7 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 seven restaurants for practicing hanami (that’s the traditional Japanese act of viewing flowers)…

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 blossom is set to be a permanent fixture in honour of the restaurant’s 15th anniversary. A new cocktail list, created in collaboration with Japanese whisky pioneers House of Suntory, has also popped up on the menu – we like the sound of the ‘Yuzu Highball’. Additionally, a new ‘Sakura Sunday Brunch’ offering will launch on 7th April. Two new menus, priced at £60 and £80, will include an array of brunch cocktails and free-flowing wine, plus dishes including kampachi robatayaki kinoko no tryufu (robata-grilled cobia with mushrooms and truffle sauce) and kankoku fu kohitsuji (lamb cutlets with Korean spices).

37 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 1RR; Sakura Sunday brunch starts on 7th April

Visit RokaRestaurant.com

Brasserie of Light

Brasserie of Light is celebrating the arrival of cherry blossom season with a limited-edition cocktail and dessert, available for guests to enjoy until 14th April. The team has created an eye-catching, floral cocktail incorporating Hibiki Harmony whisky, Luxardo Maraschino, martini reserva rubino and Peychaud’s bitters, finished with a spritz of cherry blossom aromatics and garnished with cherries and edible flowers. Those with a sweet tooth can enjoy the cherry blossom dessert, a combination of cherry parfait, candy floss and delicate flower petals. Throughout the season, flowers in the brasserie will be carefully selected and arranged to tie in with the sakura season.

Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, Marylebone, W1A 1AB; until 14th April

Visit Brasserie-Of-Light.co.uk

Chotto Matte

Chotto Matte, a Nikkei restaurant in Soho, has launched an array of vibrant dishes in celebration of sakura season. Available from 31st March, all dishes have a floral twist to pay homage to the arrival of spring. Guests can kick things off with a ‘Jasmine Fantasy’ cocktail, featuring jasmine-infused gin served with grapefruit and St Germain liqueur. Next there’s Ebi Blossom tempura shrimp served in a crispy pink casing with a side of creamy, spicy yuzu – followed by a raindrop dessert: edible flowers encased in a clear jelly and served with cherry-ripple ice-cream.

11-13 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4RB; available from 31st March

Visit Chotto-Matte.com

Hush

This spring, Mayfair’s Hush is paying tribute to the cherry blossom orchards of Japan with the help of Sakurao gin and Franklin & Sons tonic water. The pop-up will transform the restaurant’s townhouse courtyard into a Japanese garden: expect an explosion of intricate florals, a canopy of blossom and a show-stopping archway entrance. Authentic Japanese gin and tonics are the thing to order here – Sakurao gin contains homegrown botanicals collected from the Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan: expect to taste notes of sweet summer orange, green tea and the citrus fruits navel and dai dai.

8 Lancashire Court, Mayfair, W1S 1EY; until 12th May

Visit Hush.co.uk

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 which include king prawn tempura with spicy mayo; sea urchin and scallop fried rice cooked on a hot stone in sweet oyster sauce; and fragrant snowflake matcha cake with salted caramel ice-cream. 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 cherry blossom cocktail with Roku gin, Rinomato, cactus and chilli syrup, yuzu juice and sparkling sake, all served in a champagne glass and topped with a cherry blossom cloud. 

Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, 10 Trinity Square, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AJ; until 22nd April

Visit MeiUme.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. This year, the confectionist has created a striking neon-pink fish-shaped cake, inspired by the Sexy Fish logo, covered with bursting cherry blossoms. Additionally, Sexy Fish’s bar team has partnered with Japanese whisky brand House of Suntory to create four new cocktails inspired by blossom. Make ours a ‘Waka Haka', which combines Haku vodka with sweet cranberry, fortified wines and bergamot.

Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1J 6BR; until 14th April

Visit SexyFish.com

Zuma

Renowned Japanese restaurant and bar Zuma has teamed up with Grey Goose and Bombay Sapphire to create a modern floral installation featuring real tree trunks and branches covered in pale pink flowers that run along the ceiling and walls. Six exclusive cocktails have been mixed by bar manager Pawel Rolka and his team. The ‘Fukoka Blossom’, made with Grey goose vodka, cherry and pineapple gomme, vertiver gris and kaffir lime, sounds like an ideal aperitif.

5 Raphael Street, Knightsbridge, SW7 1DL; from 31st March-23rd June

Visit ZumaRestaurant.com

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