The 6 course tasting menu was incredible and flawless from start to finish! Each dish was presented beautifully and the flavours were so well balanced! Service was immaculate. Can’t recommend this restaurant enough!
This is one of the most fantastic experiences I have ever had in a Japanese restaurant in central London. First of all, the location is awesome, easy to find, it is just a stone's throw away from the tube station. The staffs were extremely friendly and professional. We sat at the bar so that we could see the chef and his teammates, who were equally welcoming. The manager was clearly knowledgable, as he explained all dishes that we ordered in full detail. Finally, the food, I'd say that they were of outstanding quality. Absolutely delectable. The fatty tuna and fatty salmon were two of my favourites, while the scallop and butterfish juicy and fresh. All dishes were presented elegantly in a fashionable manner. A five-star experience. No doubt.
Fantastic multi course lunch at RAI. Fresh fish and A5 wagyu along with innovative dishes topped off by friendly and personable service.
Shame it closes next week however plans are already in place to reopen in a new location soon.
Thoroughly recommended
Wonderful Birthday lunch at Rai.
Excellent sashimi, you can't miss premium fatty tuna!
Every dish is an art piece not only the food quality but the presentation! Delighted to enjoy visually!
Great service, we have had a great time, thank you!
There was a hint of “fishyness” when walked into the restaurant which had me worried but overall the food was decent. The produce (the sashimi) was fresh and of good quality. And you can’t really fault the presentation. Would have preferred a wider range of fish/seafood choices.
Great and original Japanese fine dining experience.
We went on a Friday night and chose the deluxe tasting menu (9 courses) and a bottle of wine.
Food: Every course was good and enjoyable. The salmon tartar, scallops, seabass, and ice cream were amazing; perfect temperature, original tastes, and wonderful presentation. I was delighted that we got fresh wasabi, which is extremely rare in Europe. Personally, I found the sashimi and the tofu courses could be improved and portions could overall be sightly bigger.
Service: The service was overall quite good. The wasabi presentation in particular was enjoyable and interesting. Courses were served promptly with very little waiting time. Great! A little more attention to details could be paid. We initially got mismatched wine glasses (one red, one white) and the sheer weight of some of the plates made placing them gracefully quite difficult. So, the service is good with slight room for improvement.
Just wow, absolutely stunning restaurant, presentation, food, everything. Cannot recommend this restaurant enough for a high quality, special meal. There is not an a lacarte menu, there are set menus only, but so worth it. We got the seven course plus wagyu course, and were so full, happy and entertained after it. Everything is presented so beautifully, from the sashimi coming out in a wooden forest like structure, to the dessert coming in a beautifully wrapped treasure chest, everything is considered. Lovely flavours and variety. Also loved the information provided as you went, for example the demonstration on how to make wasabi using a traditional wasabi grinder. You will have a wonderful time!
Follow @hi.there.im.katie on TikTok for video reviews
Beautiful restaurant with very welcoming friendly staff. Food beautifully presented was the best sashimi I’ve ever had and didn’t know grilled mackerel could taste so amazing. I even discovered I liked fresh wasabi.
It was brilliant to watch the chefs preparing all the food with such care and delicate precision.
Would highly recommend and will be going back when I can.
We had such a fantastic dinner at Rai on Saturday, choosing the premium tasting menu. The food was so delicious and the staff super attentive. Getting an explanation of each dish really added to the experience. All staff were so nice and professional, Pravin stood out to us because he always had a smile on his face and provided us with 10/10 service. We would love to re visit Rai again in the future and would highly recommend, especially for a special occasion.
Hannah & Paolo ☺️
Really had a lovely time at Rai. We had the premium seafood and wagu testing menu with wine pairing. The presentation of the food was amazing, one of the dishes came on a coral rock. We had greted fresh wasabi with 5 year aged soy sauce to accompany the sashimi. The wine paring was great, we also had saki to accompany one of the dishes which enhanced the flavour of the sushi. We had around eight dishes in total and each dish was divine. The wagu beef melted in your mouth, the chef hand rolled sushi for us and it was the best sushi I have ever tasted.
The entire experience was amazing from start to finish. Friendly staff, great atmosphere and amazing food, one of the best dinning experiences I have had in a long while. I just would like to thank the staff for giving us a wonderful experience.
Great food and service, loved it. Presentation is also astonishing. Loved it!
I am a huge fan since the first Hot Stone has opened, pricey but worth it!
Surely good as welcoming, joyful and attentive staff but the wine list was poor, and highly expensive. Testing menu was good and really well presented but overall I think it was too pricey for what you get.
I had the excellent Timeout 3-course menu with the champagne & oyster supplement.
The presentation of everything was art itself with flavours to match - broth atop the oyster & cod roe!!
Mackerel was a standout as were the fresh wasabi & aged soy accompanying the maki roll.
Miso salt caramel is a bit of a curve ball for most palates but with the yuzu, perfect.
Only minor niggle was drops of water under items e.g. pickled veg or ginger garnishes that I felt slightly diluted the flavours.
Looking forward to trying more..........
Delicious meal! Super fresh ingredients and meticulously prepped. Thank you for taking care of us and introducing us to the wonderful butterfish and putting Parmesan on salmon tartare!
We had lunch at RAI on Saturday and tried the taster menu. The food was fabulously presented and tastes delicious. The waiter provided very good service by explaining the details of every dishes, and he kept our young kid entertained.
One of the best dinning experience in my life, never thought I'd find something melt better than A5 wagyu in my mouth until I had fatty tuna! Wine pairing also highly recommended
Fantastic experience. I have never dined like this before and the way the food was presented was amazing.
Annabelle Semler-Collery
+4
Beautiful food, creative presentation, great staff and friendly service.
We had a great time for my birthday and enjoyed a winter tasting menu. We also had great Saké recommendations.
Reason for giving 4 stars and not 5 is that, for the price point, the decoration would really use a good refresher (the tables could be sanded or changed, the toilets need to be cleaned/fixed, the paint needs re-doing especially in the staircase going to the bathroom etc)
I don't think the maintenance of the space reflects well on the quality that the plates convey.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes