For one reason or another, I’ve never found London to be a good place for sushi. If I had to guess, it’s some combination of immigration (50,000 Japanese are estimated to live in the UK, versus over 1.3 million in the US) and fish sourcing (typical sushi staples are not as common in waters close to London). That said, Dinings, which is located in the trendy Marlyebone area of London, proves that there is always an exception to every rule.
The Food certainly has no issue with freshness. Take the Toro for instance – once you take it off the spoon, I was able to literally cut two halves with my chopsticks. There was none of those stringy pieces that come when you saw fish with a non-serrated edge – this toro was of such high quality – and filled with so much marbled fat – that it cut perfectly. Other highlights included Japanese tacos that avoided the typical mistake of mixing mexican concepts (like salsa and guacamole) with sushi – picture instead deconstructed in a mini hard shell (picture right).
The Atmosphere was also a pleasant surprise. The entrance to Dinings is a fairly unassuming storefront with the sushi bar upstairs. Downstairs, tucked away, is the main dining room which is small enough to be considered special, while big enough to accomodate larger groups that want to enjoy a special sushi experience in a city usually devoid of them.
