by Richard Vines
Asian restaurants open almost every month in London, with Malaysian and fusion eateries just the latest additions to a city where Chinese food has been served for 100 years and curry first appeared on a menu in the 18th century.
If you're looking for egg-fried rice or meat vindaloo after a night in the pub, there's no problem. Finding authentic cuisine is trickier, which is why two new places are welcome. Dinings serves Japanese food you'd be happy to get in Tokyo, while the Sichuan dishes at Snazz are so uncompromising, you might not like them.
Dinings is housed in a former shop in Marylebone, an area that isn't rich in good restaurants. There's a sushi bar on the ground floor and bare tables downstairs, where the tiny basement is split between two rooms, without decorative flourish.
Chef-owner Tomonari Chiba is a Nobu veteran, as is another of the chefs, Keiji Fuku. That's difficult to believe only because some of the food is better at Dinings. The sashimi is of such quality, I stopped talking for at least 15 seconds at lunch while I tasted it. The piece in question was a slice of salmon so fresh, so soft, so rich, I lost my conversational thread.
Dinings describes its cuisine as modern Japanese, served in tapas-sized portions. The sashimi and sushi are world class and the prices are low by London standards.
Array of Donburis
At lunch, there are three selections of sushi and sashimi, and nine ``donburi'' options. Donburis are large bowls of rice topped with vegetables, fish or meat. They come with miso soup and sashimi salad or mixed tempura. Salmon donburi is £10 and unagi (a generous serving of water eel) costs £14.
Chilli garlic black cod (a special when I visited) has plenty of flavour and may appeal to Nobu fans. Sugar snap pepperoncino are crunchy and hot, with liberal use of black pepper. I've had them three times. Duck tataki with miso and jalapeno salsa is good because of the spicy sauce. Iberian pork shoulder in tomato lemon yuzu sauce was also tasty, whereas the meat in the beef tobanyaki was without any discernible flavour, other than the soy sauce.
The service is as charming as I have encountered in London, with a Japanese staff augmented by a Congolese waitress. Things did fall apart during dinner when there was a power cut, which affected everything except an alarm, which sounded intermittently. My guest and I sat in the dark and were politely told the restaurant would close once we'd finished the food we'd ordered. The credit-card device also wasn't working - which is something.
Every man needs at least one elegant, high quality suit. Whether for work, or a special occasion, one suit, set apart from the rest, helps create a sense of occasion; and a little extra self-confidence if you need it. With so many outfitters offering a bespoke service, and charging a king’s ransom for the honour, you may wonder if you’re getting your eye wiped as your card is swiped. European Business Express asked Geoff Fulton, from established outfitter Smyth & Gibson, to help sort the cowboys from the dapper dons.
