Last Updated on February 17, 2026
Japanese gem in Chelsea – The Fuji Grill
4.7 out of 5.0 starsInvited to review the new menu at The Fuji Grill Japanese restaurant at Beaverbrook Town House, I was pleased to discover that we were dining on the eve of the restaurant’s fourth anniversary. The restaurant on a warm summer evening looked fresh and elegant. Upon entering this beautifully decorated space via the lounge and bar of the five-star hotel, we were greeted with a bountiful display of hydrangeas perched atop a traditional lacquered Japanese cabinet. Light poured in from windows at the far end of the room, which was painted in sage green. Japanese prints filled the walls above olive green leather banquettes. A few central booths had high-backed seating in dusky pink. Through a glass-panelled wall was a counter where diners could partake of the sushi omakase menu.
We sat at a round, marble-topped table adorned with a small gold lamp featuring a pink, cherry blossom design on its shade. The side plates were flower-shaped. These are the sort of seasonal details that are so pleasing in Japanese restaurants.
The Fuji Grill offers three dining options: the omakase menu (£100), the 6-course tasting menu (£85), or the à la carte menu, styled as tapasu – a tapas-style culture of small sharing plates blended with Japanese cuisine. The latter was divided into sections, including sunakku (snacks), otsumani and salada (small plates and salads), sunakkshirumonno and nabe (soups and hotpots), kushiyaki (charcoal grilled), bincho rogata yaki (Robata grilled), sashimi and nigiri, and temaki – a hand-rolled sushi characterised by its shape. This was a wide-ranging and impressive menu with much to choose from. To navigate it, we drew on the advice of our excellent server, Courtney Jones, who helped us curate our selection. Her advice was spot on, and throughout the evening, her warmth and enthusiasm were unfailing and contributed to our overall enjoyment of the meal.
We began with a cocktail each – I enjoyed a Sloane St Highball – sweet with lychee syrup but not overly so. My husband chose a Tokyo ‘Edo’ Bay from the list of martinis. This was served in an exquisite martini glass. There is a fine selection of sake should you wish to partake.
Two plates from the snack section got us off to a roaring start. Crispy fish skin was a revelation. Elegantly served in a pewter goblet, long shards of silvery fish skin were tremendously more-ish. Pleasingly unsalty, they snapped in the mouth, and we dipped them delicately into a small dish of Japanese tartar sauce, which was laced with a green oil.
Bamboo shoots were another delicious discovery. Served in an attractive ceramic dish, three shoots were shaped like mini Toblerones and had a gorgeous texture. They were glazed in Sancho honey and served with a yuzu kosho mayo – a condiment popular in Japan, made from yuzu rind, chilli, and salt.
From the small plates section at the Fuji Grill, we selected two dishes. First up was a fabulous confit duck ‘shumai’ dumpling. While shumai dumplings are traditionally made with pork, these kept the regular shape while innovating with the filling. Three small rolls were presented in a slightly crisp wrapper encasing intensely flavoured and tender confit duck along with lightly pickled cucumber. It was served with an umeboshi plum sauce, the sour plum that is ubiquitous in Japan. The sauce paired with the rich, umami duck created a well-balanced sweet and sour mouthful.
The second dish at The Fuji Grill was yellowtail usuzukuri (meaning thinly sliced) – five thin slices of yellowtail served with a pickled myoga and sesame mustard dressing. The fish was as fresh as expected, and the sweet flesh was served with thin strips of pickled myoga (Japanese ginger). This was a subtly flavoured dish, the delicate fish enhanced rather than overpowered by the sauce.
The long list of temaki was most tempting, divided into classic, plant-based, and townhouse specials, all made with crispy nori. The Fuji Grill prepares ‘taco-style temaki’, which are typical of Northern Japan. The crispy nori forms a taco shape, which encloses the rice and topping. We began with a classic temaki of wild unagi. Eel is hugely popular in Japan, where it is grilled in street-food markets and on menus throughout the country. Here, the eel was lacquered and grilled and served with the thinnest strips of cucumber and sweet soy. From the townhouse special selection, we enjoyed otoro – the fatty tuna topped with yuzu tobiko (roe,) which imparted a lovely citrus note. My favourite of all was the townhouse special grilled coconut prawn. It was so good that I would happily return to eat a plateful of these. In its crispy nori wrapper were lightly tempura prawns, crispy and sweet. A small bowl of green curry, lime, and coriander sauce accompanied it. Both distinctive yet subtle, not punchy, it was the sort of sauce that made you want to lose your table manners and drink from the bowl.
These items were all so light that we felt we could proceed to exploring a few main course dishes. My husband ordered an aged rib-eye served with yaki niku, lime, and pickled cucumber. Yaki niku refers to grilled meat that is served in bite-sized pieces, and this steak was served in thick slices. Prepared on the robata grill, the tender meat had that charcoal flavour that one cannot match in a domestic kitchen. Even though I rarely eat red meat, I couldn’t resist a couple of pink slices that were intensely flavoured. The beef was served with a small bowl of pickles.
I had blue prawns prepared on the charcoal grill that also had a lovely charred flavour. Two skewers, each holding two prawns, were served atop a bed of stir-fried mushrooms and spring onion, accompanied by a lemon and chilli butter. The prawns were sweet and tender, but I found the sauce rather cloying as it was too heavy on the sugar.
A side dish of long aubergine with spicy caramel ponzu was delicious. A beautifully succulent aubergine was served with a contrastingly crunchy topping of chopped, toasted pecans and tiny pieces of pear. The sauce was spicy but not overly so, while the citrus notes from the ponzu balanced the sweetness – an excellent dish.
This was more than enough food for a feast, yet we had one more dish to try. From the hotpot section, we selected a market fish ‘nabe’ hotpot with yellow curry and crunchy La-Yu (a Japanese chilli oil that contains crunchy ingredients such as fried garlic, onion, or almonds). Nabe means a one-pot dish, and at The Fuji Grill, a small cast-iron pot contained a layer of rice topped with vegetables and fish. The fish of the day was seabass. This was another dish I would happily return for. In Japanese restaurants, rice dishes are traditionally served last so that diners do not become overly full throughout the meal. This was just as well at The Fuji Grill because the fish hotpot was so tasty that we finished off every last morsel and were undoubtedly very full afterwards.
The remarkable aspect of this dish was not only the beautifully cooked and generous fillet of firm fish, or the silky cubes of aubergine and the dainty fingers of okra. Although all these components were good, the rice was outstanding. It cooks at the bottom of the small pot, becoming crunchy – a bit like the Iranian tahdig. It had absorbed the yellow curry sauce while it cooked and had become like a spicy, crispy rice mochi. Fabulous.
With food this good, we couldn’t leave without looking at the dessert menu. I don’t tend to eat much dessert while travelling in Japan unless there is a matcha ice cream on the menu. The Fuji Grill has matcha ice cream amongst an array of tempting flavours. I ordered a scoop of matcha ice cream and a scoop of shiso sorbet. Both were excellent; the sorbet tasted like the essence of the minty leaf, while the matcha ice cream was every bit as good as what you will find in Japan. My husband managed a – thankfully small – blueberry soufflé served with a scoop of basil ice cream. The soufflé was bursting with purple antioxidants and was as light as air, while the ice cream was both subtle and fragrant.
How to bring such a fine meal to an appropriate end? Matcha tea was served in traditional tea bowls and was deeply green and grassy. I felt transported to Kyoto.
Do I recommend The Fuji Grill? Without question. It’s perfect for a light lunch, a long, romantic evening, or a date night. You can meet up with friends, sit at the counter, and enjoy an omakase meal. They also serve a Japanese afternoon tea with a comprehensive tea menu and gorgeous pastries displayed in a glass case. The ambience is elegant and sophisticated yet relaxed, the service is excellent, and the food will keep you wanting to return.
The Fuji Grill is open daily for lunch from 12:00 to 15:00 and dinner from 18:00 to 22:00.
The Fuji Grill
115 Sloane Street,
London
SW1X 9JP
T: 0203 9886611
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