The Araki is a
sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
restaurant founded by Japanese chef Mitsuhiro Araki which opened in London in 2014. It was awarded two stars in the 2016
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...
for the UK and Ireland, before being awarded three in the 2018 guide, making it the first Japanese restaurant to win three stars in Europe.
In the 2020 guide, it lost all its 3 stars following the departure of head chef Mitsuhiro Araki.
Description
Chef Mitsuhiro Araki had previously run a restaurant in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
called
Araki
Araki may refer to:
People
* Araki (surname) (荒木)
* Hirohiko Araki (荒木 飛呂彦), a Japanese manga artist, fashion designer and illustrator
* Nobuyoshi Araki (荒木 経惟), a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist also known by t ...
for which he held three
Michelin stars, but chose to close it in February 2013 in order to pursue a new challenge.
[ He had considered New York, Paris, and Singapore, but chef ]Joël Robuchon
Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. ...
suggested London to him. The move took three years to organise.[
The interior of the restaurant, designed by the ]Takenaka Corporation
is one of five major general contractors in Japan. Takenaka provides architectural, engineering, and construction services and has its headquarters located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. Takenaka has eight domestic offices in Japan with ...
, features a counter made from 200-year-old cypress wood gifted to Araki by Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto
is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...
.[ That counter is divided from the kitchen by a pair of green curtains,]Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
.[ There are only fifteen seats – nine at the counter and six in a private dining room.]set menu
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
consisting of three starters usually, followed by sushi and dessert,[ with two sittings taking place each evening.]salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
sushi, Cornish squid, and langoustine
''Nephrops norvegicus'', known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, ' (compare langostino) or ''scampi'', is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is n ...
s. Other dishes include similar designs to those he used at his previous restaurant, but from sources within Europe, such as his signature tuna sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
, in which he serves three different cuts of the fish.[
]
Reception
Chef Jason Atherton
Jason Atherton (born 6 September 1971) is an English chef and restaurateur. His flagship restaurant Pollen Street Social gained a Michelin Star in 2011, its opening year. He was the Executive Chef at Gordon Ramsay's Michelin starred ''Maze'' i ...
called the food at The Araki "mind blowing" and said that it was as good as any restaurant in Japan. The Araki was named the best Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
restaurant in London by ''Tatler
''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...
'' magazine in their 2015 restaurant guide. In September 2015, The Araki was awarded two stars in the 2016 Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...
for the UK and Ireland. It was one of two Japanese restaurants in London to be elevated to the two-star level that year, the other being Umu, which is located a short distance away from The Araki. The Araki was awarded a third star in the 2018 guide, announced in October 2017. It was then stripped of all 3 stars in the 2020 guide.
See also
* List of Japanese restaurants
This is a list of notable Japanese restaurants. Japanese cuisine is the food—ingredients, preparation and way of eating—of Japan. The traditional food of Japan is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes, each in its own utensil, with an ...
* List of sushi restaurants
This is a list of notable sushi restaurants. Sushi is the Japanese preparation and serving of specially prepared vinegared rice combined with varied ingredients such as chiefly seafood (often uncooked), vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits ...
* "Araki
Araki may refer to:
People
* Araki (surname) (荒木)
* Hirohiko Araki (荒木 飛呂彦), a Japanese manga artist, fashion designer and illustrator
* Nobuyoshi Araki (荒木 経惟), a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist also known by t ...
" – in Tokyo, Japan
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Araki, The
2014 establishments in England
Restaurants established in 2014
Japanese restaurants in London
Sushi restaurants in the United Kingdom