Cuisine: Japanese
Visit: July 2012
Price: high (the cost of ingredients is high and the chefs are acclaimed).
The house entrance to the restaurant
Chefs: Masaki Sugisaki, born in Japan and working at London’s Nobu was just a warm up for this talented chef. After he left Nobu he joined the head chef Keiji Fuku, another ex-Nobu, and Tomonari Chiba, the creator of Dinings’ concept. In the heart of the Dinings is Japanese tapas style modern food fused with European influences. This type of food served here is stemming from the traditional Izakaya food.
Food: Unique, surprising, modern and creative. Using the freshest British ingredients to create innovative Japanese dishes was the key to success of Dinings. Winning the no. 1 Japanese restaurant in London award by the acclaimed Zagat restaurant guide in 2010 confirmed the talent and creativity of the chefs.
It is better to order a number of dishes to share since most of them are quite small and it is more fun to try all these different plates full of for many of us yet unseen food. Every day there is a special menu presented on the board leaning at the back of the room. It varies according to the ingredients the chefs were able to get on that morning at London’s markets.
Sashimi specials
Regular features on the specials menu though are the sashimi specials, which we order every time we come here as they are amazing. The chefs combine various fish and seafood with sauces, vegetables, herbs and even caviar on large serving spoons widely used in Asia to eat soup. You just take the spoon, down all its contents into your mouth and just relish the interplay of the dish’s ingredients.
Tartar chips
The Mexican meets Japanese cousine in the Tartar chips. Like mini tortillas filled with raw rather than cooked meat and fish with beans, these are fun tapas to share. They would spark up any house party. The crispy shells are filled with fish, beef, lobster, crab or only with vegetables and sprinkled with some herbs and spices. A great appetizer to start with and excellent with fuller-bodied white wine.
The sushi
The sushis are also a well-matched teams of fish, rice and toppings. The chefs have endless varieties of this for me otherwise quite boring dish. Dinings is one of the few Japanese restaurants where I like sushi even more than the rolls. There are some interesting makis and even reverted makis, but none grabbed the attention of my palate.
New style salmon tataki
With the current popularity of new style sashimi, often fusing different cuisines with Japanese, the New Style salmon tataki with caviar would fit the trend. Yet, it is more than that. The thinly sliced salmon with olive oil, lime and cilantro is the base, yet adding caviar was a a smart upgrade of this widely featured dish. The saltiness and richness of the caviar balanced the freshness and zesty flavor of the fish.
Seared scallops
If you get as far as to the warm dishes, then I would recommend the Seared mushrooms, similar dish to the Mushroom tobbanyaki on the menu of many Japanese restaurants including Nobu. The Seared scallops are delicate, juicy and excellent seafood dish.
Drinks: The wine list and sake selection is sufficient with many Burgundies featuring on the list. We usually order a white Burgundy as it goes well with most of the food. For example a Chablis Premier Cru Les Vallons from Domaine Billaud-Simon, 2008 vintage with its mineral character goes very well with the seafood.
Atmosphere: Discrete, casual and personal. It is all about food, not about a fancy place to dine. You can wear anything except flip-flops and snickers as the restaurant is not strick on its dress code. It is a very small place with an upstairs bar-seating and maximum 10 small tables downstairs so it is better to keep your heated debate on strings as most of the other diners will surely hear it. The service is friendly, but at some point they tend to forget one or two dishes you ordered. It is not a big issue though since the food is so good and people tend to order many dishes at once so in this case it is human to forget something.
Opening hours: Lunch: Mon-Sat 12:00-14:30; Dinner: Mon-Sat 18:00-22:30
Address: 22 Harcourt Street, London, W1H 4HH
Contact: Tel: +44 (0)20 77230666
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