Ginza Onodera: High quality Japanese at a high price as Matsuri is reborn

A new name, a slick relaunch and a tantalising menu, but prices are too high
1/5
Ben Norum31 January 2018

When Matsuri launched almost 25 years ago, it was probably the best Japanese restaurant in London.

Competition for that title has swelled since then, but it remained a strong contender until the end, when it closed its doors for the final time late last year.

Welcome Onodera, Matsuri re-born following a six-month, and no doubt six figure, makeover. It now brandishes the same name as its sister-sites in Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai and New York and a feel that is lighter, brighter and all-round more modern.

The upstairs bar is a particularly improved proposition — slick, stylish and serving an interesting selection of signature cocktails made with Japanese ingredients alongside the classics.

Downstairs, it’s all about elegant Japanese food, from sushi and sashimi to tempura and robata-grilled meat and fish.

The classics are in safe hands, but to make the most of what’s on offer you’ll want to venture out of your sushi safe zone — the salmon maki here will be excellent, but you could get that elsewhere.

Try turbot kobujime usuzukuri, that’s thin slices of cactus-fed turbot marinated in kelp and served with a lineup of tangy accompaniments. It’s soft, salty and subtle — deliciously delicate. And as for the cactus part, we did ask: apparently these farmed fish are particularly partial to cactus and it leads to a more delicate flavour. And no, they’re not spiky.

From the robata grill, black cod is delicate yet umami-rich, while lamb chops are fiercely blistered and deliciously charred, caveman style.

Some of the best bits of Onodera are all about marvellous marbling. Fatty tuna, strewn with melting, taste-giving fat is a seductively rich high point, and kobe beef sirloin — pasty-faced but powerfully flavoured thanks its fat content — is so tender that it’s almost jelly-like. Rather luxurious jelly, given it comes in at £130 for 100g.

And that's the only problem. There is plenty more on offer, but while dainty portions are set on allowing you to indulge in variety your wallet is probably not.

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The kobe might be especially pricey, but the turbot is £20, the black cod £42 and the marbled tuna £5.50 a slice. There are also several tasting menus available, featuring several of the dishes mentioned here, which cost between £130 and £250. Even a small plate of grilled aubergine, drenched in an unstoppably tasty sweet miso sauce is £13.

Some relief comes in the form of a set lunch menu for £45, though that's still a rather indulgent midday meal.

So, in its new guise as Onodera could Matsuri once again be among the best Japanese restaurants in London? Yes, absolutely. But only if you’re happy to throw silly money at your meal.

Onodera: The lowdown

Final flavour: High quality Japanese at a very high price.

At what cost? The least expensive tasting menu is £130 at dinner.

Visit if you like: Yashin, Sake No Hana, The Araki.

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