Sticks'n'Sushi, Covent Garden - Review

Danish sushi restaurant group lands in London with the opening of Sticks'n'Sushi in Covent Garden!

With their love of foraging, the world is going ga-ga for Nordic cuisine at the moment.  So it's no surprise that one of Denmark's most successful restaurant groups - Sticks 'n' Sushi - has made its move to London with sites in Wimbledon and Covent Garden.  But hang on for just a sec, because as the name suggests, Sticks'n'Sushi isn't some sort of innovative restaurant championing weird and wonderful ingredients - it's actually a Japanese concept!

On deeper reflection however, perhaps a Danish sushi joint isn't so crazy.  Like the Japanese, the Danes love their seafood and both extol the virtues of simple food preparations using the freshest ingredients.

Adapted from the 1992 menu aimed at a Danish audience who were largely unfamiliar with both sushi and yakitori, the menu is extremely visual, with all dishes stylishly photographed and presented in catalogue form. 

On first glance, the pages of beautifully shot food pictures are actually quite irritating to negotiate through.  However, despite many years of Japanese dining, it quickly dawns on me that I don't actually know what half of the dishes on most Japanese restaurants actually are, so this visual guide allows me to explore the menu with a little more confidence.  So much so that I have actually ‘borrowed' the menu to better understand Japanese dishes in the future!

The spacious restaurant sits over two floors, providing a simple yet stylish space with lots of natural light, brick walls, wooden oak bars and a sea grass coloured long cocktail bar.  Head downstairs and you'll also find the option of a long bar running the length of the kitchen where diners can enjoy their meal whilst watching the chefs in action.

Before you even look at the menu, we would recommend immediately ordering their Ebi Bites – delicious morsels of tempura shrimp with a zingy topping of chilli, coriander, pepper, miso aioli and lime – and a portion of crisp tastebud tickling chilli sauce coated Chicken Bites.  From platters of sushi, sashimi and various rolls to yakitori skewers, when it comes to the rest of the food, it's a pretty faultless experience with plenty of fresh and tasty seafood and flavoursome meat.  Pricing is pretty reasonable too considering the classy joint and great quality food, although it's pretty easy to let the visuals on the menu tempt you into over-ordering!

The upbeat atmosphere of the place is further assisted by the lively bar and its array of cocktails.  The list is inspired by Oriental ingredients and if the LG Saketini and Yuzu Zoo Martini are anything to go by, their heavy handed use of citrus and sugar flavours are clearly aimed more at party drinkers than serious cocktail enthusiasts.

Food: 4/5 Cocktails: 3/5 Venue: 3/5

Cuisine: Japanese Meal for two (excluding drinks): £55 Cocktails: £7.50 Wine: £5