RAI, fitzrovia
RAI, fitzrovia (££££)
Chef Padam Raj Rai brings us an Instagrammable display of sushi in one of his newest restaurants, Rai. The sister restaurant to Hot Stone in Islington, Rai has an emphasis on precise presentation and traditionally crafted sushi. Walking into Rai, you are welcomed in accordance to traditional Japanese fashion with a loud, joyous welcome from the chefs behind the sushi counter, which is how I would always like to be welcomed. The restaurant itself is small but feels intimate and special, an exclusive feeling definitely helped by the low lighting and soft wooden decor.
Rai, rather helpfully, only offers three choices: a tasting menu, a premium tasting menu, or the premium omakase. Okay, that's a slight lie. While those are the three choices of set menu, there are many additional extras to add, including a wagyu course, premium sushi, and oysters and caviar. Today, we went for the basic tasting menu, albeit basic is not a word often used within the four walls of Rai.
Typically, when you think of storytelling within restaurants, you think of the stories each dish conveys. Typically, for a tasting menu, you're led on a journey with each dish in and of itself holding meaning. However, here at Rai, it is the ingredients individually that are held in such high esteem, not the dishes they create. This is first brought to your attention before the first dish is brought out. Presented quickly after ordering: wasabi from the foothills of Mount Fuji, grated fresh at your table, and aged soy sauce to accompany. Seldom are accompaniments given such a spotlight, but it is not without good reason.
As much as I can (and oh so happily would), talk about the difference fresh wasabi makes to sashimi, there is plenty more (potentially) interesting food to write about here. With this in mind, it is right to talk about the first dish - sashimi presented in halved sea urchin shells, placed amongst a piece of driftwood (apparently a nod to the restaurant's environmental credentials, which is lost to me). Within the three halved shells were expertly cut slices of salmon, tuna (chutoro and o-toro), and yellowtail. It's hard to talk about sashimi as you would a pasta dish or pastry. Sashimi, when done well, should be simple, taste fresh, with a texture dependent on the cut. However, as you can imagine, the sashimi here was excellent - even if hard to articulate (not ideal for a restaurant review, granted). Of particular note was the tuna, the o-toro butter buttery, with a flavour perfect to pair with the sweetness of the wasabi.
Sadly within a few bites our first course was done, but then soon our shelving unit full of more sashimi and fish came. Certainly impressive, this dish encapsulated Rai - small, delicate, and intricate bites, each small bowl it’s own flavour and technique. Each bowl just enough to share, we were advised to work from the top down, going from light fresh flavours in delicate vinaigrettes, to bolder flavours of charred and cooked fillets. As mentioned, each bowl held a different flavour; of particular note were the yellowtail and jalapeño, o-toro and caviar, and the cooked mackerel with assorted pickles. An immodest boast into the skillset of the chefs here, this was a 360° view of different flavour pairings.
We were then presented with our first non-fish dish - aubergine, miso, sesame, and truffle. Texturally soft, but bold in flavour, the deep earthiness of the aubergine and truffle were balanced by the Japanese flavours of the miso and sesame. Up next was another delicate dish, grapefruit and a wakame salad, and scallops with a soy and ponzu dressing. Again instructed on the best way to eat it, we were advised how to best extract the flavours from each dish. This dish placed citrus in the spotlight, but never at the expense of the flavours of the scallop and wakame.
A good tasting menu should feel never-ending, but not drawn out either. And then, after that course, came something different - something practical and fun! Next up came not a dish, but mise en place, different elements to a tuna hand roll. The fun here, was that we were to build our own roll, but not before the history and story of each element, from the rice to the nori to the fish, was told to us - this was to be no normal standard hand roll. A great break to normal broadcasting here, the quality of the rice and nori was excellent, and proved the difference normally looked over ingredients can make.
And now, alas, the end is in sight. Pumpkin and Umeshu ice cream, a wonderful well rounded sweet note to end off the meal. Only one or two spoonfuls, but after a meal of so many different flavours, subtly is how you want to end it. And yet, just after you think it is over, chef Rai comes to your table, home-made rice wine and chocolates truffles in hand. Definitely not needed, but at this point it is rude to say no (and a waste of wonderful chocolates and rice-wine).
Incapsulating the heart of Japanese cuisine, Rai takes the simplest of flavours and executes them wonderfully. By no means the cheapest meals, but you can find omakase for easily two-to-three times more than we paid here. A great introduction into high-quality Japanese cuisine, I would put Rai on your to-try list, and if not for the food then for your instagram reel.