{"id":1038,"date":"2011-08-07T09:27:06","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T09:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2011-08-07T09:27:06","modified_gmt":"2011-08-07T09:27:06","slug":"watatsumi-restaurant-review-london-wc2-japanese-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/watatsumi-restaurant-review-london-wc2-japanese-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"Watatsumi Restaurant Review – London WC2 Japanese Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watatsumi
\n7 Northumberland Avenue
\nLondon WC2N 5BY
\nTel: 020 7036 8520<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watatsumi is one of those rather rare restaurant experiences that feels relaxing on the eye and on the mind. The interior is calm and elegant, with its high moulded ceiling, marble pillars, and plenty of natural light. There are also fitted wooden bookcases, Japanese screens, sensuous music and an incredible chandelier consisting of hundreds of little ceramic fishes that continually move about in the breeze. Even the menus exterior is exotic, with swirls of blue and green shoals of little fishes that reflect in the light. Watatsumi translates from Japanese as \u2018God of the seas\u2019 and with so much of their nations cooking being raw or very lightly cooked fish this seemed a fitting name. <\/strong>The Head Chef is Peter Makohus, who has had plenty of experience with Japanese cooking, having previously worked in the kitchens of the Michelin starred Nobu. Situated just off the hustle and bustle of Trafalgar Square the restaurant is located in the relative calm of Northumberland Avenue and just a tad off the beaten track.<\/p>\n

To begin, there was a whole host of sushi and sashimi to sample. We tried some beautifully presented sashimi; three types of raw fish included tuna, salmon, yellow tail, topped with salmon roe. This was artistically presented and served with dipping sauces including the fiercely hot wasabi green paste, which added punch and bite to the subtle flavours of the fish. With this we drank an ice cold bottle of Finca La Linda 2009 Viognier, \u00a324.00, with its punchy overtones which proved a good match for the strong flavours on the palate. <\/strong>To follow we tried some fusion style sushi including, a soft shell spider crab roll wrapped in crunchy cucumber and then cooked in a crispy light batter, and a volcano roll, which transpired to be salmon, avocado and spring onions with a spicy mango and balsamic vinaigrette deep fried in a light tempura batter which my guest thought was a fine balance of sweet and sour.<\/p>\n

To follow, we feasted on a tender and very rare seared beef salad, some melt in the mouth roasted black cod a la Nobu, presented simply on a banana leaf and a piquant beef bavette, marinated in spicy miso, served in a dry hoba leaf. We also shared a medley of wok-fried seasonal Japanese vegetables. For dessert we had a medley of ices, my favourite being the piquant chilli chocolate ice cream, my guest preferring the authentic green tea variety. We also tried a couple of sorbets; a fresh and pure tasting lychee and a highly refreshing mandarin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Japanese food is so light on the stomach it really is the sort of food you can enjoy without feeling overloaded. It is the perfect date food as girls love the cooking which is naturally low in calories and fat. It can be expensive, but if you order with care or stick to one of the set menus it is also affordable.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Louise Elgin. July 2011.<\/em><\/p>\n

A meal for two with wine and water is around \u00a360 a head.<\/strong>
\nPre \/ Post theatre menus
\n\u00a325.50 for three courses and a glass of wine.
\n\u00a319.50 2 courses and a glass of wine.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watatsumi 7 Northumberland Avenue London WC2N 5BY Tel: 020 7036 8520 Watatsumi is one of those rather rare restaurant experiences that feels relaxing on the eye and on the mind. The interior is calm and elegant, with its high moulded ceiling, marble pillars, and plenty of natural light. There are also fitted wooden bookcases, Japanese read more …<\/span><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[423],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1039,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions\/1039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}