IN THE foyer of the 45 Park Lane Hotel and on the first floor around the bar and seating area, paintings by the British artist Albert Irvin were on show at the time of my visit.
Contours, lines and calming colours characterise a homogenous and sheerly visual art that invites the art of seeing but not to worry if you miss the exhibition because stepping into the hotel’s Sushi Kanesaka restaurant will produce a similar impression.
Hirotaka Wada, the head chef from Tokyo to London
The pristine space of the restaurant is governed by down-to-earth materials: wood for the kumiko panels and clay for the vases and plates. Wood is also the constituent of the nine chairs that consciously echo the Wishbone design of Hans J. Wegner. Comfortably seated, you face a counter and the chef standing to commence a two-hour performance art show.
The counter, one single piece of Hinoki cypress, shined with milk and water to bring out its straw-coloured perfection, is parallel with the minimalist preparation area: one or two chopping boards, a bowl for green rhizomes waiting to be sliced and shredded into wasabi, and two dangerous-looking, long knives. The chef, never brandishing the tools of his trade, uses them with consummate ease to prepare wafer-thin slices of food.
Deft handiwork defines the preparation
The first of the many courses in the omakase (‘I’ll leave it up to you’) menu is scallop and crab in steamed egg custard (chawanmushi), filling a small jug and eaten with a spoon. The delicate smoothness is enlivened with sips of sparkling sake that bear testimony to the Japanese proverb (nihonshu wa ryori wo erabanaii) about sake not getting into fights with food.
The first of many courses sets the tone at Sushi Kanesaka
Tuna features more than once and makes its first appearance as marinated akami, followed by another, paler-coloured part of the fish (chutoro) and then a change to steamed abalone in a wooden bowl with octopus. A demure Koshu white wine goes well with sushi and the grape variety has travelled from Yamanashi, the prefecture home of Mt Fuji, to Germany; at Sushi Kanesaka, the original and a German version are both served and so too is a selection of Japanese whiskies.
Details matter at Sushi Kanesaka
Conversation at the counter tends to be minimal given the compulsion to remain a spectator absorbed in following the deft hands of Hirotaka Wada, the head chef from Tokyo. His topping of the rice with red vinegar and slicing the fish looks effortless – trying this at home can become muddled and messy – with an assistant helping out and another one stepping in to display the lobster that will feature later in the meal.
Before this, seabass is squeezed with a sauce, Japanese cucumber is wrapped in seaweed, squid is sprinkled with beluga caviar and amadai (‘delicate snapper’) is presented with radish and tiny mushrooms. Meat makes a solo star appearance in the form of kobe beef.
The space that waits for you at 45 Park Lane
By now, you have reached the halfway mark and the lobster croquettes with Japanese tartar sauce are a culinary intermezzo of sorts before the show continues with more divine dishes that include a luscious ikura gunkan that is most definitely an all-in-one bite – ‘don’t stop’ advises the chef – with a bright orange colour that would not have been out of place in Albert Irvin’s palette.
Waxing ecstatic about the aesthetics of Japanese crockery – shapes, textures and colour tones – comes easy and this restaurant does not disappoint; witness the beautiful lacquer bowls placed in your hands for a soup with clams and chives.
It would be an understatement to say you are not likely to forget a meal at Sushi Kanesaka. There is nothing else like it in London.
by Sean Sheehan
45 Park Lane is the address; phone 02073197466 or reservations@sushikanesakalondon.com; Tuesday to Saturday, 6pm and 8.30pm sittings.