In an unexpected turn of events, a drink with a colleague ended up being a night with a tasting menu at a new entrant to the very crowded list of London fusion restaurants, Kioku by Endo.
Opened fairly recently in the new Raffles Hotel at the OWO. Kioku was opened by Endo Kazutoshi, the third in a long line of sushi masters. Named for the Japanese word for memories, the restaurant melds Endo’s Japanese heritage with his culinary experiences with Mediterranean cooking in Spain.
The restaurant is located on the rooftop of the OWO, the fancy new redevelopment of the historic old war office building originally built in 1906. Housing the military top brass during the two world wars, many historical figures roamed the hallways in the building, from Sir Winston Churchill to the author Ian Fleming. The building was eventually decommissioned and ended up as government surplus, before being sold off and undergoing a six year redevelopment into a hotel, residence, and home to many bars and restaurants.
Entering the majestic hotel on Whitehall, and walking past all the restaurants on the ground floor, a wrought iron elevator took us to the rooftop, where the sunbathed space gave contemporary vibes, in stark contrast to the rest of the building. From one set of windows, we could see the top of Big Ben, and from the other, the top of the London Eye.
The back features an open kitchen, where we could watch the staff work, and there’s a chef table with a great view of the kitchen immediately beside the kitchen, alongside a set of stairs to a private cigar patio.
There was an a la carte menu, but being lazy, we figured we’d just go with the tasting menu.
The night started with a sake tasting, and we were given a glass of awa sparkling sake, a limited edition from The Sparkling Sake Brewery in Cambridgeshire. It’s the UK’s only brewery that exclusively makes sparkling sake, and I wondered if it was sourced partially because “awa” is so close to “owo”.
The sake itself is a Junmai, served chilled with light carbonation, a lot less bubbly than a champagne. Refreshing and sweet with citrus and melon flavours.
The first dish was an amuse bouche. A bit of tartare on a meaty, crispy slice of something, garnished with deep fried yam strips, and a bit of microgreens. The wafer reminded me a bit of a scotch egg, but it was difficult to tell exactly what it was.
The grilled radicchio salad, hiding some raw scallops underneath, dressed with a smoked lemon ponzu dressing. Neat, but somewhat forgettable.
A collection of nigiri - maguro (lean tuna), sea bream, and trout, already brushed with soy sauce. Largely uneventful and delivered on exactly what it was meant to be.
A beetroot carpaccio with thin slices of beetroot, dressed with blackcurrant and pickled sansho pepper. Aesthetically pleasing, but nothing to write home about otherwise. Largely just tasted like thin slices of beetroot.
One of the highlights of the night, a Chinese bbq pork ravioli on top of thickened soy sauce and a bonito broth broth poured on top, combining to become a flavourful soup. Simple, but well executed, with incredible precision in making the perfectly round pasta.
A slow-cooked turbot in a tangy French sabayon sauce. Rich, meaty and delicious.
A piece of duck breast, served with a piece of charred hispi cabbage, topped with chili and barley miso jellies. The duck breast was perfectly done, and paired well with the cabbage. A really well executed dish, well-presented, and absolutely delicious.
The optional supplement, a rich Wagyu steak, cooked medium rare with a rich bone marrow jus and a piece of crispy potato topped with a tofu puree. Again, another standout. Juicy fat just oozing out of the steak, just pure rich indulgence. With Wagyu, small portions are ideal, as the richness satiates the appetite quickly, and after awhile, it just feels like downing a stick of butter.
The pre-dessert, diced green apples topped with a yuzu and lemon sorbet, with a marshmallowy meringue and seaweed powder topping. Bit of tartness from the green apple and sorbet contrasting with the hit of sugar from the meringue and a bit of salty umami from the nori powder.
A tea-flavoured creme brulee with a salty cream cheese ice cream and caviar topping. On the surface, the combination of the flavours was a bit questionable, but the richness and saltiness of caviar and cream cheese ice cream paired well with the sweetness of the creme brulee.
Thinking that we were finished, my colleague paid the bill and we decided to head downstairs for a drink at the bar. As we were leaving the restaurant and heading to the elevator, we were told there was a sake experience waiting for us. To our surprise, we were lead down to the affiliated Kioku bar downstairs and served a flight of sakes.
Unfortunately, more colleagues started to join us, and in the interest of not holding up the party, I decided to hold off on any further pictures.
After last call, we decided to keep drinking and headed to the Guard’s Bar. In a nod to its Singaporean heritage, the bar had both a Singapore Sling, and their modern British version, the London Sling. Less colourful, but no less fruity, my London sling arrived with a cherry frozen into the ice cube. I preferred the contemporary London version over the original.
A great night catching up with colleagues I haven’t seen in person in years. The food itself - pretty decent, but also somewhat forgettable among all the other amazing restaurants in London. The proteins were very well-executed, and the ravioli was a big hit, but there were a lot of mediocre dishes on the menu as well, so lots of hits and misses. Short of the nigiri, I wasn’t able to see much of the Japanese influence, and I would suggest that the cuisine sways a lot more European than Japanese.
Total Damage: 390 GBP/2 people
In the epilogue and a nod to the history of the building, there’s an nondescript door in the basement labelled 007…