Hot Stone

Straight out of the gate, Hot Stone feels like a longstanding neighbourhood restaurant. It’s decorated in muted greys and light wood tones, with a few simple tables, a sushi counter, and backlit screens that nod to traditional Japanese design. There’s a calmness about it, but it’s overwhelmingly cheerful, so expect to see date night couples and larger groups gleefully lifting cuts of self-seared cuts from hot stone to plate.

The menu at Hot Stone is a study in Ishiyaki cooking, but it’s not all DIY. The a la carte menu offers elaborate sushi rolls, tempura dishes, and seared sashimi. We opt for ‘The Grand Sharing Menu’, which, after fresh Maldon oysters in a punchy tosazu dressing sees staff whisk us through a progression of pretty plates. Think bite-size nigiri, seared fatty tuna, and smokey seared butterfish in an incredibly moreish spicy truffle and ponzu dressing.

Elsewhere there’s Nobu-style fried rice, its nutty base crowned with a mound of deftly spicy tuna tartare, and scallop carpaccio in a floral ponzu sauce. It’s followed by a cornucopia of colour: a sashimi box selection with naturally sweet, sliced and scored slivers spanning fleshy pink tuna, luminous salmon, buttery yellowtail and scorched mackerel. All are elevated by two-year-aged soy sauce and a bump of freshly grated 100% Japanese wasabi.

Naturally, the headliner is the titular hot stone itself, arriving at a blistering 450 degrees (along with safety and quality control instructions). After searing off leafy slivers of Yorkshire Wagyu, followed by juicy prawns, and batons of marbled Japanese A5 Wagyu, we use the fat from the latter to caramelise a set of Hokkaido scallops. Our only gripe lies with an overly firm raspberry panna cotta dessert, though by this point we’re already busy with a clever Espresso Martini, poured tableside over a delicate coconut mochi.

It’s a far cry from London’s influencer-ridden Japanese restaurants. Hot Stone isn’t flashy or ostentatious; it’s quietly confident, with a knowledgeable team to instinctively manage the ebb and flow of sushi, sashimi, and ferociously hot stone plates. And while prices might not seem friendly (particularly if you’d rather have your dinner cooked for you), it meets demand for both quantity and quality. After all, generous tasting menus with A5 Wagyu and 100% Japanese wasabi starting from just £65 a head are a rare thing.

Hot Stone is a steak and sushi bar in Fitzrovia that celebrates an ancient Japanese method of cooking and eating known as Ishiyaki (the art of cooking on hot volcanic stones). It specialises in serving the finest wagyu sourced from certified kobe beef, and uses this prized ingredient in a series of innovative dishes. Head chef Padam Raj Rai has over 20 years of experience in some of the best Japanese kitchens in the world and is now also the founder of omakase restaurant Rai in Fitzrovia.  

Hot Stone understands the importance of using high quality ingredients and takes provenance very seriously, from using one of the best types of sushi rice in the world (koshihikari) to sanpuku nori grown in the Ariake Sea and using fresh grated wasabi to add a subtle and aromatic flavour to dishes. In fact, Hot Stone serves its wasabi fresh at the table to ensure the freshest flavour possible.

There are two menus to choose from: an a la carte offering and a tasting menu designed to be shared between two or four people. The a la carte menu comprises a series of starters, sashimi, maki rolls and ‘hot stone highlights’ which is where you can choose from either wagyu or seafood to be cooked over hot stones at the table. Diners are put in charge of this part, so you can cook your choice of meat or dish exactly to your liking.  

The tasting menu, meanwhile, features slightly different dishes from the main menu including the likes of scallop, ponzu and plum sauce, a sashimi selection box, seared salmon sashimi with spicy truffle yuzu miso and truffle and, of course, A5 sirloin Japanese kagoshima wagyu. To drink, diners can choose to select a sake or wine pairing chosen by its in-house sommelier, to enjoy alongside the tasting menu.

For a limited time only, you can save 71% on an incredible 4-course wagyu experience, all for just £29.99. Head to the website to book today!