Last Updated on January 26, 2026
Japanese Restaurant and Sake Bar in Holborn – The Azuki Room
4.5 out of 5.0 starsEach month, the team at London Unattached chooses a newly opened restaurant to feature as our Restaurant of the Month. We love the thrill of those first weeks when everything is shiny and promising. Oftentimes, the eatery becomes a stellar hit, and we have the pleasure of bringing it to our readers’ attention. Yet, behind the scenes, the work involved in planning and opening a new restaurant is extensive, expensive, and high-risk, with scores of restaurants closing every year.
Reviewers don’t often get to see behind the scenes, when not everything is working to plan or to schedule. This month, I visited The Azuki Room, a new Japanese restaurant opening off Chancery Lane. Chef Alan Tse is renowned for his popular Dotori eatery in Finsbury Park, which serves Korean cuisine. Being Chinese British, Tse was not raised cooking Japanese food and, in preparation for opening The Azuki Room, travelled to Tokyo to train at the Japan Culinary Institute. He told me a bit about this process, but where his resilience has really been tested is in London. The Azuki Room was due to open in 2025 but suffered a series of unfortunate events: the site was occupied by squatters, the premises were damaged, stock and equipment were stolen, and the specialist sake Tse bought in Japan was consumed. He is still awaiting planning permission to have an open kitchen on the ground floor, and so the restaurant continues to be a work in progress.
On the night I visited, I assumed that The Azuki Room had already opened. I arrived to find that many menu items were unavailable, and it was surprisingly quiet. Tse hobbled over and explained that he had extended the soft launch period as he had, the week prior, suffered a foot injury and was unable to stand at the stoves. Tse is an engaging man, clearly born to hospitality, and I could not help but feel sad for the frustrations he is facing in opening his restaurant. He suggested some dishes we might try, and while some are clearly still in development, several we would happily return for.
The cocktails at The Azuki Room were colourful and very good – fruity, refreshing and not too sweet. We settled in with our drinks and soon were tucking into a dish of mixed vegetables and king prawn tempura. The batter was light and crunchy, and the prawns were juicy. Vegetables included purple sweet potato, orange sweet potato, and shiitake mushroom. A soy dipping sauce with spring onion was the perfect accompaniment.
The oysters at The Azuki Room were delicious. I don’t usually choose cooked oysters, preferring my bivalves raw, but these sounded tempting. Three to a portion, these were moreishly good.
Of the skewers we sampled, my favourite was the tsukune – minced chicken, here with the option of chives included, which one dips into egg yolk.
Agadashi tofu is never going to convert those who say they find tofu tasteless. Since I enjoy the subtlety of tofu, especially as it is served in Japan, I liked the mellow flavour of this dish, where the tofu is dusted with potato starch and deep-fried. The sweet and salty dipping sauce with spring onions added some pizzazz.
A whole sea bream was beautifully fresh and well-cooked with a crispy skin and moist flakes of fish. It had a wonderfully charcoal-grilled flavour.
The menu at The Azuki Room reminded me of another Japanese eatery we have reviewed, Junsei, where the food is fabulous, and the atmosphere is buzzing. Stuck away down an alley off Chancery Lane without footfall at night when the area falls quiet, Tse has his work cut out for himself in attracting customers to his izakaya-style eatery and basement sake bar. I hope he succeeds because there are items that we tasted that I would like to return for, and once the whole menu is up and running, there will be many other dishes to enjoy.
The Azuki Room, Rolls Passage off 36 Chancery Lane, London EC4A 1HL. Open Tues – Thurs 5 – 11 pm, Fri 5 – 10 pm, Saturday 12 – 11 pm.
Telephone: 020 71236628
Hg Soho
Another newly opened restaurant is Hg Soho (check our review), a Spanish chain known as Honest Greens outside the UK, that has opened in London. With its slogan ‘Real Food Revolution,’ it is broadly Mediterranean, featuring large salads, grains and pulses, as well as a selection of non-plant-based plates, including grass-fed meats and sustainable fish. There is a nod to South America with purple potato, corn, and aji amarillo, while Japanese cuisine is much in evidence, all of which we enjoyed – miso salmon, tuna tataki, miso koji apple pie, shoyu pecan pie, and a host of matcha drinks.
Hg Soho offers a diverse menu: fast food, in that it is served quickly, but entirely wholesome. No nasties are lurking in the dishes, the food is delicious and fresh, it looks and tastes healthy. The prices are reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food and the restaurant’s central London location.
Hg Soho, 21 St Anne’s Court, London W1F 0BJ, open daily, hours vary, so check the website.
Telephone: 0115 6473195
Little Baobab
While Little Baobab has been the in-house restaurant of the Africa Centre for the past year, it has existed for a decade in other venues and has recently launched a new set-dinner menu. One of the very few Senegalese restaurants in London, I knew I was in for a meal that would be new to me, a culinary education at the very least. I came away having enjoyed not only an innovative and delicious dinner but also the relaxed vibes, African music, and warm welcome. Little Baobab is an inviting space with a small open kitchen and a room warmly decorated with African lampshades, chunky wooden tables and banquettes clad in deep blue and gold fabric. Stacked African cork stools are sculptural and add to the African art and design that define Little Baobab’s aesthetic. With Senegalese music on the sound system and iconic West African fruit cocktails in hand, we settled back to enjoy the food and the atmosphere. The set menu is served at an intentionally measured pace, so this is not a spot for a quick pre-theatre bite. Book your table, bring some friends and relax.
The snack selection set the tone for a fine meal. Ndamba teranga bites were two dinky pastry cups filled with black-eyed beans and plantain. Small enough to eat in one bite, they were warm and spicy. A plate of these would go down beautifully with a cold beer. Thiou boulette was three small fishballs perched on a tomato sauce. The fish balls were spicy, had good fish flavour, a slight crunch of onion, and were flecked with green herbs. This was no Italian tomato sauce, but rather a rust-coloured, spicy one that paired very well with the fish.
One of the highlights of the meal was a starter dish of chicken dibi with chilli mustard dipping sauce. BBQed chicken pieces were very well seasoned and both tender and tasty, strewn with thin slices of onion and green chilli. They were accompanied by a marvellously mustardy dipping sauce. A main course I hope to return to eat was lamb mafe. Two lamb chops were served with mafe sauce, fried cassava puree, grilled carrot, and a side of rice. The lamb was well-seasoned, tender, and perfectly paired with the spicy peanut sauce. The carrot had a gorgeous charred flavour while the fried cassava puree was a delight. The crusty, crispy exterior gave way to the soft inside, adding value to this well-constructed, fine plate.
The set dinner menu is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as well as for those who serve chicken, fish, and meat. It is £47 per head. Go to Little Baobab for delicious and innovative Senegalese cuisine and a good night out.
Little Baobab, 66-68 Sussex Street, London SE1 0BL
Telephone: 0208 0046436
Other new openings in January that have caught our attention.
DakaDaka is a modern Georgian restaurant and natural wine bar, opened in Mayfair. This cuisine is relatively unexplored in London, despite being one of the world’s oldest. Expect open-fire cooking with bold flavoured dishes. Alongside the wine list will reflect Georgia’s 8000-year-long wine-making heritage. Head Chef Adrian Hernandez Farina is formerly of Canal, Humo, and Chiltern Firehouse, and diners can watch him at work in the open kitchen, with its charcoal grill and wood-fired hearth. Dishes will include Saziaro (snacks), like crispy oyster mushrooms with tarragon aioli and burnt onion, and Khemsi (small plates), including Khinkali – Georgia’s famous hand-folded dumplings. There are also Khachapuri (stuffed flatbreads), Shampuri (skewers) and Kharcho (braises). Desserts will include red wine soft serve, which is made with Saperavi grapes and drizzled with olive oil – a nod to Tbilisi street food.
DakaDaka 10 Heddon Street, London, W1B 4BX
Telephone: 020 46306435
Ruth’s has opened south of the river, in Putney. Serving a British bistro menu with ingredients sourced from across the country – Somerset cheeses, Cornish fish, Scottish langoustines, and Irish oysters. Chef Ed Baillieu was formerly executive chef of the Pelican in Norring Hill and the Hero in Maida Vale. He has teamed up with Callum Ross, former general manager of the Camberwell Arms and Forza Wine at the National Theatre. He brings an Antipodean angle to the wine list. Ruth’s is named after Ed’s grandmother and follows her mantra ‘is it kind: Is is necessary? Is it true?’ Expect good ingredients, presented with integrity.
Ruth’s, 94 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 1LL
Telephone: 020 46308385
Le Café by Nicolas Rouzaud is a new café opened by the man behind the fabulous patisserie at The Connaught, the home of gorgeous pastries, cakes, and patisserie. Now opened in the elegant Burlington Arcade off Piccadilly, Le Café by Nicolas Rouzaud is sure to be super popular. Rouzaud is one of the most feted Master Pâtissiers in Europe, and is renowned for fruit-focused pastries. You could jump on the Eurostar for your Paris Brest or pistachio croissant ball, or treat yourself to exquisite fare in central London. More of a savoury person? In addition to cakes and pastries, you can enjoy savoury treats such as salmon or egg mayonnaise buns, as well as teas, coffee, and cocktails.
Le Café by Nicolas Rouzaud, 66-67 Burlington Arcade, London W11 0QU.
Telephone: 07482813258
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