Endo Kazutoshi, the Michelin-starred sushi chef behind Endo at the Rotunda in west London, faced a nightmare when a fire destroyed his restaurant in September 2025. The blaze, which started on a terrace of the Helios building, consumed the eighth-floor dining room built from 200-year-old hinoki wood, along with the prep kitchen and all contents. Endo learned of the disaster while on a Eurostar to Paris, having left the restaurant just hours earlier.
Despite the shock, Endo kept a long-booked lunch reservation at L'Ambroisie, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Paris. He sat in a daze, unable to eat or focus, as more than 100 firefighters battled the fire back in London. 'My brain stopped,' he recalled. 'I had no passion. Can't focus. Zero.' He returned to London that afternoon to find the restaurant still smouldering.
The loss was immense. Endo called the Rotunda his 'home', where he had held a Michelin star for six consecutive years and was ranked No 1 in the UK by Harden's in 2025. Among the destroyed items were his carefully sourced rice, fish, seaweed, vinegar, sake, and tableware. Most painful was the loss of his knife rack, including two treasured blades: one from his sushi master, given to mark the Rotunda's opening, and another from his late father, a sushi chef in Yokohama.
As a third-generation sushi chef, Endo had spent 30 years pursuing mastery through the Japanese concept of shu-ha-ri: following rules, breaking them, and ultimately transcending them. He felt he was close to achieving this when the fire struck. Shortly before the blaze, he had planned a trip to Japan with a ghostwriter to document his journey, a project now imbued with new significance.
In late October, Endo met the writer at Tokyo station, his appearance defying the typical image of a sushi master: tousled blond hair, designer sunglasses, hoodie, and a penchant for cockney-accented English learned from the Sex Pistols. 'Finally, we're fucking here mate!' he exclaimed. The trip would take them across Japan, visiting the suppliers and mentors who helped shape his craft, as Endo began the process of rebuilding his life and career.
