There was a time when opportunities to drink sake in London were few and far between. At teppanyaki restaurants, you could order just one, low-quality sake, heated to the point of masking its flavour, or you could occasionally encounter a higher quality example on the wine flight with a tasting menu.
It’s been five years since sake sommelier Erika Haigh opened Moto, the UK’s first independent sake bar, which turned out to be the beginning of a growth in bars in London devoted to the versatile drink. Today, some of the best places to drink sake in London include Sake Collective in Shoreditch, an independent importer with its own bar, Kanpai on Bermondsey’s beer mile, a sake brewery and taproom, and the recently opened, luxurious Kioku Bar in The Raffles Hotel at the OWO in Westminster. Wine bars are also listing sake, from The Mulwray in Chinatown to Brilliant Corners in Dalston and part-fishmonger, part-wine bar Oeno Maris in Stoke Newington.
Exports of sake from Japan are at almost double where they were five years ago
With exports of sake from Japan at almost double where they were five years ago and the Japanese food market growing in the UK from £797m in 2017 to £1.2bn in 2023, it shouldn’t be a surprise. But sake isn’t confined to consumption with Japanese food; many other fine-dining restaurants are dedicating more space to it in their drinks programmes, including the intimate, Michelin-starred Evelyn’s Table, which serves nine sakes by the glass, and the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Ikoyi, which has recently introduced a full sake pairing to go with its £350 tasting menu. More casual restaurants like Sune are also offering sake by the glass.
Though the ultimate sake experience may be as an accompaniment to London’s top omakase meals – at Sushi Kanesaka, Humble Chicken, Endo at the Rotunda or Sushi Tetsu (if you ever manage to book a seat at the latter) – a guide to London’s sake scene today would be incomplete if it were restricted to high-end Japanese dining alone. To help you explore what the capital has to offer, here are eight of the best places to drink sake in London.
Eight of the best places to drink sake in London
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Moto
Covent Garden
A visit to this relaxed bar is the best way to get acquainted with sake. A brilliantly simple concept, the bar serves 60ml pours of around ten sakes — all exclusive to the bar – at any one time, with a rotating policy to keep things fresh and accessible prices ranging from £6 to £12. Instead of intimidating novices with technical details, the shelves behind the bar are arranged according to a scale – horizontally moving from mild sweetness to dry; and vertically from fresh, light, and aromatic, through to earthier, richer styles. Members of staff are on hand to answer any questions, with the aim to help customers understand the drink’s diversity.
motoldn.com, WC2E 7NA
Kioku Bar
Westminster
The sleek yet organic space boasts bar snacks – such as swordfish mortadella focaccia and tuna belly pan con tomate – designed by acclaimed chef Endo Kazutoshi and Europe’s largest sake collection, curated by sake samurai Natsuki Kikuya and sake sommelier Anthony Yukio. There are 110 references, many of which are exclusive to the bar, with space in the cellar for up to 300. Rather than geographical or categorical organisation, the bar’s ‘sake bible’ is playfully divided according to sentiments like ‘old friends’ and ‘unpolished memories’, with the by-the-glass list beginning at £11 for a 90ml pour, moving up to £50 at the more premium end. The sake-inspired cocktails are also excellent.
theowo.london/kioku-bar, SW1A 2BD
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The Aubrey
Knightsbridge
Positioning itself as a drinks-led izakaya-style restaurant and bar, this Hong Kong import to London has an impressive sake programme, with 40 bottles including a house sake made with a unique white koji in collaboration with Tsuchida Brewery and the Museum of Sake. The list is arranged by style; light and refreshing, mellow and aromatic, and rich and umami. A new section of the list highlights sake with low ABV. Seventeen sakes are available by-the-glass or carafe and sake is used cleverly in some of the innovative cocktails, such as Salome, their take on a dirty Martini, which blends sake with rice shochu, Etsu Ocean Water gin and tomato liqueur.
mandarinoriental.com/the-aubrey, SW1X 7LA
Sushi Kanesaka
Mayfair
A place to visit if you’re looking to experience the ultimate harmony between sake and the highest quality Japanese ingredients. To say that sake would enhance the omakase experience would be something of an understatement. From the interplay between Kuheiji Brewery’s rich Junmai Ginjo with an unaki kabayaki hand roll, to the delicate synergy between the sushi highlights and lobster tempura course with Iwa 5 – a sake produced by former Dom Perignon Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy with a Champenois logic of blending and assembling – this is the place to experience the ecstatic heights sake can create alongside Japanese cuisine.
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Roketsu
Marylebone
Roketsu is one of the few places to find a kaiseki meal in London, an historical form of multi-course dining with an unparalleled focus on seasonality. Chef Daisuke Hayashi’s style is a delicate form of umami-driven cooking, which pairs wonderfully with sake. In the spring menu, for instance, cherry blossom is at the heart of the meal and the first thing you are served is a cherry-blossom infused sparkling sake. The sushi course includes mackerel wrapped in cherry leaf and is paired with a clean and floral sake called Oka, which translates as ‘cherry bouquet’, from Dewazakura Brewery in Yamagata Prefecture. The menu changes monthly, as does the drinks pairing (featuring some wines too), but the careful consideration of complementary flavours is consistent.
roketsu.co.uk, W1H 7RW
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Dinings SW3
Chelsea
Dinings has sakes available by the glass in many different styles – from tropical to bone-dry, crystal clear to cloudy, as well as creamy, nutty, and deep umami styles – all designed to match Masaki Sugisaki’s creative take on Japanese cuisine. The restaurant even has three own-label sakes with two poured from magnum by the glass and one available in 500ml bottle only. They’re produced in collaboration with Konomoto Brewery and the by-the-glass sakes in particular are designed to pair with different aspects of the menu. The light, fruity and mineral ‘78 Gin’ works well with sushi, while the more umami, fleshier ‘78 Kin’ is best served with items from the Josper grill.
diningssw3.co.uk, SW3 2JH
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Trivet
Bermondsey
Isa Bal’s wine list is one of the most original in London and he has always been a strong advocate of sake at the now two-Michelin-star Trivet. There’s usually at least ten sakes available by-the-glass in 120ml pours, with Junmai Daiginjo, Daiginjo, Ginjo, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Umeshu and Koshu sakes all represented. Sake is often recommended to pair with Jonny Lake’s creative, finessed food, such as a special rice Junmai from Kamokinshu Tokubetsu with a mesmerising stuffed morel, wild garlic and parmesan dish, which allows all the umami elements of the dish to linger. The drink appears on the food menu in a white chocolate, potato and sake dessert reflecting memories of a trip Bal and Lake took to Hokkaido, Japan. It’s served, evocatively, with a cloudy nigori ginjo.
trivetrestaurant.co.uk, SE1 3SU
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Sune
Hackney
The inclusion of sakes by the glass at Sune is an indication of where and with whom it’s becoming more popular, with natural wine-led restaurants and bars beginning to admire its textural and umami-based similarities with natural wine. As she has a passion for sake and some sake qualifications herself, sommelier and Sune’s co-founder Honey Spencer takes things a step further, with at least five sakes listed at any one time, including an umeshu-infused aged sake that’s recommended with dessert. Sune is a great place to explore sake’s adaptability with food; try the Maldon oyster, beetroot and pickled rhubarb with the slightly smoky but fruity and smooth Tokubetsu Junmai from Kanemitsu Shuzo Brewery in Hiroshima; the sake helps the oyster’s saline, umami character linger.
sune.restaurant, E2 9AP
