Sushi Atelier

High quality contemporary sushi bar

Sashimi omakase

Located on Great Portland Street, Sushi Atelier is a brand new opening from the same people behind Chisou, a high end Japanese restaurant group with sites such as Mayfair and Knightsbridge. Sushi Atelier is a small sushi bar with two floors, offering a contemporary take on sushi, with plenty of unusual elements, such as parmesan cheese and truffle. Far from your classic sushi bar, Sushi Atelier also has a small range of hot dishes, from gyoza to bbq eel, as well as more international items but with a Japanese twist, such as ceviche and carpaccios. Good quality sushi is hard to come by in London, and it normally comes at a premium price, but even the most expensive omakase set only came at £24, which is pretty good value for money.

Razor clam ceviche

Sushi in the making

Fatty tuna, scallops and snow-crabs

We kicked off with some smoked razor clam ceviche, the smoky and whisky element somehow worked like magic with the smoothness of the shellfish whilst remained light on the palate, a really impressive dish. The prawns and asparagus roll was loaded with some very fresh prawns and topped with a piece of bbq eel, however I felt a little tone down on the use of teriyaki sauce would be ideal as the sweetness took over the roll. On to the main event, the sushi omakase set, and it was pretty special. The rice was at a good temperature, finely crafted right in front of us with great attention to detail, and each pieces of sushi came with individual garnishes. I was a massive fan of the melt in your mouth fatty tuna, it was rich like if you were eating a piece of top quality fillet steak. Other stood out items were the snow-crab and scallop. 

Prawns and asparagus roll with BBQ eel

Sushi omakase

To sum it up, I found the sushi quality at Sushi Atelier was pretty dame good value for money, this is high end sushi done at an affordable price, and personally I found it is lot more superior than places like Roka and Stick & Sushi. I had the privilege to dine at the counter in front of the sushi chef, watching him work was like watching an artist crafting beautiful art pieces. I visited on its soft launch day so I guess Sushi Atelier will only get better going forward, if you are a fan of top notch sushi, this place is well worth a visit without needing to pay sky-high prices.

Food 3.5/5

What I paid: 
£31 per head (soft launch offer)

Average cost without drinks and services:
£35

114 Great Portland St, Fitzrovia, London W1W 6PA

http://sushiatelier.co.uk/