Dinings

Outstanding quality of food with very interesting, innovative takes on traditional dishes.

Lee (see other review) has hit the nail on the head.

No real complaints about the food, which is fantastically fresh and innovative.

The main problems are with the staff and the basement sitting area.

I called on a Friday afternoon to be told that they had just had a cancellation and could fit myself and my wife in, but only if we could make it at 6:15pm. I asked if we could come slightly later, but was told that this was not possible.

So we hot-footed it to the train station to get into Marylebone. On arrival we were shown past the ground floor sushi bar down into the depths. Apart from 4 staff, we were alone. In a basement. No windows. Piped Christmas music. An impending sense of doom.

Anyway, we thoguht that we should give it a go and ordered a number of appetizers and bottle of sake. The highlights of the food were the Lobster Tempura salad (yum) or the mouthful of Cornish Gurnard with a yuzu dressing.

But the lack of atmosphere was getting to us. Eventually another couple arrived to join us in the pit.

So after an hour there were 4 of us in the hushed crypt. No atmosphere, no windows (obviously) and a nagging thought that these few mouthfuls might have cost me a lot of money. Dreadful.

After the starters we asked for the bill, to which the French waiter raised his eyes heavenward but he held back from the full “boff, bien”. £90 for starters and a small bottle of sake. Delicious, but really!

We spoke to the lady who took our booking and she rambled on about how Dinings is about an “experience”. Well if your idea of an experience is to sit in a quiet, non-descript basement and pay a small fortune for tiny mouthfuls of crab, gurnard and monkfish liver then Dinings is the place for you.

Perhaps the 8:00pm sitting is better. Anyone?

Firstly let me be clear, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with the food at Dinings. The ingredients are fresh, of a high quality and brought together with skill and thought to create excellent modern Japanese food which, although sadly not wholly to my taste, I was able to appreciate for the obvious vision that went into creating and preparing it. The sake is likewise extremely good, and my guest and I got through a fair amount when we visited Dinings at the recommendation of a friend.

What let Dinings down for me and earned my friend a narky text from me whilst I was still sitting at my table (such was the level of my ire at that point) was the service and, to a lesser extent, the price.

Let me begin with the service. Poor. That seems a good place to begin. My guest and I were sadled with a young eastern European girl who appeared to lack any warmth or interest in the people she was serving. The only time she made any effort really was when she approached us repeatedly when we were first sat to see if we were ready to order. This to me screams ‘Hurry up and eat so we can free up the table for the next payout’ and is guaranteed to rub me up the wrong way. I say again – poor.

Although during the meal our waitress was able to redeem herself slightly by being able to prise herself away from chatting with her mates to advise us on how much we should order, she then went on to ruin it all in a spectacular fashion when, on hearing that both my guest and I would like the chocolate fondant for desert, she told us that we couldn't have it as it took a long time to make and we had been in the restaurant too long already!

WHAT!?

I'm sorry? ‘Too long already’? Its not like we had come in to shelter from the rain or had made one bowl of miso soup last two hours. We had consumed a significant amount of food for 2 shorties and drunk enough sake to drown a tanouki. Too long? Obviously it was all downhill from here for me, especially when we were told in an extremely disinterested fashion that our second, speedier choice of desert wasn't available either. This sort of thing should carry some sort of mandatory sentence as far as I'm concerned.

I feel myself getting riled all over again just writing this review… be calm. Now what else?

Oh yes, Dinings is expensive. Very. Although you should kind of accept that, especially if you take the time to review the menu online before going, if like me you are a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Japanese food, you will be left thinking there are at least a dozen places that serve quality, more simple food for a fraction of the price. With nice waitresses.

In summary then: Dinings is technically excellent, the food is good especially if you prefer modern Japanese to the more traditional but you will pay a lot for the privilege. I privilege which unfortunately includes some of the worst service I have ever experience.

Too expensive!!!
My sister and I went today to try out this restaurant but it was way too expensive, even more than Zuma and Nobu.
We paid £6 just for a small portion of edamame and £6 for a green tea ice cream just a tiny scoop!
I would never go back there and would rather go to Zuma or Nobu.

Whilst Mayfair may have two Nobu's, Marylebone has some of the best sushi counters in London, with both Dinings and Defune being amongst the Capital's best places to watch the artistry of the Itamae.

Dinings, which bills itself as Japanese tapas, shares a fair amount with Nobu in the style of food, with more inventive use of sashimi than just a few lumps of perfectly fresh fish and some daikon and wasabi. Sauces are light and each perfectly suited to the type of fish being used. Rolls are inventive, although call me old-fashioned, but I'm not sure that foie gras ever deserves to be wrapped in rice, no matter how amazingly cooked it is.

We started this time with tar-tar chips: basically, these are crisps with a small dollop of fish or meat filling. A bit like tiny tacos. The special was a wagu beef one. A single delicous bite of beef and wasabi; crisp on the outside, melting on the in. Like so many things, one is never enough, so a beautiful toro with jalapeno followed. Another sensational mouthful.

Sashimi came in the form of yellow tail with a yuzu garlic sauce and a toro with yuzu ponzu. No I don't have a clue what a yuzu is (let alone a ponzu), but I'd guess it was a citrus, so making the dishes a bit like ceviche, with the acid of the fruit “cooking” the fish ever so slightly. The effect is a sharp sauce that adds bite to the perfect raw fish in a more subtle way than the wasabi and soy sauce staple. I do love this about Japanese food: finding something that you don't know what it is, but finding it is amazing.

A spider roll was excellent. I once managed to convince a dining companion that this was actually a spider: this is clearly made easier when the legs are sticking out the top of the roll, very much like a tarantula might. I am sure that, could they get hold of a reliable supply, Dinings might actually try this. Eel sushi and a California roll were both lovely too. I don't usually go for the California roll, but this was like no California roll I have ever seen before, being almost a deconstruced version of the US “classic”, using mango (I'd guess) and fresh crab.

Everything is beautifully presented, with garnishes that look as though they are merely there for show, but actually each subtly add to the flavour or texture or overal mouth feel in some way, which is so much more than can be said for most western garnishes.

The drinks list is short and has the usual beers, plum wines etc, but also a well thought out list of wines that go with the sushi: I know matching wines with sushi isn't really the done thing, but so what? Sure stick to beer, but when the restaurant itself is branching out in non-Japanese ways (that foie gras again, or truffles, or cavier; they are all here), why not try something new too.

If I were to make a criticism, it would be the service. It isn't that it isn't friendly; it is. It is welcoming in that rutualistic way of Japanese, with a universally shouted “Irasshaimase”. It is just, well; relaxed. Actually, shambolic would be a better way of describing it. Dishes get forgotten, there are vast gaps between dishes arriving, followed by a rush of dishes together; after about an hour, and only a handful of our many ordered dishes having arrived and been consumed, our waitress politely asked if there was anything else that we wanted. Well the rest of our order would be nice!

I've never been downstairs, as I have always enjoyed sitting at the counter. It is here that you see the subtle interplay between the Itamae: the teachings, the tellings off, the respect from the younger to the master. But never hissy fits. Never scaulding with knives or cutting clothes. Just calm, professional and cool. And slow. Not only do I fear that you would lose this element of the experience were you to descend into the bowles of Dinings, but I fear you may lose a few more dishes along the way too.

Don't let the service put you off, and do try the foie gras rolls or the cavier or truffle laced dishes; this is surely one of London's very best Japanese restaurants.

I have been waiting to visit Dinings for a while – for one reason or another we have had to cancel reservations over the past six months but on Saturday night we managed to visit. And what can i say? It was definately worth the wait… Although it is a curious little venue, the sushi bar was a perfect venue for a “date night”. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful without being too overbearing and the food was exceptional – all of the freshest and finest quality sushi and hot dishes that you would expect from the Nobu's of this world, but with none of the pretentious wannabe crowd that tend to frequent such venues. Testamant to the popularity of the of food was the number of walk-ins that had to be turned away and people begging for takeaway orders to be prepared. The chef's special wagu beef with seasonal vegetables was light and delicate but insanely moorish all at the same time. The soft shell crab roll – as good as any i've ever tasted and the sashmi served at exactly the right temperature (despite the heatwave) with a selection of elegant sauces and accompaniments. I would definately recommend this to anyone who is interested in eating the finest quality food in a relaxed and intimate setting.

This place on a quiet street a few minutes away from Edgware Road tube station is a real find. It is tiny. There's a small sushi bar upstairs taking perhaps five seats and then a few tables in the basement. Despite this it works and reminds of you those places in New York where every bit of space is used to the maximum.
And the food is definitely top-notch. The sushi is really good. Generous slices of the freshest fish on perfectly done rice. There's usually a very good selection every time we've been with an intriguing array of specials. Last time I was there, the chef had clearly managed to get a lot of good sea urchin in and these were presented in all sorts of ways. There is often a lot of excellent king crab and very good otoro. The only thing not to my taste is perhaps a lot of the specials sometimes use truffles — which I don't like with sushi — or can sometimes be overpowered by yuzu so that you lose the taste of the fish. But other people don't seem to mind.

A tiny little gem.
Although Dinings lacks in atmosphere due to its size and indeed gives one a bunkeresque feeling when sitting downstairs, the food definately makes up for it. I recommend sitting at the ground floor sushi bar if you're alone or with max 3 people. Staff is always friendly, efficient and knowledgeable and provides great service. Diners should share multiple delicious dishes such as their inventive tartare tacos, lobster miso soup, hamachi sashimi with yuzu, tuna or beef tataki, chilean seabass and soft shell crab roll. One dish I particularly recommend is the Wagyu Beef nigiri, which is dressed with truffle oil and garnished with a jellyfied piece of yuzu for sharpness. It's divine – for lack of a better word.
It is always worth (or actually imperative) to check the daily specials on the blackboard and chosing a couple of dishes from there because they never disappoint. Should you have any room left try the macha (green tea) créme brulee' for dessert.