Turning Japanese: Mayfair’s 20 Berkeley to relaunch as NIJU with Endo Kazutoshi at the helm
NIJU will be overseen by the group’s culinary director Endo Kazutoshi, who also is also behind the Michelin-starred Endo at the Rotunda in Shepherd’s Bush, Sumi in Notting Hill and upcoming Whitehall restaurant Kioku by Endo.
20 Berkeley Street has only been trading for a little over six months having launched in summer last year.
The venue’s launch executive chef Ben Orpwood - whose CV includes Gordon Ramsay Group’s Lucy Cat, Caprice Holdings and Zuma - is understood to have moved on from Creative Restaurant Group.
Kazutoshi has appointed head chef Chris Golding, alongside David Bury as head sushi chef.
NIJU will offer katei ryori-style cooking, meaning ‘home cooked food’ in Japanese that is being billed as ‘informal yet decadent’.
The space is set to be ‘updated’. The venue’s 20-cover Nipperkin bar will not be re-branded and will continue to serve ‘expertly crafted cocktails’ with the addition of a menu of Japanese-influenced sando sandwiches.
Founded in 2021, Creative Restaurant Group also operates Mayfair’s HUMO, which won its first Michelin star earlier this month.
