Shiro London brings the lesser-known techniques of Tokyo’s Ginza to Broadgate Circle in the City of London. Shiro, first located in Hong Kong, brings the same excellence of Japanese sushi, wagyu and sake to the London dining scene.
Interiors
The two-floored restaurant houses a sushi and robata counter along with an outdoor terrace for warmer months. Shiro’s sleek interior, designed by Fabled Studio, pays homage to its namesake, meaning white in Japanese. With clean and bright surfaces with pops of wasabi green, the classic neutral palate is designed to feature the main attraction: the food!
The bar and open kitchen on the ground floor transition seamlessly to the sushi counter and robata theatre. The first floor has its own bar, serving sake-based cocktails like a Japanese Garden (Tanqueray gin, apple juice, elderflower cordial, cucumber, wasabi) or Japanese Japanese craft beers like Hitachino Ale.
Shiro offers six premium sakes on their menu, including low alcohol, sparking, hot, and cold options. Himezin is their low-alcohol variety that is refreshing with notes of citrus. Shirakabe Gura Kimoto Junmai is served hot or cold with complex banana, melon, and umami flavours. The Ichinokura Wabi is a sparkling sake using the same brewing methods as champagne, with notes of lychee and white peach. Our favourite: The Urakasumi Umeshu plum sake which has a very delicate smooth taste that is so balanced and not sweet. This sake goes well with all the food and has an intense aroma of plum skin, amaretto and cranberry.
Chef Ken Miyake
Head Chef Ken Miyake highlights rare dishes unavailable in the London market, such as their signature crystal sushi, Edomae sushi, and ramen dishes. With almost two decades of working in UK kitchens, Miyake brings his Japanese heritage and family dishes to Shiro’s menu.
Crystal Sushi
Crystal sushi, invented at Shiro over ten years ago, features layers of infused jellies on top of each sushi piece, designed to add unusual flavour combinations in one bite. Each order comes with two pieces of crystal sushi, enveloping intense flavours in a small package. The ingredients are designed to enhance one another and the infused jelly adds another element to what is already brilliant sushi. The à la carte menu includes scallop and caviar sushi with kimchi jelly, botan ebi and avocado sushi with rose jelly, and fatty salmon sushi with mint and sake jelly.
Edomae Sushi
Shiro offers Edomae sushi rather than the more common nigiri sushi. Originating from Edo, now Tokyo, Edomae-style bites drape long pieces of fresh seafood over rice. Menu highlights include akami tuna, seabass, and aburi (charcoal-seared) salmon.
Lunch and Á La Carte
The à la carte and lunch menu serve comforting ramen featuring chicken and pork, which are Executive Chef Iwahashi’s personal favourites. Since childhood, Iwahashi learned to make ramen from working in his family’s restaurant. The original base recipe is simmered for 48 hours and served hot at Shiro, bringing a taste of Japanese comfort to London.
Other lunchtime offers include their popular and conveniently-priced bento box-inspired trays. Diners choose from plant-based curry, fish, meat, or ramen sets, accompanied by a daily selection of homemade pickles and okazu. In addition, Shiro offers larger plates including robata dishes like British lamb cutlets and an Australian wagyu bavette.
The desserts we tried were the best desserts of the year so far. A black sesame fondant had these wide ranging flavours from chocolatey to sweet and salty with the black sesame coming through in every bite. This was accompanied by a white miso ice cream to cut through that lush thick black sesame infused molten chocolate. The matcha green tea tiramisu was a celebration of all things matcha with so many different layers of texture and taste. The addition of adzuki red beans and green tea ice cream turned this dessert from great to world class.
Shiro pays tribute to delicate tradition, respecting the original serving methods of Japanese cuisine, something new for the London dining scene.
To discover more, visit: shirosushi.com
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All imagery courtesy of Shiro London.