll served at the end, this fades into the background and feels pedestrian (even though clearly not), and the hit of menthol from a piece of shiso leaf in each piece starts a conversation with Harumi about the little flourishes added by Toru.
It’s a sushi improv gig as Chef Toru gauges each placing, where in the meal they’re at, and fires into action.
Sushi Tetsu - Traditional Japanese Sushi Bar
food
Sushi Tetsu is a traditional Japanese Sushi Bar owned and run by husband and wife combination, Harumi and Toru Takahashi.
Specialising in Sushi and Sashimi, Chef Toru has a vision of bringing a relaxed sushi experience to the hidden alleyways of Clerkenwell, London.
Nicknamed 'Tetsu' when an apprentice working in Kobe, his belief is to source the finest ingredients to create mouth watering dishes, whilst making a connection with each of his diners.
For the best Sushi experience, leave your dining in his hands.
Review of London Japanese restaurant Sushi Tetsu by Andy Hayler ...
food
Then came a pretty sashimi plate made up of yellowtail, salmon, sweet shrimp, akami tuna, chu-toro tuna, snow crab, squid and razor clam; these were all in lovely condition, the razor clam and squi without even a hint of chewiness.
This was followed by sushi of tuna that been marinated in soy, then seared jumbo shrimp, then a sushi version of the turbot with monkfish liver pate.
The final sushi was lovely seared o-toro tuna topped with a little citrus pepper.
After this was mackerel roll and then a nori roll of fatty tuna with seaweed, rice and pickled radish.
I could not resist a final eel sushi before the traditional tomago (layers of sweet cooked egg) to finish.
Restaurant review: Sushi Tetsu, London EC1 | Life and style | The ...
food staff
If I were one of those who believed in the capricious old sod, then I would mark out Sushi Tetsu in London's Clerkenwell as a holy place.
Takahashi, who picked up the nickname "Tetsu" while as an apprentice in Kobe, served for five years as sushi chef at Nobu in London, but don't let that put you off.
The nearest thing to adornment was the juice of the aromatic Japanese citrus ponzu, brushed lightly across pieces of sea bream.
On to these pillows, formed by hand in front of you, go sea bream, or slightly funky strips of cuttlefish with shiso leaf, or a piece of squid which has been so finely sliced half the way through by his knife as to look like bleached-out marquetry.
Someone once told me that defining properly good sushi from the also-rans was a tricky business; the food was so very simple that difference could be measured in tiny percentage points.
Dinner at Sushi Tetsu, London's most exclusive restaurant?
busyness food reservations staff value
I’d finally bagged a (single) seat at London’s most exclusive restaurant.
The owners don’t give interviews, they don’t like articles being written (sorry but I waited 18 months and paid a substantial wedge so I will be breaking with this protocol) and diners are given strict rules regarding photography; you’re allowed to take photos of the food directly in front of you and nothing else.
What makes Sushi Tetsu truly exclusive however is the sheer awkwardness of getting a seat.
Every few days it pings out a crumb of hope, generally in the form of ‘We have one seat available tomorrow at 5:30pm.’
Star of the show, chef Toru Takahashi, nicknamed ‘Tetsu’, then begun service.
Sushi Tetsu | Restaurants in Clerkenwell, London
food
There are half a dozen hotly-competed-for seats in this tiny Clerkenwell sushi-paradise, and you'll pay for the privilege of sitting there - but it's worth it.
Chef Toru Takahashi (ex-Nobu) is centre-stage behind the imposing pale wood counter, where he carefully compacts glistening grains of rice into plump pellets before topping them with shimmering slivers of fish.
Each nigiri is inspected with a contemplative look and finished with a dab of soy, sprinkling of sea salt or lick of flame from a blowtorch before being placed on a glossy bamboo leaf in front of the diner.
For the full experience, go for the omakase menu, and let the chef choose what’s freshest that day.
Highlights of a recent visit included the best boiled prawn nigiri we’ve encountered; blanched on the outside, then split down the middle and blowtorched, it was sweet, smoky and barely cooked through.