New Michelin starred Japanese sushi restaurant for the 2023 Michelin Guide

TAKU is a new Michelin starred entry to the 2023 GBR and Ireland Michelin Guide and provides sushi counter dining. Menus start at £130 (17 courses) and there are additional, premium menus for £230 and £280 with more courses and ingredients accordingly. I tried the base-level £130 menu which was actually plenty enjoyable and in summary, provided a very good sushi experience. The produce came mainly from the UK and Spain and was prepared very well. Staff were attentive and accommodating throughout and this is a good option for sushi.

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TAKU Mayfair, which opened its doors in November 22, offers an impressive selection of sushi dishes. The meal started with sea bream with white soya sauce, which was fine, followed by some very pleasant akami bluefin tuna from the east coast of Spain that had been aged for 10 days, served with ginger and garlic. This was very good. Char-grilled sea bass was served on beautifully vineyard sushi rice (from Spain) and decorated with trout roe. When mixed altogether, this made a very well seasoned and enjoyable dish and was nicely done.

Next came a lobster claw adorned with a delightful egg yolk-based sauce, flavoured with vinegar and was another enjoyable dish. Turbot was then offered within a broth with thin noodles and is something not usually seen within a sushi menu but had good depth of stock flavour and with perfectly cooked turbot within and noodles that were just right.

Then came the parade of sushi dishes, including Yellowtail tuna, cuttlefish, trout, more wild turbot, Otoro (fatty tuna), scallop (which was sublime) and mackerel served within seaweed. All of these were served with very pleasant rice served at the perfect temperature together and were a complete pleasure. The only one I found slightly lacking was the mackerel which did not appear to have as much of a deep and oily mackerel flavour as has been enjoyed at say, Endo at the Rotunda. The pickled ginger that was served for cleansing the mouth in between courses was nicely done and it was good to have genuine wasabi for all courses which was sourced from the Wasabi Company in Hampshire. A seafood soup was also offered for all as part of the menu.

For dessert, the lemon pie is a refreshing option with pleasant biscuit crumbs on the base, but the real standout was the strawberry ice cream made with strawberries from South France, matched with a gorgeous vanilla-based custard. The financier with miso and nut was a great combination with a slightly umami/salty taste as a different take on salted-caramel for example, and whilst matcha is genuinely not my favourite flavour, it is traditional and this piece had very good texture.

Overall, I was very pleased with TAKU Mayfair and was not a disappointment. The food is well-presented with good interaction from the staff and the atmosphere is sleek and modern.

Food Grade: 78%