Review: Sticks'n'Sushi
Every once in a while a restaurant comes along which makes you want to be a cooler person. The permanently-busy Berners Tavern is like that, as was the pop-up Pieds Nus. The latest eatery to boast the effect, however, is Sticks’n’Sushi.
This sleek little space in Covent Garden is the first central London branch of a Danish chain. It specialises in Japanese fare (the sushi and yakitori sticks implied by the name) with a Nordic flair, which makes for a curious and exciting dining experience.
With exposed brick walls, leather-effect table tops and shiny surfaces, the interior of the restaurant is a cross between a bachelor pad and cocktail bar. This could come across as seedy, but the atmosphere of the place is so vibrant that it makes it seem very, very classy. A huge part of the cheerful ambience is the smiling staff, who are both pleasing to look at (irrelevant but true) and pleased to see you, which immediately does away with any risk of pretentiousness.
The menu is huge but helpfully photographic, which means you can study a colourful, high-definition image of a dish before committing to an order. We started with a light serving of salmon carpaccio and grilled edamame beans which – we convinced ourselves – were still healthy despite being slathered in delicious butter. The show-stealing starter, however, had to be the scallops in pastry nests, which were the perfect blend of tender shellfish and stodgy pastry. Posh party food, really.
The wooden board of sushi rolls which followed was quite a thing to behold. My friend, who is a particular fan, literally had to grip the table to calm herself. The rice was tender to the point of disintegration – always a sign of sushi freshness – while the fillings were plentiful and hearty. My favourite was the Bling Bling roll with crayfish, scallop and avocado, which was fresh, light, chewy and sort of creamy all at the same time. My friend could not get enough of the aptly-named Yummy roll, its tempura shrimp providing an irresistible hint of fried decadence.
Despite demolishing the entire platter, our lovely waitress, Emily, insisted we try the sticks too, and goodness we were glad she did. All were tender and perfectly cooked – the breaded pork was a schnitzel with a wasabi twist, while the beef with herb butter was basically bite-size pieces of melt-in-the-mouth steak. It’s terribly fun to eat things off sticks too, and you can’t help but lick your fingers afterwards.
Dessert came in the form of four taster dishes. Although their Asian authenticity is perhaps to be questioned, it is still worth tucking into the crème brulée and chocolate soufflé, as they are divine. The cocktails are not to be missed here either. Admittedly, we sampled a fair few…If you’re the more restrained type, the brilliant Yuzu Zoo martini will satisfy both sweet and sour taste buds. We also enjoyed the Okinawa Tea Ceremony, largely because it came served in a tea pot (as well as being a particularly tasty plum and rhubarb flavour).
Three hours later, we waddled out of Sticks’n’Sushi, extremely full, extremely happy and – we hope – a little bit more cool, simply by virtue of association. Of course, a return visit (or five) would be the only way to make sure. It’s a hard life being trendy.
www.sticksnsushi.com
This sleek little space in Covent Garden is the first central London branch of a Danish chain. It specialises in Japanese fare (the sushi and yakitori sticks implied by the name) with a Nordic flair, which makes for a curious and exciting dining experience.
With exposed brick walls, leather-effect table tops and shiny surfaces, the interior of the restaurant is a cross between a bachelor pad and cocktail bar. This could come across as seedy, but the atmosphere of the place is so vibrant that it makes it seem very, very classy. A huge part of the cheerful ambience is the smiling staff, who are both pleasing to look at (irrelevant but true) and pleased to see you, which immediately does away with any risk of pretentiousness.
The menu is huge but helpfully photographic, which means you can study a colourful, high-definition image of a dish before committing to an order. We started with a light serving of salmon carpaccio and grilled edamame beans which – we convinced ourselves – were still healthy despite being slathered in delicious butter. The show-stealing starter, however, had to be the scallops in pastry nests, which were the perfect blend of tender shellfish and stodgy pastry. Posh party food, really.
The wooden board of sushi rolls which followed was quite a thing to behold. My friend, who is a particular fan, literally had to grip the table to calm herself. The rice was tender to the point of disintegration – always a sign of sushi freshness – while the fillings were plentiful and hearty. My favourite was the Bling Bling roll with crayfish, scallop and avocado, which was fresh, light, chewy and sort of creamy all at the same time. My friend could not get enough of the aptly-named Yummy roll, its tempura shrimp providing an irresistible hint of fried decadence.
Despite demolishing the entire platter, our lovely waitress, Emily, insisted we try the sticks too, and goodness we were glad she did. All were tender and perfectly cooked – the breaded pork was a schnitzel with a wasabi twist, while the beef with herb butter was basically bite-size pieces of melt-in-the-mouth steak. It’s terribly fun to eat things off sticks too, and you can’t help but lick your fingers afterwards.
Dessert came in the form of four taster dishes. Although their Asian authenticity is perhaps to be questioned, it is still worth tucking into the crème brulée and chocolate soufflé, as they are divine. The cocktails are not to be missed here either. Admittedly, we sampled a fair few…If you’re the more restrained type, the brilliant Yuzu Zoo martini will satisfy both sweet and sour taste buds. We also enjoyed the Okinawa Tea Ceremony, largely because it came served in a tea pot (as well as being a particularly tasty plum and rhubarb flavour).
Three hours later, we waddled out of Sticks’n’Sushi, extremely full, extremely happy and – we hope – a little bit more cool, simply by virtue of association. Of course, a return visit (or five) would be the only way to make sure. It’s a hard life being trendy.
www.sticksnsushi.com