Umu

Umu Restaurant Review:

Uma is discreet; it's tucked away on a Mayfair side street with an entrance you can easily walk past, and a door that slides open quietly. Inside, the décor is dark, with latticed walls, wooden floors and simple but elegant tables. Waiters explain the complicated menu, then serve you as assiduously as you could wish, which is as it should be because the restaurant is expensive. You realize why as plate after plate appears; this is high-class cooking, taken to a fine art as the Japanese do so well. If you're unclear about what to order, opt for one of the kaiseki set menus. There are six of them from eight to nine courses at £115. The saké list is 80-strong. On the à la carte menu, appetizers run from a cold selection of scallop with fresh apple compote to langoustine with amber tomato jelly, egg yolk vinegar and caviar, and hot items that include tiger prawn tempura with seasonal vegetables. Sashimi is exquisite. Then the mains appear offering an interesting choice. Japanese-style fish ‘n’ chips is Dover sole with seasonal root vegetables and cucumber sauce; or go for tender Wagyu beef, or saké steamed sea bass. If you're tempted but put off by the prices, try the set lunches from £25.