Paul Winch-Furness / Photographer
Get seduced by the sophisticated chic Japanese restaurant that perfectly pairs elegant light Japanese cuisine with South American flavour.
Just off Parson’s Green on the New King’s Road you’ll find one of London’s best kept secrets – sophisticated and chic Japanese restaurant Koji. With manicured topiary boxes at the entrance and huge windows offering a glimpse inside at the plush interiors with big feathered statement ceiling lamps hanging above the dimly-lit, elegant cocktail bar, it’s hard not to feel seduced by Koji.
Offering some of the best cocktails in London, a beautiful sushi bar where you can watch the Koji sushi chefs in action, and a menu of delicious sharing plates, Koji is the prefect place for post-work cocktails, romantic dinner dates, or a night out with friends.
Koji’s menu offers elegant, light and contemporary Japanese dishes with South American influences, carefully put together by talented chef Rolando Ongcoy and ex-Nobu head sushi chef Nobuhisha Takahasi.
We sat near the the sushi bar towards the back of the moodily-lit restaurant and sipped our cocktails, basking in the sophisticated, sultry yet comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. One of the handsome waiters came over to help translate the menu to us (maki, temaki, tataki, nigiri, sashimi.. ) and we took his recommendations – trying a selection of different flavours, starting with a selection of cold tapas, then hot tapas, a main course and a dessert.
We were given a bowl of addictive edamame beans covered in maldon sea salt flakes to nibble on whilst we waited for our first sharing dish – a selection of cold Japanese style tapas, including slices of delicious lightly seared tuna tataki with a moorish dipping sauce. Next came our hot tapas – the most amazing japans style grilled dumplings (called gyoza) which were light and fragrant. Every dish and flavour we tried tasted even more fresh and flavoursome than the one before, but the star of the show was definitely the sticky miso black cod which beautifully married sweet and savoury flavours in a taste sensation.
To polish off the meal, we were presented with their heavenly signature creme brûlées and the cocktail menu – Oh, go on then, just one more…