12 Of The Best Neighbourhood Sushi Restaurants In London

Finsbury Park’s Dotori can be hard to get into, but once you’re through the door, you can count on a truly authentic experience. With a fusion menu that’s split between Japanese and Korean dishes, try pairing the gyoza and dragon rolls with haemultang, a spicy Korean soup filled with cod, squid, prawns, mussels, tofu and vegetables.

3 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, N4 2DQ

Visit Dotori.co.uk

Sumi is the elegantly casual little sister to sushi master Endo Kazutoshi’s Rotunda restaurant in White City. Named after Endo’s mother, Sumi offers a menu that takes its inspiration and direction from Japanese traditions while paying homage to the many people and places that have influenced Endo throughout his journey. Head chef Yasuda Akinori (previously of Zuma) serves up refined yet approachable dishes, with must-tries including fillet of beef ‘kushi-katsu’; sesame seaweed salad; and Japanese A4 wagyu 100g striploin; alongside an excellent selection of handmade nigiri, sashimi and temaki.

157 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W11 2RS 

Visit SumiSushi.com

Within Mayfair’s Prince Akatoki hotel, this restaurant specialises in Japanese-British fusion dishes. A great option for date night, the restaurant itself is dimly lit, while staff serve delicate plates of sashimi on ice, sushi and small plates from the grill like miso caramel chicken wings, pork belly teriyaki skewers and yuzu miso salmon bites. In addition to the restaurant’s grade A5 wagyu beef, diners can choose from the chef’s selection of sushi, or order sashimi and nigiri by the piece, including seabass, scallop, prawn and mackerel, topped with quail’s egg yolks or crispy onions.

50 Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, W1H 7FD

Visit Tokii.co.uk

Taka serves a small plate-led menu, focusing on hot and grilled dishes and sushi. Sharers include a yakitori omakase – a whole chicken broken down and grilled over hot coals to create a complete nose-to-tail eating experience. The selection of sushi focuses on quirky adaptations of long-standing favourites, such as kagoshima A5 wagyu sukiyaki with onsen eggs, and popcorn shrimp with daikon salad.

109 Marylebone High Street, Marylebone, W1U 4RX

Visit TakaLondon.com

The second restaurant from the team behind Taka, Maru offers diners an immersive experience, serving a 20-course farm-to-table tasting menu, presented omakase style to guests seated around an intimate counter. Maruyama previously worked in Tokyo, as well as at Nobu, Beaverbrook and Taka, and takes the omakase principle to the next level, with the chefs behind the counter serving all aspects of the meal to their guests, including the drinks, which they also make. The menu combines British ingredients with classical training and techniques, and changes daily.

18 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, W1J 7QH 

Visit MaruSushi.com

Last year, Temaki launched in Brixton Village’s Market Row, with a menu focusing on its Japanese namesake – handrolls. The lively bar features pared-back oak interiors and concrete flooring around a central communal chef's counter, set low and flat with nothing to divide the chefs and their guests. The chefs wrap fresh cuts of the finest sushi-grade fish – from tuna to ‘unagi’ eel and marinated salmon – in vinegared red rice and a crisp piece of seaweed, handing it directly to guests across the counter. The menu also offers a concise selection of small plates to accompany the handrolls, including toro sashimi with smoked salt and buckwheat and salmon skin crisps with chilli and salt. 

12 Market Row, Brixton, SW9 8LB

Visit Temaki.co.uk

Koji’s at-home boxes became a lockdown treat for many across south-west London. Now, the Fulham restaurant is open again and serving high-grade sushi in its dimly-lit dining room. Customers can look forward to the likes of Japanese-style fried chicken, crispy rice with spicy tuna, yuzu squid and kitchen signatures such as creamy rock ’n’ roll shrimp and black miso cod. There’s a great selection of wine and fizz, as well as sake and Japanese beer.

58 New Kings Road, Fulham, SW6 4LS

Visit Koji.Restaurant

If you’re in east London, this neighbourhood restaurant and cocktail bar is one to know. Issho-Ni means ‘together with’. Here, it’s all about catching up with friends over sharing plates, sake and cocktails like the ‘Shisorita’ (tequila, mezcal, shiso, agave, yuzu and lime). Build your own sushi bento box for a weekday lunch, or book in for bottomless brunch, which includes unlimited sashimi and maki rolls, followed by larger dishes like wagyu steak, katsu curry and salmon teriyaki. 

185 Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, E2 6AB

Visit Issho-Ni.com

This Japanese restaurant is known for putting modern twists on traditional, home-cooked dishes. The menu severs all the usual suspects – think melt-in-the-mouth sashimi; piping-hot karage (fried chicken); and succulent charred pork skewers – alongside fresh, inventive salads. Interiors-wise, it’s like a Pinterest board come to life, with brushed gold countertops, untreated wooden stools and delicate foliage on the tables.

144 Clarence Road, Clapton, E5 8EA

Visit UchiHackney.com