Sakanatei in City of London

UPDATE: We became regulars here until 2020 and were very sad indeed to dscover that it has closed its doors. A real loss to anyone who enjoys first quality Japanese food!This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London but it is so authentic that you need a guide. The sushi is good, the usual menu items are very good but if you really want to eat well you need to choose from the blackboard with the day's dishes chalked up in Japanese. Marinated squid guts and tuna cheek are delicious and so genuine: you could be in a very good local restaurant in Japan. These kind of dishes are not found in mostLondon Japanese restaurants and this is why Sakana Tei is special. Grab a Japanese or literate Chinese friend and treat them in return for choosing the delicious surprises you would normally miss!

Perfect place for true sushi/sashimi lovers. The food is the star as it should be. Fresh fish perfectly sliced and right balance of flavor. This is an authentic sushi experience, not like other restaurants that add sauces to cater to the wider palate. probably the best place for sushi in London.Do not focus on the ambience or decor (it’s plain) this place is purely for the food experience. Priced very well given the location. Warm staff, chef and owner. Will definitely be back for more.

To be fair the owner did remind us there’s gonna be a wait for sushi “since the kitchen is busy”, but we didn’t expect to wait for an hour and a half for all our food to come, nor would anyone else.Was very hard to get any staff members attention. We waited for our food till nearly 10 pm and my lovely bf came to pick me up, so I invited him down to wait for us to finish. The staff quickly brought a chair (which is nice) but after my bf indicated that he’s not going to eat, the staff member reminded me that he has to order something. To me it’s bizarre, having to wait way too long for food and he’s merely here to pick me up from dinner, now you want me to pay more? Hell no. Thank god after semi arguing with the staff member they didn’t insist on making us order more.Now food review:Monkfish liver: very nice, wowed me, would recommend.Wasabi giant clam: fishy and too pungent (had to wait for solid 40 min)Omakase sushi set: good eel nigiri, fishy toro, did accommodate my request (in terms of not including the things I don’t like), price wasn’t transparent.Tempura: not the best.In all, wouldn’t go again, especially not after a long day of work and being treated borderline rude

Would rate 0 star if possible. Here’s why:The service is nonexistence. We came 7.30 and seated for 20mins to be served. Then waited for 20mins for the first cold appetiser. Then an hour for the second. After waiting for another 30 mins we are told that there’s only one chef doing sushi, sashimi and appetiser. Fine, we wait.We ordered assorted sushi for two, and the quality of the fish does not indicate its price. The scallop and otoro are really fishy; the uni is utterly bitter.The price is also not transparent. 61 pp for 4 just for 2 cold appetisers, 1 assorted tempura and an assorted sushi set?Eattokyo is 100 times better than this place.

Nice menu, helpful if you have a Japanese friend with you. Nice drinks menu. Execution is mediocre.

This is the worst place ever I have got the worst Chef's special dinner in Japanese restaurant. They normally take the meaning of "Special" as "Arrogant". I do not mind if owner didn't understand ENGLISH to run their business in central London, but he doesn't need to be confident to pretend to understand everything and shouldn't be aggressive to customers who are going to pay to them.First of all, the man looks like owner is extremely rude and shouting in order just to pay for the dinner....Also, the chef doesn't know how to deal with fish smell or they are using too bad quality of materials. I wish at least they will try to find just normal quality of fish in the UK.Last one is price. I would never try here again with that price based on the quality. The special menu have not got any sort of price on it. That means the quality of the fish is the crucial to set a price for them but they don't mind anything regarding quality anymore I thought.Anyways, I never suggest here and never go again in the future.

Absolutely authentic hand made Japanese Sushi from this small, intimate family run business.Sushi was the freshest and tastiest I've ever had and every dish was described in great detail by our host.This has been my lifetime #1 dining experience!

Dinner at Sakana-Tei was disappointing. Service was painfully slow. The staff member was reluctant to translate the specials on the board. She said "it depends on what you want". They served an appetiser which we didn't order but were still charged for. While it was mentioned in fine print on the menu the staff should have made it clear and given us an option. Confusingly, we overheard the staff member tell the adjacent table that they will not be charged for the appetiser. The food itself was not bad but I wouldn't call it the best sushi/sashimi in London. The gentleman who took our card for the payment walked away with the card in the machine. After a few minutes we realised we were supposed to follow him upstairs. I get the impression our experience would have been different if we spoke Japanese or were dining with Japanese friends.

Best sashimi in town. Moderate pricy. But the food quality worth every penny spent. We ordered assorted sashimi and chef’s special sushi. It’s definitely authentic and you can tell the chef knows what he’s doing when you see the sashimi was ranked from the lgihtest color to the darkest, because that’s the traditional & corrxt way to taste sushi/sashimi.Fatty tuna sushi was my favorite, although I will never order urchin again.The owner seems to be very angry and unfriendly all the time but another lady was always nice and helpful.

Don't expect a conveyor belt!Having watched so many authentic Japanese restaurants come and go in London, I'm glad this one looks set to stay.For a Mayfair restaurant (even though it's just on the edge) the ambience, decor, service and staff are not what you'd expect. Thank god!It's about as relaxed and unpretentious as you'll get in these parts.And if you like the stuff that is served up on a conveyor belt, this probably isn't for you. It'll be much to fresh and flavoursome for your tastes ;-)