EATING OUT
TAKA
EATING OUT TAKA
18 Shepherd Market, London W1J 7QH Telephone: 020 3637 7677 Shepherd Market is a small square, akin to Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books, and just oozes quaintness and an oldy worldy charm, and is teeming with boutique shops and quality restaurants, including the wonderful TAKA restaurant. TAKA, like its surroundings, is cosy and high end, and when full, would only be able to serve 28 customers. This enables them to treat their customers like royalty and make them feel so very special. Japanese food has grown on me over the years, so I now have extremely high expectations when visiting a restaurant serving Japanese food as the emphasis has to be on the freshness and quality of the food. On both counts TAKA excels. What is also clear is that, because there are only a few patrons, TAKA’s attention to detail is second to none, and on a Wednesday night just after lockdown was relaxed my wife and I were treated like royalty for the night. TAKA is cosy, but the tables are separated enough to enable you and your partner privacy, and the service is spot on. Visiting a restaurant is like going to the theatre, it is a combination of experiences, and your evening is not just based on the quality of the food, it is also the service, the ambiance, and the presentation, and at TAKA every aspect is focused on and nailed. The decor is an eclectic mix of contemporary sharp décor with wooden floors and tables, and 1970’s style chairs (which, I am reliably informed, are very much in fashion again), and the wooden ceiling panels extenuate the cosy vibe. The music is WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM
also there to enhance the experience rather than to drown out conversations. For a small restaurant the menu is actually quite large, and after wrestling with a number of almost impossible choices, including a Lochard Salmon (£14), which is actually smoked at your table (wonderful theatre!), we chose the Tasting Menu (£85) as it gave us a great selection chosen by the experts. The first course was Snow Crab, Seared Wagyu Tartar, Truffle and Crispy Seaweed, where we had to roll our own crab cone, and despite mine not looking as good as it would have been if it had been made by, frankly anyone else!, it tasted wonderful. Crab is a delicate taste and can so easily be swamped, but here the flavour bursts through triumphantly. Next was Yellow Tailed Tuna, Smokey Aubergine and Edible Flowers. Fresh tuna is just a delight, and this was complemented perfectly by the sharpness of the pickle. Our third selection, Wild Sea Bass Broth, or ‘Soil Soup’, is not necessarily something you would choose when reading a menu, but you really should! It is so called as it is made from all of the peelings from the vegetables boiled down with miso paste, sake and salt, and some of the soil the vegetables are grown in, and is served with a side of black olive “soil” producing a rich and slightly salty broth. The fourth offering was the Summer Garden Salad which has crunchy vegetables, pickled Myoga and crispy shallots on a light creamy edamame paste topped with a miso foam, and you can see why it takes 3 days to make it, as it is a work of art. Although this salad takes 3 days to make, the diner is advised to take 3 seconds to break it up, as you need to mix it up so you get all the flavours in each mouthful. After this course we were treated to a main of Monkfish wrapped in Roasted Seaweed.
Monkfish is a really meaty fish, and if overcooked can become tough, but here they are parcels of delight and the monkfish’s sweet and mild flavour has been enhanced by the Den Miso marinade. People can also modify the sweetness or tartness using the accompanying grilled lime or sauce. Our sixth course (yes sixth, and we weren’t flagging at all) was Tuna 4 Ways, with a chef ’s selection of Nigri and homemade ginger. My love of tuna I have already mentioned, but you should also be aware that TAKA’s attention to detail is so acute that they bind their rice with 3-year-old rice vinegar which adds a unique taste and texture and is only allowed to be used by four restaurants in the UK. It was with heavy heart that we had to leave the mains to move to the desserts as we had loved everything we had been served, but our first dessert quickly raised our spirits again. The wonderfully named Duck Egg arrived in a bowl nestling in straw and contained gooey Meringue Ice Cream with Japanese Salt, Yuzu Fog and Charcoal. The ice cream was rich and creamy and tasted almost as good as the dish looked. We finally
TAKA
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