Five to try: Groovy Japanese

DININGS
22 Harcourt Street, W1
(020 7723 0666) £35
Chef/proprietor Tomonari Chiba worked for a meaningful number of years for Nobu Matsuhisa. His tiny, minimalist, brutally decorated restaurant seems a quiet riposte to the notion of It girls and the Nobu "I'll put you on hold 'til you're more famous" bookings performance. The food is inventive without straying into the region of daft and no liberties are taken with sushi and sashimi, which are impeccable. To the surprise of the Georgian terrace house in which it is located, the ground floor holds the sushi bar, the basement the few tables.

SAKI BAR & FOOD EMPORIUM
4 West Smithfield, EC1
(020 7489 7033) £45
The phrase state-of-the-art can be applied to the noodle machine in the ground-floor deli spewing out the freshest of noodles for takeaway and also the downstairs paperless lavatory which has been known to have customers lingering a long time. More importantly, the preparation of the evolved dishes here is first rate, the cocktails and kobachi (tapas) in the bar sexy, and the restaurant menu laid out not only with vegetarians and vegans in mind but also those who weigh up carbs against proteins.

BINCHO YAKITORI
2nd Floor Oxo Tower, Barge House Street, SE1 (020 7803 0858) £33
Bincho is high-grade, much-prized oak-based charcoal. Chefs in black duds tend a half-dozen grills where food on sticks — yakitori when poultry pieces are involved, kushiyaki for the rest — is carefully turned and timed, the marinades flaring into likeable lacquers.
The trick is to order enough rice
and vegetable dishes around the skewers so as not to tire of their anxious-to-please sweet/salty glazes. This site with its captivating view of the Thames and St Paul's has defeated many enterprises. Bincho flourishes.

MIKA
78 Tavistock Street, W11
(020 7243 8518) £32
No relation, insofar as I can tell, to the Beirut-born pop singer, this compact, glossy restaurant joins the noble long-standing Inaho in Hereford Road in supplying sushi, sashimi and Japanese vibes to Notting Hillbillies. In the current climate more of them may take advantage of Mika's sushi classes held on the last Sunday of every month. They are conducted by Alan Jones, trained by a sushi master, who awards a bottle of premium sake to the winner of the maki roll speed trial.
Prices estimate the cost of a meal with sake for one.

Prices estimate the cost of a meal with sake for one