The omakase experience, run by a renowned two Michelin-starred chef, has become the most expensive restaurant thanks to its eighteen-course menu.
Sushi Kanesaka is set to open on July 1, in the Dorchester Collection’s 45 Park Lane. The highly regarded omakase experience will be run by sushi master Shinji Kanesaka, whose Tokyo restaurant of the same name holds two Michelin stars. Omakase is a style of dining meaning, “I’ll leave it up to you”, where the chef is in control of the menu, consistently changing and developing the menu and flavours, making it a unique experience for each guest. There are just nine seats at the restaurant and a private dining room, so reservations will be difficult to come by.
The 18-course menu has been carefully curated by Kanesaka using the traditional art of Edomae sushi and will use the finest ingredients, including Kanesaka’s own rice blend from Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture and fruit from Miyazaki. Joining the chef will be a team of eight chefs, sommeliers and hosts, along with a traditional okami-san, the host of the restaurant, who has been trained as a geisha in Japan. To match each course, the restaurant offers a variety of wine, beer, sake and whiskey pairings, the latter including varieties such as Yamazaki and Hakushu.
Preview menus suggest that dishes will not be Westernised in any way; instead, authentic sushi such as marbled kobe beef, chawanmushi (custard with grilled eel) and deep-fried lobster. The restaurant has been specifically designed by a Japanese master of restaurants, with the central bar made from a single carved piece of hinoki wood from Japan. There is also hand-cut glassware, vases by renowned ceramic artist Shiro Tsujimura and hinoki ice chests, first used in Japan’s Edo period to maintain the temperature of the fish. The new restaurant is widely believed to become the most expensive in the UK, as the extensive menu costs £420pp, while bookings for the private four-seat dining space are significantly higher.
Bookings for Sushi Kanesaka are already open on The Dorchester’s website, with sittings from July 1. However, due to popularity, the first currently available dates are from Tuesday July 4. Onwards.
