A Promising New 10-Seat Omakase Counter Restaurant Is Opening in Money Mayfair

A promising new 10-seater counter sushi restaurant from chefs Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa will arrive on South Molton Street in Mayfair next year.

Roji, which in Japanese can mean “dewy ground” or the “garden through which one passes to the chashitsu for the tea ceremony,” a place which “cultivates an air of simplicity,” is a joint venture between the two chefs and Saga Japanese Restaurant Group, which is behind two branches of Chisou (in Mayfair and Knightsbridge), Sushi Atelier in Fitzrovia, and the bento delivery brand Go Chisou.

“Hyper-seasonal” omakase menus must be prepaid at dinner — thought to be in the region of £150 per head, while there will be a more affordable lunch menu on offer. Roji will operate five dinners and four lunches a week with a maximum of 10 customers per sitting, Big Hospitality reports.

Naszai and Hasegawa met at Mayfair restaurant Tokimeite and have form in the capital and beyond: Naszai worked at the now-closed Sake No Hana; Hasegawa has experience from three-Michelin-starred L’Abysse au Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris, and Ginza Shimon in Tokyo.

The omakase will comprise a range of dishes, including sushi prepared with fish predominantly locals, proteins cooked over charcoal, and vegetables from Ikuko Suzuki and Robin Williams’s Namayasai farm in East Sussex — a business, which supplies the likes of Koya in London. There will be an emphasis on preservation techniques throughout the menu.

Big Hopsitality also reports that a “super premium sake pairing from an extensive sake list” will be available.

“We are very excited to be working together. Opening a restaurant as a couple has been our goal for many years and it’s very exciting to see it come to life,” a quote attributed the pair said.

More in the new year when bookings open.