Nippon Kitchen

Stylish, always buzzing specialist sushi and cocktail venue, dishing up some top-quality hot specials too.

The 2018/19 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £7.95 (+p&p).

It’s a brave Japanese independent that sets up shop right next door to a certain well-kent international noodle chain, but sushi-and-hot-plates restaurant Nippon Kitchen exudes a slick confidence from the get go. The vast, wood-panelled dining hall is modern and constantly buzzing with a young clientele here for the sashimi platters and innovative cocktails – lychee and sake makes for a dangerously drinkable martini. The menu is very much a greatest hits collection, with confirmed national favourites like chicken curry katsu and prawn gyoza alongside more unusual options such as panko-coated sweet potato cakes and ochazuke sticky rice topped with a green tea soup. The kitchen comes primed with an authentic teppan grill, perfect for searing fresh sea bass or Scottish sirloin with your choice of fruity ponzu or warming ginger niku sauces. Sushi has its own dedicated menu so don’t leave without indulging – fatty mackerel sashimi come unexpectedly slightly pickled and flying fish roe nigiri pops in the mouth. Get a gang together to tackle the epic 38 piece Nippon Moriawase set to fully appreciate arguably the tastiest sushi in the city – certainly the prettiest.