Upmarket sushi and Mayfair private members’ clubs marry comfortably, but Endo Kazutoshi should always have his own place. Any sushi master who studied under some of Tokyo’s greats deserves one. And he only pitched up at Annabel’s because his White City restaurant closed due to a fire.
Anyway, Endo’s residency went swimmingly; I’d wager that he could’ve charged £245 twice over and still been full each night. Of all the fancy sushi in London, I like his best. He’s hilarious, charming, witty. With bleached blond hair he guides diners from Irish tuna to Cornish, later Spanish, which is by far the best, among countless other morsels of unrivalled wonderment — and even after 16 courses there’s no sense of tiredness or boredom. Champagne always comes fast; Endo’s own sake goes down quickly.
I was pleased to learn after dinner recently that he’s found a new home. We’ve had sake in the past but rarely does he mention anything permanent. On the way is a self-titled 10-seat omakase experience in a two-storey Chelsea townhouse, with a listening bar, called Moga, upstairs, and dining on the ground floor. Endo says he’ll root his sushi more steadfastly in tradition, culture. Still, I’ve no doubt he’ll continue to deliver caviar-topped langoustines with his telltale irreverent warmth.
And so here arrives a promising sushi counter called Endo — inspired by Tokyo in the 1920s, I’m told — and an intimate one that pays homage tohis grandfather, who once owned a restaurant in Yokohama, where Endo learned the basics. “I often ask myself what responsibility I have to carry on the traditions and culture of Japan in my work,” Endo says. “This is the next chapter. Behind every piece of sushi is the work of many hands — those who catch fish, grow the rice, and create the objects to serve it. This is a story I wish to tell.”
Endo will open in the autumn; endo-chelsea.com
