London,

Nizuni

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Charlotte Street, London, W1T 2NB

Phone: +44 (0) 20 7580 7447

Website: http://nizuni.com

Transport: Goodge Street

Cuisine: Japanese

The sound of silence: happily, Nizuni and its owner Linda Lee have replaced the sizzle of kebabs with the quiet of raw fish

In Charlotte Street, where once there was the sizzle of kebabs on charcoal grills in Cypriot tavernas, there is now the silence of raw fish. Down the road from Tsunami, diagonally opposite Roka, round the corner from Yoisho and not that far from Kikuchi (of which more later) has come Nizuni.

In the same ownership as the Korean barbecue restaurant Koba in nearby Rathbone Street, what has emerged as the Japanese Nizuni was a long time under wraps. The result, visually speaking, is an exercise in subtlety, restraint and decorative innuendo. At ceiling height sets of three wooden slabs of increasing dimensions allude to the spirit of pagodas. On the back wall of the deep narrow room is a carved wooden intaglio of cranes in flight. Decorative labels of sake bottles line up to become a picture. In the basement, which presently seems to be a retreat for the staff but will presumably come into its own as a sultry bar, there are representations of that most sensual part of the body (according to the Japanese), the exposed nape of a geisha’s neck.

Front of house both evenings I visited was a smiling chap with an uncanny resemblance to Gok Wan who maintained a similar attitude of warmth and welcome to all-comers, even though he seemed devoid of style tips. When we wandered in at about 9.30pm last Tuesday quite a few tables had been available but on the Friday, I was glad I had booked. The place was packed. We sat by the window and watched with some astonishment people sitting at tables outside in the rain; sheltered by a canopy, but, even so, rain was coming down in a spitefully slanting fashion.

The long list of appetisers offers much to divert including that reliable snack of edamame beans showered in sea salt to pod with your teeth as you make up your mind. One not to miss is kaisonosumisoae, a salad of different varieties of seaweed, some with the slithery texture you might anticipate, another done to a crisp. The white miso-based dressing adds to the sensation of vitamins dancing on your palate.

In nasudengaku a sweetish, caramel version of miso tops deep-fried aubergine halves resulting in an almost meaty richness that contrasts well, as we discovered, with tuna tartar flavoured and textured with the crunch of flying fish roe (tobiko) and creaminess of quail egg yolk. Even better than the tartar, in my view, is tuna tataki. Thin slices are cut from the fish steak seared in a hot iron pan and then dressed with shredded daikon, sprouted seeds and ponzu jelly.

Tempura moriawase (a mixture) of vegetables, prawns and white fish sported crisp dry batter that left not a trace of frying behind. Sashimi is priced as one or three pieces or is offered as a chef’s selection, which we rather feebly opted for — seven pieces at £11.20. If I remember rightly the array was salmon, sea bream or bass and tuna, not very exciting but perky. On another occasion I might add on — or have instead — eel (unagi), hokkigai (surf clam or, as they sweetly put it, surf calm) and sea urchin (uni).

From a wide selection of makizushi (ingredients rolled inside or around sheets of seaweed and cut into six pieces) we tried on the first occasion Softshell — deep-fried crab, cucumber, avocado and tobiko as participants — which was playful, colourful and beguiling; but on the following visit Vegetable, resembling pieces of cold leftovers from the fridge imprisoned in rice, was not a treat.

In seafood and meat chapters of the menu there are assemblies of chirashi and katsudon that invoke the restaurant’s name. Asking for them both, it was made clear by Gok that we were ordering too much food.

Nizuni katsudon, which we agreed to share, is breaded pork cutlet sliced and served on rice with hijiki (sea vegetable), lotus root, salad and a vegetable croquette (croquet in Nizuni speak). Gok was right. There was plenty there for two and it was filling in a slightly plodding way. On its own it would have made a satisfactory and staunch lunch, as would the noodle dishes that we didn’t dare request. The drinks list includes shochu cocktails and reasonably priced bottles of sake from £12 for 300ml.

I am glad that Nizuni is close to where I live but I also want to say how much I like Kikuchi (14 Hanway Street, W1, 020 7637 7720) not far away. It has absolutely no design credentials, waitresses like banshees who shriek out the orders to the sushi chef (who, with his sinister pencil moustache, looks like a baddie in a Japanese film noir), no appreciation of the shape or orchestration of a meal and is open evenings only, but has some of the most sparkling sashimi and authentic flavours outside of Japan.

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.