Mitsu, located at 10-50 Willow Street in London EC2, has taken over the space previously occupied by Nobu Shoreditch in the Aethos hotel. The new venue is a vast improvement, with a brightened, cosy atmosphere, a twinkling central bar, an open robata kitchen, roomy booths, and a pretty Japanese garden. While it won't win plaudits from Japanese purists, there is still much to admire.
A New Direction for the Space
Nobu Shoreditch was gargantuan, moodily lit, woundingly expensive, and hard to book despite having nearly 800 seats. It was one of the most soulless London restaurants of the past 25 years. Now, the Aethos crew has deftly transformed the room, making it actually cosy and adding a welcoming ambiance.
Mitsu calls itself an izakaya, meaning the Japanese-influenced food is not too po-faced, and guests can enjoy sake in a relaxed setting. The menu features serious sushi and sashimi, including unagi, hamachi, and chutoro, as well as many tasty snacky items.
Small Plates and Robata Specialties
Highlights include very good chicken tsukune skewers to dip into sweet tare sauce, and two Shoreditch-requisite sandos: pork belly with mustard and wagyu with tonkatsu sauce, both in rich, milky shokupan. From the robata, options include a porterhouse steak with sansho pepper sauce or a pork tomahawk with kanzuri miso.
Leading the kitchen is Aaj Fernando, formerly of La Bodega Negra, who now feeds a new set of subterranean bright young things in east London.
Dining Experience
For those abstaining from alcohol, green tea is available, but whisky highballs and affordable sake from Kanpai brewery are also options. The kozara section offers chicken and squid karaage, pork gyoza, and seafood dumplings. The hamachi (yellowtail) comes in a pool of katsu ponzu with a silky, earthy cauliflower puree that is just right.
The wagyu sando, while rustic in presentation with chubby cross-cut sections, features thick, tender steak and sweet, rich shokupan that is impossible to stop eating. Japanese-influenced sandos often have a death-row dinner aspect, with each gorgeous bite taking you closer to culinary bliss.
Desserts and Final Thoughts
Mitsu offers a whopping portion of matcha tiramisu scooped from a big bowl tableside for a cool Instagram moment, catering to modern dining demands. Despite potential criticism from purists over items like grilled beef fillet with garlic and soy butter or soy-glazed salmon skewers, the restaurant draws the line at chips.
The chutoro sashimi is genuinely excellent – fresh, fatty, supple, and devourable. Special mention goes to the akami temaki, delicate crisp nori boats filled with rice and lush red tuna, and the juicy chicken meatballs are worth the trip alone.
Mitsu balances its appeal between Shoreditch's new content-creating crowd and an older, moneyed clientele wanting actual sashimi and sake. It is not earth-changing, but it is a large, warm space with great staff, perfect for a solo lunch or business groups. The soundproofing is brilliant, allowing friends and couples to chat happily. The menu lends itself to enjoying a little too much rather than picking solemnly at expensive fish. Farewell, Nobu; Mitsu is much better.
Mitsu, 10-50 Willow Street, London EC2. Open all week, lunch noon-4pm, dinner 5pm-midnight (1am Thurs-Sat). From about £80 a head à la carte (set menus at £85 and £105), all plus drinks and service.
