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5 Cherry Blossom-Filled Restaurants To Visit This Spring

With cherry blossom season now in full bloom, Asian restaurants across London are putting their own spin on the Japanese sakura celebrations – installing pink-hued odes to spring’s prettiest natural wonder. From neon bars to edible petals, here are SL’s top five restaurants for practicing hanami (that’s the traditional Japanese act of viewing flowers)…

Mei Ume

Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square’s Asian restaurant Mei Ume has transformed its pavilion-style bar with a canopy of flora. Head Chef Tony Truong has also created a seasonal menu with dishes that include rock shrimp tempura with spicy mayo, and pan-fried wagyu beef gyoza. Guests can watch as sushi chef Mun Seok Choi and his team artfully craft golden dragon rolls with unagi, Alaskan crab and avocado at the live sushi bar, and toast hanami with a floral cherry blossom cocktail, made with Sipsmith gin, lychee and yuzu juice.         

Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, 10 Trinity Square, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AJ; until 5th May

Visit MeiUme.com
 

Roka Charlotte Street

Roka’s Shochu bar is celebrating spring in a seriously bright way with the return of its annual sakura installation. But this year, there’s a difference: the team has added a smattering of pale pink neon lighting throughout the display to highlight the delicate blooms and enhance the ambience of the subterranean bar. Three new cocktails influenced by the sweet flavours of spring have also popped up on the menu.  Of the trio, we like the sound of the Morello Fizz: roku gin with morello cherry, red vermouth and soda top.

37 Charlotte St, Fitzrovia, W1T 1RR; until 20th June

Visit RokaRestaurant.com

Zuma

Renowned Japanese restaurant Zuma has teamed up with French vodka brand Ciroc to create a modern floral installation featuring real tree trunks and branches covered in pale pink flowers that run along the ceiling. Six exclusive cocktails have been mixed by Bar Manager Pawel Rolka and his team. The Sakura Martini, made with Ciroc vodka, sakura-infused vermouth and pickled sakura, sounds like an ideal aperitif.

5 Raphael St, Knightsbridge SW7 1DL; until 17th June

Visit ZumaRestaurant.com

Sexy Fish

Sexy Fish is celebrating sakura season with a collaboration with Sebastian Wild Cakes, known for creating sculpted confectionary resembling real-life objects. An edible flowerpot made from vanilla sponge and filled with a meringue buttercream will hold a sprouting blossom tree and delicate flowers sculpted from icing sugar (£30 each). Additionally, Sexy Fish’s bar team has partnered with Japanese whisky pioneers House of Suntory to create four new cocktails inspired by blossom. Make ours a U and Me, which combines Hibiki Japanese Harmony with sweet umeboshi (plum), lemongrass and ginger cordial and tonka bean bitters.

Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1J 6BR; until 29th April

Visit SexyFish.com
 

P. F. Chang’s Asian Table

The West End pan-Asian restaurant has launched The Bloom Room, a beautiful floral pop-up that has transformed the eatery’s ground floor with shades of pink and cream. Beneath the flora, guests can sip on themed cocktails or indulge in one of two limited-edition puds. The Cherry Blossom Cheesecake is a no-bake sakura-inspired dessert with hints of citrus, rose and cherry, while the Pink Paradise is a large macaroon filled with fresh raspberries, matcha ganache and rose ice-cream.

10 Great Newport St, Leicester Square, WC2H 7JA; until 30th April

Visit PFChangs.co.uk
 

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