Sumi
157 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RS
Nearest Tube: Bayswater/Notting Hill Gate
Buzz Factor 4.3/5 stars
Food 4.3/5 stars
Value for money 4/5 stars
4.2 Yummy Stars
Price Sushi – nigiri (2 pieces) /sashimi (3 pieces)/temaki (1 piece) - £7-16; starters/salads - £4-£19; main courses – £32-£55/market price for fish; desserts - £8 (at time of writing)
Grilled Turbot topped with seaweed at Sumi Restaurant in Notting Hill, London
Eat-in or Take-away
As I emerged from hibernation in April this year, Sumi was the first restaurant that I went to. It is the second baby of Chef Kazutoshi Endo who secured a Michelin star just 5 months after opening Endo at The Rotunda, a fine-dining Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant. I had the pleasure of enjoying Chef Endo’s stunning sushi at Endo at The Rotunda before the first lockdown. I couldn’t wait to try the new sister restaurant.
Sumi, a casual sushi restaurant, finally opened its doors properly, after it reached the dizzy heights of a soft opening in December 2020 before Covid-19 said: “No, you’re not opening just yet”. Soon after Covid-19 winter 2020 lockdown, Sumi emerged as a hugely popular takeaway sushi haunt, with queues forming on the first days of its takeaway offering. As is the trade mark of Chef Endo, the sushi bento boxes were beautifully presented with the freshest of fish.
On my April visit, only walk-ins were allowed. Having arrived 10 minutes after the evening service started, we joined the virtual queuing system. It was teeth-grittingly cold. Smiling Sumi staff served hot cups of Japanese tea to warm our hands, soul and hearts.
Chef Kazutoshi Endo made a special appearance that evening. Another queue soon formed by Sumi’s large opening, where Chef Endo made akami (tuna) temaki and tuna nigiri to order. He sprinkled his magic with his sauce on both, adorned with pearlescent jewels in the form of Exmoor caviar. The sauce on the temaki enriched with a glorious cured yolk added serious umami to the stupendously fresh tuna. I had to shut my eyes to enjoy the moment to the full, leaving a mark in my memory bank.
The temaki and nigiri on the separate restaurant menu were beautifully made by Sumi chefs. The sauce was lighter and less intense in flavour compared with the ones made by Chef Endo earlier. Kombu salad was so fresh and a real delight. The mushroom miso soup was phenomenal with full throttle truffle flavour and was a soothing tonic in the freezing cold. The Turbot was perfectly grilled, topped with seaweed which provided some crunch and acidity. With just a gentle nudge with the chopsticks, the flesh of the fish fell apart. Sterling cookery by head chef, Akinori Yasuda and his team.
Everyone, be they customers waiting and eating in the freezing cold, were all smiling, exalted in animated conversations in an atmosphere of euphoria. The staff seemed happy too. Food sparks joy. Eating together ignites face-to-face conversation, which beats any Zoom chat hands down.
Sumi might be described as “casual” but there is nothing common about it. The prices were fairly steep but reflected the quality of the ingredients, standard of cooking by the chefs and the sheer number of Sumi personnel darting in and out. Staff were warm and attentive. The internal décor was simple and yet elegant with light coloured wood throughout. The food was consistently superb on my subsequent visit.
Chef Endo dared to open Sumi amidst the Covid-19 storm. Thank you for your perseverance, Chef.
You can read about the values and efforts of Chef Endo during Covid-19 in my interview here..
21 July 2021
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