Ukai Restaurant Review: Japanese Fusion Perfection in Notting Hill

The rumours are true, Notting Hill really is home to some of the capital’s best Japanese food. If you told me, I probably wouldn’t believe you – but trying it first hand for the second time – I can confirm such rumours. Especially as this meal was even better than my last time visiting Ukai on Portobello Road.

Ukai is housed inside a converted pub which is one of the things that makes this place special, keeping a relaxed feeling and letting the food take centre stage. Looked after by head chef, Alessandro Verros who trained at ROKA, this Japanese restaurant is host to a delicious menu, stunning cocktails and at the weekends an array of live music.

A meal at Ukai should always start with a cocktail because they’re just as good at creating these, as they are their food. Having tried a few of their cocktails now, two have turned into my absolute favourites. The Suntorian, a blend of Japanese which is made up of Melon infused gin, Aperol and home-made Grapefruit soda. Both were absolutely delicious and real stunners of cocktails.

First dish to arrive at our table was one of my favourites from the menu. White tuna tataki. Stunning seared white tuna, drenched in a mouth-watering yuzu sauce, truffle and sprinkling of peanuts. The smell when this dish arrived to the table was incredible, the texture of the fish was like butter and at just £11.50 for such quality – it felt like a fantastically good value for money dish.

Just as much could be said for the seabass tiradito, Ukai style. I’ve had this dish before here at Ukai and somehow it seemed even better than the last. A signature dish of the restaurant, the raw seabass is served in spicy citrus sauce which will leave you salivating and that touch of spice from the jalapeño chilli, also brings with it some lovely flavours.

One dish which left me completely lost for words were these king crab legs. Who knew such a thing, when prepared so well could offer so much excitement. These incredibly juicy Alaskan king crab leg were hands down some of the best I have ever had and if that wasn’t already good enough, then the lime butter they have been saturated in will leave you wanting more. Once you’ve devoured the crab legs, order the soft shell crab. Perfectly golden batter, more juicy crab meat and a lovely jalapeño mayo for dipping.

The salmon and avocado rolls are another excellent choice here, in fact all of the rolls from what I’ve tried so far have been delicious. Quality salmon, ripe avocado and cream cheese. Each piece is then topped with more salmon which has been given a slight torching for extra flavour.

If I had to pick one dish that didn’t quite blow me away, it would be these black cod gyoza. By no means were they bad, in fact far from it – but on comparison to the other dishes it perhaps didn’t quite stand out as much. The filling was stunning, but the casing just needed to be a little lighter and softer in the mouth.

Star dish (and there were many of them) would have to be these beef short ribs served on a rib bone and I loved the presentation of the dish. Each slice of that beef had been slow cooked for so many hours and had the richest and deepest meaty flavour imaginable. A squeeze of lime, sprinkling of sea salt and dipping of chipotle miso sauce – utter heaven. Once again and like so many dishes here, you’ll be lost for words with every bite.

Barely any room left, we somehow managed to finish not one, but two desserts and both were rather epic. Best and one I highly recommend is the chocolate fondant. Allow approximately 15 minutes to cook, but trust me it’s well worth the wait. Rich, chocolatey, oozy – this will spend a lifetime on the hips. Just as good is the white chocolate yuzu cheesecake. It’s so light, fluffy and incredibly delicious.

It was so nice to be back at Ukai and to see just how the food is continuing to evolve. It’s still every bit as delicious as the first time I came, but it’s so much more now – making this visit for me so exciting. The cocktails also feel like they’ve become more inventive, which means even a drink here will have you wanting to come back and experience more of what Ukai has to offer. If you live in Notting Hill, book a table and if you don’t then make your way here now and discover just how good Alessandro’s cooking is for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.