Japanese

Television Centre, 8th Floor The Helios, 101 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FR

London, England

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Overall Rating (out of 10): 9,5

Stand Out Dish: we could not choose

Meal Time: 3.00hrs

Ave Cost Per Head (excl. drinks): £195

Summary: a contender for our best restaurant experience of 2021 that matches the hype and fully deserves the price tag

Would I Go Back? Yes

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Endo is located atop Television Centre in White City which was the previous headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Approaching the restaurant from white city at night Endo sits atop the tower like an illuminated candle. It’s byline “Sushi in the Clouds” is very apt.

We were greeted at the entrance and taken up a lift which opens out onto an intimate and beautiful 10 seater restaurant dominated by a 200-year-old hinoki wood counter that connects the dinners with Endo and his team. Above the counter is a flowing wool ceiling decoration giving the impression of a river. Behind the counter is a central reservation with a knife stand showing chef endo’s five different sushi knives culminating with his largest knife used to cut tuna down to size.

This review is sadly lacking in photos as we were asked by chef Endo to refrain and concentrate on the experience. This was good advice due to a combination of the intimate theatre of only serving 10 diners and a large majority of the dishes benefitting from being consumed as soon as they were handed to you.

Drinks
We started off proceedings with two excellent cocktails, a strawberry johnny walker and an Okinawa margarita. The strawberry johnny walker had an intense sweet strawberry flavour and huge ice cube. We had a second round of cocktails consisting of an melon and rice salt cocktail which was excellent.

The wine list is short and focused offering a choice between sake and a selection of red and white wines. We opted for a white Chardonnay which carried us through the meal nicely.

Imbibe Summer from the Bar
When a tasting menu starts off with an amuse-bouche origin story involving the King of Jordan you know you are in for something different.

During the Pandemic Endo and the team were invited to cook for the King of Jordan and were able to take home some olive oil made from the Jordanian Royal Olive Grove.

They combined this with an intense tomato water broth to create a palate cleansing glass to kick the evening off.

Cornish Suiji with Seasonal Herbs
A light dashi broth was made with Cornish seawater and had a good balance of contents and umami. Think a clear miso soup.

Brill Kobujime (Nigiri)
Before we had our first piece of nigiri Endo informed the diners that all the rice he uses comes from his own rice paddy in Japan and he had recently been to visit it returning with c. 60kg. Over the course of the meal we were to be treated to 7 different methods of cooking / preparing rice.

A theme through-out was a focus on the best ingredients combined with thoughtful service and tempo.

The nigiri was prepared by Endo and his sous chef in front of the dinners. Room temperature sushi rice was combined with the Brill a brush of soy and a light dusting of lime rind from the sous chef.

Endo handing you the sushi to be eaten immediately is an intimate experience.

Endo’s signature business card
The business card is dried seaweed and its contents were tuna tartare. The tartare was prepared infront of us as well as a clay fire pot being brought out to lightly toast the seaweed before being combined.

This was a fantastic dish with the seaweed being so delicate that it evaporated in your mouth and made for an excellent partner to the tuna. My dining partner is not generally a fan of nori but declared “that is the tastiest seaweed I have ever had.”

Tokyo Style “Tsukeomi’ Oyster (Nigiri)
A stand out dish … racking my brains I cannot think of another occasion when I have had oyster nigiri. The oyster was ever so slightly poached and brushed with a sweet soy.

The oyster was fleshy, juicy and melted in your mouth. A really fantastic one mouthful experience.

Otoro with Gloucestershire “Onseng Egg”
Seared tuna and egg is not a combination I would naturally pick but it worked really well. The consistency of the egg was similar to a wet scrambled egg, combined with vegetable garnish and sauce.

Cornish Squid with Japanese Sudachi (Nigiri)
The squid was soft and not chewy but I felt the salt was a bit overpowering. My partner disagreed pointing out that my palate tends towards under salted vs the median diner.

Mr Tanaka’s Atlantic Tuna (Nigiri)
This Akami tuna nigiri was marinated in soy and sourced directly from a Japanese fisherman in Portugal. Another example of Endo’s mono menachical focus on the best ingredients and determination to have a direct relationship with his suppliers.

Aged Monkfish “Tatsuta-age”
We loved this course and described it as the “ultimate fish and chips without the chips.” Cornish monkfish was slow cooked for 16mins and then coated in home made panko breadcrumbs and deep fried.

Diver Caught Scallop with 7 Month Aged Caviar (Nigiri)
The caviar was from a 25-30year old sturgeon and was an excellent combination with a succulent Isle of Sky Scallop.

Cornish Sea Bream “Shiomomi” (Nigiri)
Great texture with medium chew.

Spider Crab “Kuzu-an”
This course is best described as a Japanese style risotto achieved by cooking rice in a dashi broth and then combined with spider crab meat.

Another nice touch underlining the thought and attention to detail of everything done in Endo each of the ten diners spider crab as served in a different beautifully decorated clay glazed bowl.

Yamadanishiki “Kunkou” Scottish Trout (Nigiri)
The Scottish trout was twice cured and then smoked with sake for 45 seconds.

Ali “Suarai” (Nigiri)
Horse mackerel is a beautiful fish with its shining skin reflecting different colours depending on the angel the light hits its.

The mackerel was marinated to generate a sweet and sour taste in the mouth and garnished with seaweed.

Seasonal “Aemono”
Another amazing dish. A tomato based broth with mussels, cherry tomatoes and garnish produced a burst of flavour and colour.

Aged Otoro (Nigiri)
Very simple serving which let the excellent fish do all the talking.

Endo Meets Cornwall
Combination of panko, mackerel and potato.

Live Langoustine (Nigiri)
This was split into two parts. The first was a langoustine nigiri, which was lightly grilled on top of a clay fire pot, with a paste topping made of the head meat of the langoustine. Again I thought this was slightly over salted despite the langoustine being excellently cooked.

The second leg was a langoustine broth which was subtle and had excellent flavour.

Wagyu Beef with Asakura Sancho Pepper
Two pieces of perfectly cooked wagyu. The Asakura Sancho Pepper is a Japanese herb with a peppery flavour accompanying carrot, beetroot and sugar snap peas.

Rotunda’s Garden
We were ushered behind the counter into Endo’s work area to be served a brill panko sandwich by his “favourite chef.” As mentioned elsewhere in this review the panko at Endo is in another league.

Japanese Inspired “Koja” Soufflé
My dining partner hates all dessert except souffle so it was very high praise indeed that this was rated amongst the best she had ever had.

Endo’s Own Blended Tea
A perfect end to a near perfect meal.

Verdict
The food was fantastic but really sets Endo apart is the thought that went into everything. From sourcing the rice from his own paddy in Japan to individually decorated bowls for certain courses Endo is clearly striving to perfect each element of the dining experience. A must visit restaurant that matches the hype and fully deserves the price tag.