My main birthday meal last week was at the popular Japanese eatery Zuma in Knightsbridge. A big lover of fine-dining, I made it my mission to read a LOT of foodie-blog restaurant reviews and compiled a list of must-visit restaurants in London. It is pretty long! Since I’ll be returning to London a lot in the near future, I’m determined to make my way through the whole list.
Zuma is a Japanese restaurant chain founded by German chef-turned-international-restaurateur Rainer Becker. Knightsbridge was it’s first location, with others located in Hong Kong, Instanbul, Dubai, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi and Miami. Rainer Becker is also the founder of Roka and Oblix (up the Shard).
After our coats were taken, we were guided to our seats. It was the buzzing and lively atmosphere at the bar that I noticed first, and the fact that most of the clientele were business men. I guess this was after-work dinner for most as it was a Thursday evening.
The decor was mostly light-coloured wood, minimal and modern. This gave a bright and relaxed ambiance, it didn’t feel pretentious or snooty at all.
Photo credit: superpotato.jp
Photo credit: www.culturedivine.com
Our waiter was so lovely, the kind of cheerful guy you just immediately want to befriend. He guided us through the menu and explained the izakaya-style of Japenese dining where food is to be shared, and constantly brought out to the table, one dish after the other seamlessly. I really love this concept, it maintains the excitement and surprise of your whole dining experience.
Zuma claims their dishes are ‘bold, with intense flavours and an emphasis on simple presentation acquired through quality ingredients.’ This was definitely true. We ordered one dish from each section of the menu with of course sake to go with it. Their sake list is pretty extensive and I really enjoyed how it comes in a small wooden box. The waiter pours the sake in your glass allowing it to overflow in to the box, to which you can either pour that back in your glass at the end, or drink it straight from the box. Something different!
We ordered for the starters/main:
jumbo tiger prawn with yuzo pepper (from the robata grill)
diver scallop tartare with fresh wasabi ponzu
seaweed salad, apple wafu and grilled lotus root
scallops with ume boshi, shiso and mentaiko (from the robata skewers)
sliced yellowtail with green chilli relish, ponzu and pickled garlic
crispy fried sole with spicy ponzu sauce and spring onion
fried softshell crab with wasabi mayonnaise
As always, we had edamame beans with salt to start:
The sliced yellowtail with green chilli relish, ponzu and pickled garlic:
The fried softshell crab was delicious, light and crunchy and paired perfectly with the wasabi mayonnaise:
It was great how the crispy fried sole dish was literally an entire fried sole as the bowl – genius! The display however was more impressive than the actual taste with this one. Probably our least favourite choice.
So these scallops below are literally the most incredible things I’ve tasted. When my sister and I simultanously put them in our mouths, our eyes immediately widened with glee and and if it were possible, fireworks were going off in my head. My tastebuds had a serious party with this one. So juicy and delicious! I really appreciated how little sauce these scallops needed. The way it had been grilled on the robata grill was spot on. I’m going back just for these bad boys.
Already feeling spoiled from a constant stream of wonderul food, imagine my happiness when the jumbo tiger prawns arrived. Jumbo is perhaps an understatement, I didn’t know the shells could be so huge! It was absolutely heavenly to eat. Again, you didn’t need any sauce to eat it, the way they grilled the prawns was flawless. They were amazingly flavoursome, light and fresh. Another winner.
The cocktail I had with dessert was also one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had (and I have had a lot!). It was the Zumanuka – fresh basil muddled with 42 below manuka honey vodka, juicy pinapple and a dash of jonagold apple juice. Perfection.
I then had the most incredible dessert. Ever. It was mouth-wateringly good and I still think about it. I can’t wait to go back to order it again. It was banana and green tea leaf cake with caramelised nuts and coconut icecream. It was perfectly moist, the combinations of sweet and crunchy paired with light, cold ice cream was to die for, truly.
Without a doubt it was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had. Not only for the tasty food, the presentation was thoughtful and elegant, the staff were very helpful and friendly, they even brought out another birthday chocolate cake for me with 3 waiters singing Happy Birthday by my side. Book a table at Zuma for a special occasion, although it is not cheap, it is definitely worth every penny.
Have you ever been to Zuma? I’d love to hear your opinions.
Wow everything looks so good!! I’m a huge fan of soft shell crabs and even more so jumbo shrimps, you just can’t go wrong with Izakaya style dishes. Love the way the scallops were presented 🙂
Me too, I always order soft shell crabs and especially black cod if I see it on the menu. You can’t go wrong! 🙂
Black cod, I’ll have to remember to keep an eye out for it 🙂
Looks amazing!!
Happy Belated Birthday!! It looks like you enjoyed a visit at an amazing place! YUM!
Hey thank you!! It was very yum! 🙂
Great way to celebrate your birthday! The food looks really scrumptious. My son took clients there when he was over in England, and was really impressed. Now the name ‘Zuma’ has a different meaning for me, because it’s the name of our South African president. Not at all appetising. 🙁