Tucked just off the main Covent Garden piazza, this is the second UK offering from the Danish founders and definitely not their last. It's not just the pleasingly sibilant name that has cast its spell over London, these guys mean real sushi business.
Our first impressions were great: a sleek, sexy black frontage conceals the culinary equivalent of Narnia - an up and down delight of sweeping tables, exposed brickwork and achingly moody lighting. Greeted at the door by two very smiley waitresses, we were whisked through to our (booked!) table and presented with four (yes, four) menus each. For two of the most indecisive girls on the planet, this could have been a total nightmare (and it was for a bit as there's so much choice to work through) but we were captivated by some of the most beautiful food photography we've seen.
A friendly waitress guided us through the options and finally we opted for the Table for 2 from the set menu: salmon, shrimp, salmon New York and tuna nigiri; black Alaska, sparkling tuna, mamma mia and dreamy California uramaki; Gypsy big futomaki; chicken breast with chilli, chicken tsukune and wrapped asparagus yakitori (the sticks in the name) and edamame beans, with a 'side' of marinated duck breast in rice paper with avocado, coriander, lettuce and goma dressing from the a la carte menu. The sushi came out first and we dove right in to the fresh fish, dipping into the soy that was attentively topped up by the waitresses, before being presented with the sticks which we'd totally forgotten about at the time but I can't stop thinking about now. This food has seriously upped the ante for all sushi places everywhere.
Washed down with a bottle of Kirin Ichiban (a Japanese lager) each, we tore ourselves away from the hugely tempting desserts with a chocolate Old Fashioned. And agreed that Sticks'n'Sushi had shot straight to the top of our list and was worth a return visit as soon as we could make it back. So here's to next time - skal.
No comments
Post a Comment