Take, for example, in Mayfair, which costs £420 a head for its omakase offering (and yes, that is before drinks). Or how about Ikoyi at 180 Strand with its (very delicious) £380 Sushi Kanesaka tasting menu of 14-ish courses? But not every single Michelin star tasting menu will leave you destitute. We've collated a list of the top 10 most affordable Michelin star dinner tasting menus of at least four courses in London.
Tse was not raised cooking Japanese food and, in preparation for opening The Azuki Room, travelled to Tokyo to train at the Japan Culinary Institute. He told me a bit about this process, but where his resilience has really been tested is in London. The Azuki Room was due to open in 2025 but suffered a series of unfortunate events: the site was occupied by squatters, the premises were damaged, stock and equipment were stolen, and the specialist sake Tse bought in Japan was consumed.
Khan started Darjeeling Express as a pop-up at Soho pub The Sun & 13 Cantons in 2014 before taking on a permanent site in Kingly Court. She decided not to reopen there post-lockdown and chose instead to move the restaurant to a bigger site in Covent Garden, where she stayed until the summer of 2022. Following another pop-up stint, this time in west London, Khan moved Darjeeling Express back to Kingly Court at the beginning of 2023.
Lunch is the new dinner, and London has some of the best on offer. The last few years have - pardon the pun - given us a renewed appetite for it. Lunch is a wonderful time to shmooze clients or business partners in the week, of course - all the better if you can foot the bill with the company card.