Aqua Kyoto

This was my wife and I first time at Aqua Kyoto, it will not be the last

Food was very good, service was great

meal for 2 £130 incl 12.5% witch i hate paying

Darren

It's Christmas and Regent Street is awash with men, women, children and all things furry in a panic as Santa's coming very soon. Even the master of the house is out there somewhere laden with bags filled with stuff that will keep me busy for months trying to work out what I should be doing with it. For me, it's time to escape the hustle and bustle for some wonderful food, I hope!

I'm outside the London Palladium where the crowds have gathered to see the musical the Wizard of Oz and Toto the dog who is loved by all. I'm also directly opposite the entrance to a restaurant that I have not visited before. Aqua Kyoto is a Japanese restaurant that I have read and heard a lot about. The majority of reviews appear to concentrate on the somewhat gloomy entrance. My guess is someone had to come up with something different and dramatic for an entrance lobby that comprises a small desk and a lift. Bring out the dark walls and heavy black curtains and a poor greeter who appears to have to stand in the lobby all day. It reminded me of the entrance to a fairground show that promises something wondrous and more often delivers nothing more than five minutes of badly performed magic tricks and a draughty backside. Sometimes restuantants get things wrong. We all do and sometimes we are smart enough to know to change them. Please Aqua Kyoto change the entrance, as I love your restaurant and I know others will too. When I visited, I sat at the Sushi counter and watched the very skilled sushi chef fillet a whole salmon with such respect and patience that I was mesmerised. Why not put on such a display in the lobby, make it a show to match the wonderful Wizard of Oz, so when the audience are standing in the cold queueing they could experience and glimpse such art for themselves. Or how about having a short film playing of this stylish restaurant and bar, just like the fairground shows, but one that really catches the imagination.

I take the lift to the fifth floor and I'm already impressed. Yes there is another desk and greeter, but I like this. I like the attention you receive and why not. Eating out should be a memorable experience and one where you are looked after. I am led through a stylish bar with a cosy seating arrangement to the main restaurant. Naturally, I order the set sushi lunch. The service is impeccable and professional. It is clear the waiting staff really do wish to make your time here a special occasion and everyone knows their role and things seem to run like clockwork. I am given a nice bowl of warm Edamame beans with a sprinkling of sea salt and I am a happy bunny. My sushi arrives beautifully presented on a bamboo plate and the quality is outstanding. It's a dish to savour and enjoy and that I do with a nice cold Japanese beer. I also receive some Japanese pickles and a tasty miso soup.

I cannot wait to return and I scratch my head as to why the reviews have not been better. For me this is one of the very best Japanese restaurants in London currently. Yes, they say first impressions matter, but just click your heels and get past the dark lobby where you will be transported to somewhere just as beautiful as the land of Oz and you never know, order a cocktail from the bar and stroll out onto the stunning terrace and you may even see a rainbow.

I just wanted to share with you my very bad experience as it's a first there.
So I went for dinner with my girlfriend to Aqua Kyoto last night. As expected (and already tried) the food was very good and our waiter both good and nice.
But there was a big problem. Two tables from us was a group of 5 very very noisy drunk girls continuously shouting at each other. It was awful and definitely not up to the standard of such a place and ruined our evening. We had a chat about it with the manager who could only say ‘they are having a good time’. Despite the complaint he didn't make anything to stop it nor offered any commercial gesture. We had to left without having a dessert (even though we wanted one) and obviously refused to pay the service charge (again the waiter was good and would have deserved it).
That's just totally unacceptable from such a restaurant and would never had happened at any other high end japanese place I regularly go to (Zuma, Nobu, Roka, Sumosan, etc).
I don't see any reason to come back and would advice you to not go.

Arriving at Aqua, in the old Dickens and Jones department store building, it is all very swish with the heavy red velvet curtains and subdued lighting. It is here you meet the first receptionist. Then taking the lift to the 5th floor, you come to a 2nd receptionist where you give name and booking all over again, this receptionist take you to the maître d’, who takes your name and booking again and finally sits you down.

It is all very swanky and stylish inside, low lighting and dark woods, the sushi chefs at work in the centre of the restaurant. The bar area and the restaurant full of young and beautiful types, so I upset the tone there!

There is pretty good choice on the menu and they waitress encourages you to share the dishes, as it is more tapas style service with plates arriving when ready rather than coordinated French style of service. So for the four of us, we ordered 4 appetisers and four mains which were more or less served sequentially. This was maybe more down to table size than the kitchen as at most there was room for two dishes at any one time. Interestingly given the lack of space it was only with prompting that it occurred to anyone to take away the empty aperitif glasses away.

The food itself was very good, sweet and moist blackened cod every bit as good as Nobu, soft shell crab tempura, pork belly and Cray fish, beef with foie gras all delicious and memorable dishes. For me all the dishes were excellent, and certainly looked as beautiful as it tasted. It is a bit of an Atkins meal though, as the rice is a little incongruous with the meal as the lack of sauces and its minimalist nature precludes loading up your rice bowl as you might in less contemporary restaurant.

The desserts were equally delicious; I had small doughnuts served on yuzu curd, a thick lemony sauce, with a side dish of chocolate praline mouse. This was super delicious.

From a food point of view I thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes, and the sequential serving and sharing of each plate resulted in a more of a tasting menu experience. Service was a little slow to get started but soon moved fast and efficiently, perhaps a little too fast, they turn the tables and we were moved on before any coffees could be requested.

The ambience for me was a little dark and loud, but if I was single and a little younger I could see how this might appeal. My other gripe would be that everyone seems to make a bee line for the terrace for drinks, despite being mid July it was a chilly evening so the constant coming and goings, door slamming and cold drafts was a little annoying too. Incidentally if you do order drinks at the terrace bar, do take a book or a newspaper as it is a very long wait as the bar staff making the cocktails like to be seen intricately crafting cocktails rather than actually serving drinks, the one I watched getting made involved the glass being turned on the counter for a number of turns for no apparent reason.

For the four of us our final bill came to £440.10, of which £196 was drinks, so not at all unreasonable value. For the food I would return but the trendy ambience i.e. loud and dark, would put me off a return visit.

When paying the bill though do watch out for the double tipping when they hand you the machine, service would have been 7/10 if not for that.

Its a bar/club not a restaurant.

Average Japanese food. Served by staff that are not very knowledgeable.

Wont be going back.

What a swish and glamorous entrance! A dimly lit entrance hallway where you are greeted by a host and then whisked up in a lift to the top floor where we exited into another secondary reception and led into the dimly lit bar. Lovely atmosphere populated by what is undoubtedly a ‘beautiful’ crowd with guys in suits and girls all dressed up for a night of cocktails, food and maybe a little debauchery later on!

I was with a group of six girls and we were definitely out on a mission to have a night to remember. The drinks were lovely with a long list of cocktails and champagne although the house champagne of Louis Roederer was not to my taste. The staff at the bar were really friendly and accommodated us well (might have been the dresses though!)

Dinner was almost as good. Sushi was really fresh and delicate and the scallops were heavenly, being fat, juicy, balanced with the stickiest of sticky rice. Crab rolls were also great. A shame then the miso soup was quite insipid, the miso cod way over cooked even for us girls and the beef fillet chewy. Some great, some average then. However the biggest disappointment was the staff who were just horrid. Not only did they not care, they practically threw our dishes onto the table, they left empty glasses cluttering up all the space and looked down their noses at us when we raised a complaint. Really wasn't what any of us were expecting and one of our party just wanted to leave.

The receptionist on the way out was very nice though and had the decency to listen to our comments and said she would pass it on to a senior manager. Whether or not it will happen I don't know, but it makes me pause for thought when I think about going back again. Maybe just for the drinks at the bar. Oh, and the view over Oxford Street is such a wow factor it's worth going just for that.

I wanted to take my girlfriend out for lunch and was recommended aqua Kyoto; I wasn’t sure if this was the best place to go for lunch but was pleasantly surprised.
We went on Tuesday, the weather was chilly but sunny (which makes a change), this meant we could be outside on the terrace and look across the skyline of central London with a very tasty tumbler of the 43 flowers cocktail each.
This place has style , huge amounts of it. we did feel as if we were in a different country to be honest. we sat down and decided to go for the crab rocket salad with spicy yuzu vinagrette, this salad was towered like a little volcano dusted with crab everywhere and a dressing that is delicious, it looked brilliant and tasted great , we also ordered the twice cooked pork belly with langoustines, this must have been a popular one as I could see a few tables had the same, highly recommended! I had heard that there was a sushi platter with each individual piece wrapped in cucumber, this was the tataki sushi platter and we loved it.
If you want to go somewhere that makes you feel special with food that is very moorish, I highly recommend it.

What a delightful dining experience! I was very much impressed with everything. The decor of the place was fascinating. The atmosphere is vibrant. Watching the sushi chefs at work behind the sushi bar was an adventure in itself, a unique and different experience to other restaurants. The flavour of the food was divine and each dish was presented in a beautiful way. The waitress took time to explain the menu which we greatly appreciated. Everything was served as soon as it was ready, promising perfection. We started with a portion of edamame beans, some tempura and a platter of inventive sushi. The fish was extremely fresh and the tempura a great highlight. We then opted for the black cod and beef tenderloin as mains between 2. The black cod was the best I had tried in London, juicy and full of intense flavour. The beef tenderloin was my favourite dish. Soft and tender served with the most delicious Japanese mustard sauce, definitely not to miss! We decided to share one dessert after the most tasteful and filling main dishes! Green tea tiramisu, the perfect end to a terrific meal.
I will be returning shortly and recommending this place to all friends, family and colleagues!

I had heard aqua was serving up a unique experience on the roof terrace this winter and had to call up and find out what was happening, I called the main number and asked what was happening, the lady informed me they were holding a liquid cashmere event every Monday evening on aqua Kyoto terrace. They were offering hot hand held bowls of Japanese and Spanish food coupled with warming cocktails such as a 10 year old Japanese whisky with sake organic honey ,hot water and lemongrass, plus we were being wrapped in cashmere blankets to keep us doubly warm as we looked over the roof tops of Regent street I just had to book this and so I did.
I arrived last Monday and was quite amazed , even though it was cold there were quite a few people out on the terrace, so that was a good start, we were shown to a table and immediately we were handed our blankets and so luxurious too!! Be warned you need to take a credit card as they will take a deposit for the cashmere, which I don’t blame them for doing.
I ordered the Hot Toddy for both of us and the wagyu beef sukipaki with quail egg and the castallana soup, the cocktail arrived and I have never tasted such delicate and subtle flavours this is definitely a winter warmer highly recommended.
The food was just delicious I recommend the wagyu beef at £12.50 , I do like this type of beef any way , but you have to try it the combinations of flavours are outstanding.
We sat there wrapped up together feeling great and warm, if you are with your partner or a friend it doesn’t matter , this is such a good experience

Wonderful restaurant, the food was refreshingly different, the service was as expected very good and the atmosphere,buzzing. Each dish was beautifully presented, we had started with the tataki sushi platter, which just melted in our mouths and a side of shrimp tempura. As a main, we ordered the beef tenderloin with Japanese mustard sauce which was absolutely out of this world! We were advised to have the char grilled sea bass with shitake mushrooms, this was incredibly fresh, different and full of flavour. As for desert, the green tea tiramisu is crave worthy with its light and airy texture and strong flavour. I was very impressed with this place and will definitely be back soon.

Went on a Monday night, hence pretty quiet.
Food was ok but nothing extraordinary. Nice setting, definitely for red lovers.
Had sashimi as a starter and then the beef terriyaki whereunfortunately the sauce was not screaming of finesse. Saying that, the prices were pretty decent for what you get.
Cocktails were fantastic – especially the one with thyme..!
Have to mention the exceptionally nice staff. Attentive, polite and keen for feedback as well.
I think it's great having the roof terrace there, which is something not many restaurants offer around that area. Overall I think it's nice, but if you're after amazing food then resort to Zuma or Nobu…

Booked a table there for dinner, was advised of 2 hr table turning policy. On the day, called them to advise we're running 30 min late and re-book for a later slot, and the receptionist said it was perfectly fine and won't affect our dinner. When we arrived we were told that we'll still have to vacate the table at initial cut-off time, which left us less than 1.5 hr for dinner! When we complained that if only we were told at the time of re-book that that woudl be the case, we'd rather go elsewhere, the receptionist pulled in the manager who very indifferently tried to push us to sit at the susi counter rather than a table, and when we expressed our unhappiness said that the more we argued the less time we'd have for eating…

We did sit at our table (changed our plans and opted for a quick snack instead of a full dinner), and the service was most cold and indifferent – the waiters made a point of avoiding us at all cost, glasses were not topped up, orders arrived with significant delay. The room decor is impressive, albeit very dark(the only positive thing about the whole place), and food-wise it was OK (spinach in nut sauce was really nice), but the whole experience at Aqua Kyoto left a very unpleasant impression – felt like dining on a station concourse, with people running around and shouting, and the ticketing system for going to the WC and getting back in the restaurant is ridiculous.

OVERALL: nice food, but will never go there again for horrible service, lots of noise and lack of cosiness. BEWARE when booking – receptionists' job is solely to book your in and then they don't give a damn as to what happens to you later. DEFINITELY AVOID for any business meals.

*sigh* what it is with restaurants in London that the service is so non-existent and indifferent, and whats worse, we get charged the service charge regardless. It really mars the evening and Im going to start to work up the courage to have it removed. The food was lovely, the cocktails interesting and delicious and the decor was striking but apart from the door staff, the rest of the staff couldnt have cared less that we were there. It starts off ok, taking the order part but after that, we were invisible. Had to ask for a desert menu after we had been forgotten about for half an hour, werent offered any more drinks after our initial 2 rounds and getting the bill was a mare and was only delivered to us when they finally realised that we were at the end of our table time and another table was due to be seated. Fight back people, refuse to pay the service charge when you receive (I say receive but thats not the correct word) such blah service!

Just like most other reputable Japanese restaurants, Aqua Kyoto is not cheap. Having said that, the food is surprisingly good. The sushi is top grade, super fresh and I am really wondering why I keep going back to Nobu so often, when Aqua Kyoto is less stuffy, cooler and friendlier… Plus they have lovely terraces perfect for early evening drinks and bites, especially if the weather is nice… But even when its cold, its handy for the smokers who want a cheeky ciggie or those who are happy to sit under their outdoor heaters with a friend or loved one and look down on the lights of London town.

All the classic sushi, nigiri and sashimi is available, spider crab rolls always being a favourite. Their cooked food is also delicious with a huge selection to appease the non-Sushi lovers among you. The cocktails are also really delicious and against the really very glamorous backdrop of this stylish restaurant, it all makes for a lovely night of fun. They are open late too, which is handy if you want to stay out late but really want to dodge the West End club scene.

You'd think that London already suffered from an over-saturation of contemporary japanese fusion restaurants, but Aqua Kyoto proves that if you get it right, Londoners will invade.
The venue is black&red chic, it isn't too loud or too bright. In fact the atmosphere is so inviting that you find it hard to leave, helped also by the existance of a roof terrace which allows smokers to smoke without having to stand on some street corner. I'm sure it will be a hit in the summer.
Since we were a large group, we opted for the private dining room, conveniantely located between the bar and the main restaurant, inside a glass cube, so everything was visible and we did not feel excluded. Our waiter was very personable, knowledgeable about the food and overall the service was faultless and friendly. Because we were many, luckily many dishes were ordered. Amongst the usual suspects was a tender not too sweet black cod, which had a delicate charcoal flavour to it, due to a different way of preparation than at Nobu or Zuma. Also recognizeable but perfected to higher standard was a simple spinach roll dish, which we all loved. The tataki sushi platter was light and refreshing, with every piece wrapped individually in cucumber, and the contemporary sushi platter is a must for any raw fish lover. But the outstanding dishes of the night for me were the alaskan king crab tempura and the sea bass with shitake mushrooms and truffle oil, the latter one being especially decadent and sexy tasting.
We finished our meal with some green tea ice cream and yuzu sorbet, which was wonderfully tangy, and the promise to be back soon to taste the rest.

The room is great and when it's full it must be really buzzy. Unfortunately the night I was there it was less tahn half full so it completely lacked ambience. The food is ok rather than exceptional. Pricing is similar to Rokka and Zuma but quality is a lot lower. It has a great bar to hang in but for dinner jump in a cab and go to Rokka, Zuma or one of the Nobus.

Should you have any scepticism of Nobu-esque newcomer Aqua Kyoto from reading the more printed reviewers I would advise you to leave it , along with your coat (and matching earmuffs during the current clime) with the obliging staff at the door. One is never quite sure what you are going to get when you take an elevator that only stops at one floor but in this case a very pleasant surprise, and the aforementioned army of wafer thin attendants who whisked way the Christmas shopping and the outer garments from myself and Mrs J. Straight through into the bar area which was packed without being really heaving, and seemed to strike the balance between ‘bar’ and ‘bar for a restaurant’. Atmosphere was not in short supply, but our drinks almost were when the discerning bar staff insisted on remaking one of the fabulous cockatils from a very pro-japanese ingredient list, due to the wrong cuvee of vodka. No doubt there is always a danger that a dining experience can always been enhanced when you are seated at , what you might consider, a great table, but if the food wasn't up to par, no panormaic view of the restaurant was going to satiate this appetite. Plenty of familiarity on the menu, and whilst it always tempting to revisit the stock favourites (eg beef tataki, which was tender and delicately spicy from the chilli ponzu) that are found in a Japanese restautant of this ilk, branching out was required. The braised octopus with taro and pumpkin was such a dish that rewards what might be consider a brave choice, and equally impressive was the Yellowtail collar, which needed better chopstick skills than mine to tackle, but was no less rewarding for it. Other highlights were the Rocket and King crab salad, it's easy an shot to plead for a better crab / salad ratio but no matter. Some more obvious fare included a good range of sushi / sashimi including the chu-toro (mid-fatty tuna), a new and most welcome expeience to this palate and a sensational kani tempura maki (crab tempura roll). As pleasing as the main menu is the short card of deserts, from which the espresso creme brulee just about gets away with being in the company of green tea tirimusu and the more esoteric flavours of ice cream. In the round Aqua Kyoto delivered; the table service was efficient and pleasing and not over attentive, no raised eyebrows at the request for a carafe of London Tap (Nobu et al take note) and the food was well executed and full of quality of flavour. It won't be the Wife and I's favourite Japanese in town, that plinth is reserved for Dinings or Zuma depending on which day of the week it is, but a solid bronze medal is deserved which is kind of ironic really because in a way that's a British gold.

Visited Aqua Kyoto last night and must say whilst the food was very good I am not sure it was entirely worth the money, The venue itself is beautifully decorated and there is a breathtaking view of London from the roof terrace. I am sure dining out here in the Summer will be of great demand. You can tell the owners of this restaurant have ploughed a lot of cash in to do the venue up as it's very plush inside however there feels like there is something missing in tems of the atmosphere. It feels a bit souless and clinical, couldn't quite put my finger on it though…
Anyway, back to the food. My fundemental issue with Aqua Kyoto is the service which functions like an expensive Wagamamas or Ping Pong. That's fine for those restaurants as they are cheap and that's what you expect from them but not when you are paying £80 per head (thats what our meal came to). I do not feel that is acceptable for a high end restaurants with (probable) Michelin star pretensions. We were only told this after we had ordered and we were also seated 25 mins late with a promise of complimentary drinks which never turned up. The actual dishes turn up whenever they are cooked so when you are seven hungry blokes with healthy appetities, this is not very condusive to having a great dining experience. So what did we order? A selection of starters such as the delicious terrayaki chicken thigh skewers which were superbly cooked; tempura prawns and veg which were very delicate but to be honest no better or worse than I have had at Ping Pong. Delicious and amazingly put together scallop, prawn, and caviar cake like construction ( I forget what the actual name of the dish is). The mains is where the restaurant excelled itself. Mine was the seared tenderloin of beef with japanese mustard and a side order of udon noodles with mushrooms and beans. The beef was beautifully cooked and melt in the mouth. We were there for over two hours in total and had the food turned up cooked together rather than turn up sporadically so one person had a starter and five didnt for half an hour, then the rest turned up in drips and drabs over another fifteen minutes, I would be writing a fully glowing review. However, with the kind of prices being charged I can't see how the owners think that is acceptable. My other issue was the cold clinical and impersonal service of the place.. The waiting staff behaved like robots, they were not rude but I wouldn't say entirely warm and again that doesn't lend itself to the best dining experience. I am sure Aqua Kyoto will do well but even with the great food (good but not so good I'd choose this place over somewhere else) I am not sure I would be too enthusiastic about either recommending the place or going there again myself.

Being from Tokyo, we simply cannot find any contemporary Japanese restaurants in London that is anything like the hip dining bars we have at home. So we went to aqua kyoto with no expectations. Our receptionist led us to a black door that silently slid open to reveal a fantastic bar with hanging charcoal beads and a rectangular open sushi kitchen and sumibiyaki (charcoal) grill ! It would have been too much to expect the traditional shout of “irrashaiimase!” (welcome) from the chefs as the place was packed with diners. (To be fair most of the cool places in Tokyo don't do that either these days.)
The place immediately caught our attention and being typically Japanese, we all looked closely at the sushi cases to check the quality of their sashimi. They all looked impressively fresh although the variety of seafood is not as extensive as what we have at home. We did see one largest selection of taraba crab claws and fatty tuna in London – that was a good sign!
The menu was not huge and we were fortunate to have one of the Japanese waitresses recommend aqua kyoto's signature dishes. We highly recommend the spinach in sesame sauce, the tataki beef starter with chives (and also garlic crisps?). The beef was seared to perfection accompanied by a Japanese citrus (ponzu) dressing. We had some of the best sushi ever when their signature tataki sushi platter came (we decided against the "innovative sushi platter). These were different types of sushi surrounded by Japanese cucumber carpaccio. The clean taste of the cucumber helped clean the palate and allowed us to enjoy the quality of the sashimi. There were 2 pieces of each sushi so I was not able to taste them all but the verdict from our Japanese group was that the foie gras and the spicy tuna belly were outstanding. We also had the taraba crab tempura – Alaskan crab leg meat rolled in nori in a light tempura batter that melted in our mouth without being greasy or tasting of too much batter (quite a feat to achieve in London even in traditional Japanese restaurants). The crab tempura was served with carb miso paste and green tea salt. The silky black cod in white miso was also outstanding – not too dry or sweet with the right amount of white miso paste. Leave room for green tea tiramisu.
Overall the experience was simply fantastic for the quality of the sashimi, sushi, tempura and the really reasonably priced wine list – house wine for £16?! (not sure whether that will stay low for long?). Service is not what we have in Tokyo but nevertheless good (they knew their food) and the place was very busy. We could tell the staff were trying very hard. I'm sure they will sort that out soon. Highly highly recommended!

An excellent addition to the London dining scene. The discreet entrance from Argyll Street via the dedicated lobby and lift makes arrival feel like a special occasion even before setting foot inside the restaurant itself. The design and layout of Aqua Kyoto reinforces the “special occasion” feel of the place. The ambience is warm and welcoming without feeling imposing or unfriendly in the way some other high end restaurants do. There is a buzz about the place, particularly with the open bar and kitchen areas, then becoming calmer and more intimate when you move through to the main dining area, with tables well spaced out so that you can converse without the feeling you are sharing your thoughts with your neighbours. Service was attentive, friendly and helpful without feeling intrusive in any way. The finally the food – I would run out of superlatives trying to describe it fully – the only slight complaint we have is that we over-ordered, but it was all too delicious to leave any, so we ended up eating way too much for the good of our waistlines!
We look forward to coming back in the summer when dining out on the one of the high level terraces overlooking London's rooftops will add a whole new dimension to the wonderful experience this glamorous and stylish new restaurant already has to offer.

Aqua Kyoto is a sure fire winner.

Excellent value for set lunches at around £12 or more expensive exotic choices from the a la carte. One thing is guaranteed the freshest and most beautifully prepared of meals.

The sashimi is of the highest quality. The sushi rolls (soft shell crab and spicy tuna particularly) are wonderfully presented and prepared. The sushi rice is so fresh and moist you do not lose a single grain when dipped in soy!
For non lovers of raw fish there are plenty of options from an excellent and varied menu. The tempura is great. The iberico pork cheek well worth a try, as are the taro potatoes.

For those that like puds, do have a go at the half baked chocolate and sesame ice cream. Simply divine, but don't burn your mouth.
There is a wonderful cocktail list. Around £10 per cocktail, so not cheap, but similar to most west end bars.

Wines are actually fairly competitively priced. You do not need to go mad, but can if you wish.

The service is excellent and staff very knowlegeable. The location is great, lovely atmosphere, and the terraces an absolute bonus for warmer weather and smokers(not me).
I went with some sashimi/sushi lovers and some less keen on raw fish, but willing to try. They were all highly impressed with all aspects of their gastronomic experience I have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant

A stunning restaurant with a fantastic terrace which is sure to be booked up throughout the summer months. Unfortunately the food didn't quite match the surroundings with Udon noodles slightly slimy, however the beef Tataki was delicious.

One gripe is that when ordering from across the menu you can end up with a selection from starters, mains and sides, all of which are served in the correct order. This meant that the waiters were ready to take our unfinished food while we were waiting for the other dishes to arrive. Perhaps this is naivety on my part but staff should be aware that sometimes you order expecting all to turn up at once, and bearing in mind the only main ordered between two people was the noodles this should have been evident.

That said it's still well worth a visit. The bar was busy and there wasn't a spare table in the restaurant all evening so I'm sure that any problems will be ironed out soon enough.

Just had a great dinner at this new Japanese Aqua Kyoto. The Tataki sushi is a must try…with a thin wrapping of cool crisp cucumber over the rice and with interesting toppings like foie gras, it gives a whole new meaning to sushi. As someone with Asian roots it's great to see real sushi make it to London. We've had to put up with American fusion sushi at places like Nobu for too long!
When I eat Japanese I always try the Tempura. It is a simple dish…battered and deep fried… but one that's really difficult to do well. Aqua's Tempura was one of the best I've had. The batter was crisp and not oily, and when you bit through the crunch the prawns inside were fresh and crisp.
After dinner we made our way to the bar on the terrace and had a great drink under the stars lounging on a plump designer sofa. Who could believe this is Central London! Felt more like Hollywood! The bar guys seemed to know their stuff and mixed up an interesting cocktail combination of Sherry and Sake…Aqua has a Spanish restaurant as well as Japanese. The place was really buzzing with cool music and a great lounge atmosphere.
Worst thing about Aqua is the price. It is unfortunately not cheap and so I wouldn't take my grandmother there. But if you are out to impress then it's good value! I'll be back.