The top line: Notting Hill-based restaurateur Chris D’Sylva has given two of his Japanese concepts a permanent home. Set across three floors of a townhouse close to Notting Hill Gate station, Nakimushi houses Urchin and Robin’s Ramen, which both started life within D’Sylva’s nearby luxury food and retail space Supermarket of Dreams. The kitchen is led by joint head chefs Yuji Shimokawa Kelly, who oversees Urchin, and Robin Kosuge, the chef behind Robin’s Ramen. The opening cements D’Sylva’s status as one of west London’s most prominent operators, with the Australian-born former brand strategist also behind nearby Dorian – and rumoured to have further projects in the pipeline.
On the menu: The ground-floor dining room focuses on ramen, with options including Robin’s Ramen’s signature lobster ramen with seafood paitan and komatsuna, and char siu pork belly ramen made with Basque chicken broth and ajitama. Alongside the ramen is a concise selection of snacks and cold plates, including wild hamachi with yukari ponzu and nori oil; namayasai salad with shio koji dressing; and corn tempura with fig leaf salt. Service is described as “intentionally energetic”. Ramen is also available in the more intimate and refined upstairs restaurant, although its menu is significantly broader and explores contemporary Japanese cooking. Smaller dishes include red prawn and courgette gyoza with umeboshi; quail tempura with jerk tendashi and apricot purée; and chicken karaage with chive oroshi and ponzu. Larger plates designed to share include line-caught steamed turbot with red vinegar; grilled Ibérico-Duroc pork loin with red almond miso; and grilled tuna kama with padrón pepper dashi and kimizu.
The vibe: The restored Kensington Mall townhouse combines Japanese design influences with the building’s original character. Guests enter through an oxblood shopfront beneath a custom-made noren, with pale timber, parquet flooring, brass detailing and hand-glazed Japanese tiles used throughout. The ground floor is arranged in the style of a lively Tokyo ramen shop, with an open kitchen, communal table and counter seating. Upstairs offers a calmer dining room with leather banquettes and a tiled bar, while the top floor contains the preparation kitchen and a temperature-controlled showcase larder visible to guests.
And another thing: Nakimushi means ‘crybaby’ in Japanese.
7 Kensington Mall, London W8 4EB / www.nakimushi.co.uk