Defune

I think that this is one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in London.

It is full of Japanese businessmen in the evening and has a very cool private room and a wall of Sake bottles with customers names on.

All of the sashimi was of an excellent standard – service a little slow on last visit – but nothing to write home about.

I have been many times and will go many more.

The best way to experience Defune is to sit at the counter and let the sushi chefs do their stuff; they know what is fresh in that day, so put your dining in their hands and let them show what they can do. OK, the atmosphere is a little thin, but it beats the hell out of places where you can't hear yourself think, let alone hear your dining companion's moans of pleasure as another perfect morsal passes her lips.

Defune is one of the best sushi bars in London, but it's certainly not perfect. I use to go there for many years when they were in their former premises in Blandford St when I lived nearby, and frequently took a box of their best sushi assortment home for the delectation of my wife, who is Japanese.

The ‘new’ premises is light and spacious restaurant (at least upstairs) is ideal for lunch and is capable of serving with the freshest ingredients, expertly put together. Today I had tai (sea bream), akagi (a shellfish) and ika (squid) that was delicious – but I had them sashimi – ie without rice. Imagine my surprise when I ordered the uni (sea urchin) as sushi and found the rice soggy. it hadn't been sufficiently well blown dry during mixing. A terrible mistake for a top sushi restaurant!

And I also ordered a mixed ‘maki’ box to take home to my wife an she was bitterly disappointed. Not only was the rice soggy, but the maki weren't seaweed wrapped and they mostly contained avocado! Avocado is a heresy that is only just tolerable here and is almost never served in Japan. This made the rice even soggier and the taste bland and uninteresting. There was no cucumber or daikon pickle at all! A travesty of a maki box and completely unworthy of Defune.

The best sushi in London. I have been a customer for over 30 years and used to go to their other restaurant in blandford st. Now they have moved to george street and they have a teppan table which makes a great night out. The food is brilliant both at the teppan table and nromal tables. The sushi compares to some of the best I have tasted in Tokyo.

I thought Defune was an ok sushi-place, but not great in any way. The décor was very bright and felt quite unwelcoming. Downstairs is a bit better, but still a bit of a hospital feel to it. The personnel, however, were very accommodating and service was as good as can be expected. I even had my ignorant sushi-questions answered in a friendly manner. I finally now know for sure that you’re supposed to dip only the fish part, not the rice, in the soy sauce. Apparently it’s not a life-or-death issue though.

Speaking of the food, I truly enjoyed the teriyaki, actually one of the better ones I’ve had. The sushi and the other food we tried, e.g. tempura, were good, but not spectacular.

What surprised me the most with Defune was the bill. It is truly expensive, and not really worth it in my view. However, if you’re not fazed by the recession, if you live in Marylebone and if you feel like having some sushi, then sure, why not? That said, I have yet to try the other sushi-places around the area so I might be adjusting this shortly.

This restaurant is for serious and generous sushi addicts. Due to lack of atmosphere I recommend people to sit at the sushi bar and speak directly to the sushi chef about your fish preferences – you won't be disappointed. As far as quality, freshness of fish and authenticity go, Defune is one of the top japanese restaurants in London. It is expensive, but very well worth it, although I have yet to try any cooked dishes (I keep going for raw fish here). Perfect for post-Selfridges lunch or early dinner and even satisfying and fresh on mondays.