If like me, you have a list of restaurants you’d like to try in London, put Tokimeite at the very top of that list. You’ll just have to trust me on this. I’ve kept it aside for such a long time mainly because I couldn’t be bothered going into the central part of London and having to deal with the massive hoards of tourists in Regent Street. Tokimeite makes that painful journey worthwhile.
We went to Tokimeite for our wedding anniversary dinner. We’ve only started celebrating our wedding anniversary when we moved to London as it’s a great excuse to eat in fancy and expensive restaurants without feeling guilty about it. Not that we’ve ever deprived ourselves of eating in good restaurants because we’re a bunch of gluttons but when you’re celebrating something special, it makes you feel like you deserve to be fed well. Lol.
Japan’s most celebrated Chef Yoshihiro Murata teamed up with Zen-Noh group to open this sexy, stylish and truly authentic Japanese restaurant in the heart of one of the poshest neighborhood in Central London. Murata is the only chef in the world to hold seven Michelin stars, evidently we were expecting to be wowed by this meal.
Tokimeite which means “anticipation” specializes in Kaiseki cuisine, considered as the world’s finest meal. Dishes are meticulously prepared and served in elegant small portions. The heart of kaiseki is presenting the dishes at the height of its freshness without much seasoning to ensure that the true flavours are kept. Traditionally kaiseki consists of nine courses but having seen the menu, we opted to order our own a la carte dishes instead.
We started our meal with a refreshing citrus sake which I ended up ordering as my drink for our entire meal. I had my eye on the Ebiten Wasabi Mayo as part our starters even before we arrived Tokimeite. I’ve been seeing it on instagram making my mouth water everytime. I wasn’t disappointed, the thin shavings of truffle garnishing it created a very expensive taste – figuratively and literally. Lol.
Next we had Hida Wagyu Tartare with Truffles Maki which is the very best maki I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. The wagyu beef doesn’t need any description, it’s prepared, served and tasted as how it’s supposed to be – sublime! It was so soft and buttery that it melts in your mouth and the truffles complimented this buttery taste. I seriously can’t get over this dish.
We had cooked eel next as The Greek Mister wanted to try it. It was soft and sweet, I didn’t eat much of it though as I wanted the taste of the maki to last longer in my mouth. Lol. We also ordered a portion of soft shell crab maki. The crab meat had the right amount of batter deep-fried to perfection.
Finally as our main course, we had Char Grilled Wagyu Rump Steak Sumiyaki – the very reason why we’re in Tokimeite in the first place. We initially ordered two portions of this dish but the waiter misheard us and only served one, it’s a blessing in disguise though as one serving of this dish was enough for both of us and it would’ve been a waste if we had another one.
Two of the most expensive, most important and tastiest ingredients in the world in one bowl. The combination of wagyu beef and truffles is the luxury food for the soul and will spoil your tongue in the most pleasurable borderline orgasmic way. The broth alone was so filling, so delicious and so… umami! I’ve found the perfect dish to use that term finally. We finished this meal with only one thing in mind – it was the best meal we’ve ever had for the longest time.
Tokimeite is an authentic Japanese Restaurant focused to provide gastronomic excellence to its diners, you won’t find a california maki here. The waiter looked appalled at the diner sitting next to us when they asked if Tokimeite has california maki to serve, I almost snorted on my sake when I heard it. Tokimeite also aims to promote the priced wagyu beef in Europe so understandably, it is the star of our meal and the very reason why we’re there.
I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough and I plan to try their lunch deal very soon.
Tokimeite
Website
23 Conduit St, London W1S 2XS
+44 (0)20 3826 4411
Note: We paid GBP175 for a meal for two with drinks and service charge.
The dishes are so beautiful. I like artistically prepared meals.