Kouzu – Review

It is fascinating to watch the London Japanese restaurant scene mature with chefs from top-end joints starting to branch out on their own. Ex-Zuma head chef Ross Shonhan has added a rock’n roll vibe to the burgeoning West End ramen noodle scene with Bone Daddies and brought stuffed Taiwanese buns to our attention in Covent Garden at Flesh & Buns. At Kouzu another Zuma alumni, chef Kyoichi Kai from Kyushu in southwestern Japan, has decided to stick to the high-end of the market, and we have been asked along to review.

Situated a stone’s throw from the hustle of Victoria Station, the restaurant sits on the Belgravia boundary with interiors that are a mixture of functional Japanese restraint and luxe glamour. There is a mezzanine sushi bar and a ground-floor cocktail bar as well as the main restaurant area which gives a flexibility to your dining options; new lunchtime and pre-theatre menus will add to that.

The menu is in the same ballpark as Dinings, one of my favourite Japanese London restaurants, and offers a contemporary take on the cuisine fusing traditional elements with western influences and produce.

We order a couple of cocktails; the Yuzu Bellini (£12) is dry and crisp with the sharp, citrus tones of the yuzu perfectly balanced with the fizz. A Pink Grapefruit Margarita (£9,50) is similarly well-mixed and unsweetened and both are perfect for wetting our appetites.

You could coat my Chelsea boots with truffle and I would probably eat them. Yellowtail with truffle dressing (£15) was really delicious, the delicate fish marinaded and infused with the gorgeous flavour of the tastiest of tubers and set off by the allium crunch of the micro-salad garnish.

My dining partner announced that her foie-gras and spinach with teriyaki wasabi (£12) was a phenomenal dish. The seared foie had great flavour and the teriyaki wasabi sang with an umami spicy, savoury richness.

Beef fillet steak (£31) was really tender  and full of flavour coming with a deeply reduced red wine sauce, and beautifully crisp veg.

Roasted Black cod (£28) had a subtle citrus flavour that brought out the sweetness of the fish. I love black cod and this is a different take to those early iterations of the dish available at Hakkasan and Nobu that established it as a London staple.

The desserts at Kouzu are fascinating combining unexpected savoury elements with the sweeter. Goji tea creme caramel had an almost seaweed flavour-it was light and frothy but offset by the rich sweetness of the salt caramel ice cream.

A honey and sesame plate with sesame ice-cream had savoury textures barely sweetened by the honey.This was a very satisfying dish.

There is a seriousness of purpose about Kouzu that I really enjoyed and a commitment to flavour,texture and composition (Kouzu means composition in English) that manifests itself through the whole experience. It is a more intimate space than Zuma but less cramped than Dinings and delivers a level of dining equal to both of them. If you are interested in high-end contemporary Japanese food and have a budget you should try it.