Wagyu Beef
Akira

Akira

101-111 Kensington High Street, London I-W8 5SA, United Kingdom

Fish • Sushi • Asian • Japanese


"When the sashimi course came out, a different staff member mentioned “beef croquet” while describing the dishes. This raised a red flag, so I asked another staff member about it. She reassured me that it was potato and leek croquet and definitely contained no beef, apologizing for the confusion. I felt a bit more at ease when I cut it open, as it looked like a typical croquet. However, when I started eating it, the flavor reminded me of beef, and it made me feel ill—I almost had to spit it out. My partner also tried the same dish but didn’t recall tasting any beef. Since I was cautious about beef, I was more sensitive to the taste. It's possible they fried it in the same oil; I'm not sure. We each ordered a robata and a sushi omakase, with five courses each, but many of the courses were the same, which was a bit disappointing. Because of the croquet incident and the similarities in the courses, I would say this event turned out to be a mixed experience. The food was mostly good, though some dishes were not quite up to par. While the pricing felt slightly on the high side, it is London, so I suppose that's to be expected. I was also disappointed that the staff didn’t check in on how we were enjoying the courses when taking dishes away, especially in a restaurant of this caliber. On a positive note, the cake was delicious, the sashimi was excellent, and the grilled items were good too. I did find it a bit odd that some of the items on the plate were just sauces; I wouldn't expect to drink sauce like a soup. As for the deep-fried tomato, I would have preferred chicken instead, but that’s a minor detail. I think it would be helpful for the restaurant to provide a menu card so that customers can enjoy their omakase experience, particularly if they have any allergies."

Peel's Restaurant

Peel's Restaurant

Hampton Manor, Shadowbrook Lane Hampton-in-Arden Solihull, West Midlands B92 0EN, B92 0AE, United Kingdom

Beer • British • Bakeries • Creative British


"We visit Peels about once a year, this is the third time we’ve chosen the tasting menu. We have always had a fabulous time. The format has changed so that you can choose either a 4 or 7 course tasting menu. There is now no a la carte option. We chose the 4 course tasting menu with the accompanying flight of wines. The flight of wines option was £55 each. In contrast to previous years, the wine served was very frugal. Between 4 people I doubt we enjoyed more 2 bottles of wine in volume, at the absolute most, though I appreciate you are getting the benefit of a wine description as it is being poured parsimoniously. The ingredient combinations for each of the four courses were quite safe bland, some of the textures not quite right. The meal was rescued a little by the chef’s additional extras which were more flavoursome than the main dishes. The environment the ambience were very enjoyable, though the service became a little ragged as the night wore on. We used gift vouchers which made a partial contribution to the meal (without going into detail) the handling of these was clumsy to say the least. Normally I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Peels but, on this experience given the expense, I couldn’t currently do so. In short, I suggest that Peels needs to up its game, especially where the food is concerned."

Engawa

Engawa

Unit 4, 2 Ham Yard, W1D 7LT, London, United Kingdom

Steak • Sushi • Asian • Japanese


"From walking in, the chefs greeting you, you feel how cosy it is; with only around sixteen seats, you feel treated that you have a place. Being shown to our table, we were given our menus, and whilst the menu is small you by no means feel limited. We went for the 3 course omakase; for us, the perfect amount of food. The first course, the fish in egg roll, with spicy mayo, highlighted the fish, but married it to other flavours without it being overpowering. By looks alone I was very impressed. The second course to me was the star of the show. Our tray with bites from salads, to sashimi, to deep fried elements, we’re exceptional. The salads small but each concentrating on key flavours; the sashimi high quality, cut to perfection notable mention goes to the toro; the deep fried elements, the rice cakes and croquets were texturally wonderful and had rich deep flavours. The soup after, to me, was confusing. A wonderful potato and dashi soup but felt marred by sharp elements of lemon pulp. Finally, we had what we thought might be the star of the show. For our mains we all ordered the Wagyu; however, I was slightly underwhelmed. Served on a hot stone, I just left thinking I’ve had better Wagyu. That wasn’t to say it was good but compared to the rest of the meal? I would have stuck with fish. That said, it came with a wonderful salad and dressing, rice cooked with mushrooms cooked to perfection, and charred vegetables. I left dreaming of the fish, but the meat? Not so much."