If you thought regular omakase menus were extravagant, wait until you hear about a niche experience that transforms the centuries-old tradition of tuna carving into multi-course ceremonies. The experience entails a whole bluefin tuna being wheeled into the dining room and broken down before your eyes, before spooning the meat straight from the bone alongside many, many courses. A small wave of Japanese restaurants in London has caught onto the trend – here's our top pick of the best.
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Supermarket of Dreams, Notting Hill
Tuna Fight Club
Best for: splashing out on an immersive, theatrical evening.
There are five rules of tuna fight club. First: Mondays are for first-timers and Tuesdays are for regulars. Second: arrive early to see the 200kg bluefin tuna, encased by ice, brought straight from the van after swimming off Marbella less than 48 hours earlier. Third: attend a safety briefing, as the sword used is half the size of a man. Fourth: be prepared to guess the fish’s sex and weight and potentially chosen to carve it yourself. Fifth: after a 12-course omakase, leave with a brick-like block of tuna to take home.
12 courses | 7:30pm | £250 per person | nottinghillfishshop.co.uk
126 Holland Park Ave, W11 4EU
Los Mochis London City
TENrei: The Art Of Tuna Ceremony
Best for: a nut- and gluten-free tuna carving experience.
TENrei is a numbers game. This 10-course, 12-seat, three-hour omakase involves a 220kg bluefin tuna for £195 per person – with an additional £130 for a wine or sake pairing. It’s an interactive experience, too: after hachimaki-wearing Executive Chef Leonard Tanyag removes the head and tail before expertly filleting half the fish in front of you. Next, you’re handed wooden spoons to scoop different parts of the tuna straight from the carving, before taking your seat and snacking on tuna bumps and courses like spicy tuna crispy rice.
10 courses | 6pm | From £195 per person | losmochis.co.uk
100 Liverpool St, EC2M 2AT
PIRAÑA, St. James’s
Bluefin Tuna Experience
Best for: a limited-time-only live tuna carving ceremony.
Live tuna carving ceremonies are exclusive as it is – let alone PIRAÑA’s. This ritual only takes place on the last Tuesday of each month. Thankfully, this late-night dining spot’s limited-time-only Bluefin Tuna Experience has nothing to do with the carnivorous fish itself – though it has made a name for itself in other ways. Take the off-menu, off-the-bone dishes on the cards for those lucky enough to catch a booking for example. Chop chop.
8–11 courses | 7pm | From £120 per person | piranalondon.com
7–9 St James’s St, SW1A 1EE
Mitsu, Shoreditch
Big Fish Energy Brunch
Best for: Saturday brunch.
When you hear the words “Saturday brunch”, you probably picture avo toast or poached eggs. Not a four-hour tuna carving experience with glasses of Laurent-Perrier on the last Saturday of the month. But that's what Mitsu brings to the table – as well as a whole tuna stationed behind a curtained private room. Accompanying free-flowing Champagne for the first hour, there’s sashimi served on scallop shells and the chance to spoon the meat straight from the ribs. All this... plus surprise performances and an open invite to the karaoke room.
4+ courses | 12pm | From £165 per person | mitsurestaurant.com
10–50 Willow St, EC2A 4BH
Kokin, Stratford
Whole Tuna Showcase
Best for: a samurai-coded tuna ceremony.
As far as Kokin is concerned, Wednesdays are for tuna ceremonies. Known as “samurai night”, a nod to the blade used to break down the Spanish, sustainably sourced bluefin, this is the only experience that transforms the fish into ramen with smoked tuna broth. It’s not, however, the only spot that invites guests into an initial free-for-all, encouraging them to scrape the flesh – however big or small they wish – from between the bones as the structure of the fish is slowly dismantled.
5 courses | 6:30pm | From £107 per person | kokin.co.uk
