Once upon a lifetime, 13BC (before child) in the days of DINK (double income no kids), my husband and I regularly dined out at London’s ‘in’ restaurants. Our favourite romantic hotspot was Le Caprice in St James’s, where I always had the same two dishes – risotto nero (black risotto with cuttlefish) and frozen summer berries with hot white chocolate sauce. Then came the Japanese fusion invasion, with Nobu and Sumosan, and there I found the ‘food for the gods’, and my all-time favourite cuisine and restaurant.
You can’t sit down for under £200 at Sumosan, so it’s not a regular haunt of mine, but if money was no object, I would eat there all the time, like the oligarchs do.
Beyond the prestigious Mayfair setting (Albemarle St) and the rich and glamorous clientele, the real stars of this establishment are the food and the people who run it. They have had the same head chef – the brilliant Bubker Belkhit – since it opened 13 years ago, and the same owner – the beautiful, dynamic, jet-setting Janina Wolkow.
She jet-sets even more now that she has taken over the Moscow and Kiev branches (and she caters for Roman Abramovich’s VIP box at Chelsea FC) but she is still real and down to earth, thanks to her loving, close family and friends. She will readily tell you about her humble roots – how her late father arrived in Berlin from Russia when she was a small child with $50 in his pocket and made his living buying and selling in market stalls. Her life is a fascinating tale of rags to riches, entwined with the rise of London’s Chelski set, and if ever a book was written about the intrigues of Russian oligarchs in London, Sumosan would feature as the top table upon which they all dined out.
But enough about that. On to the food… It was interesting to read today in the Standard that Heston Blumental recently dined there. It was of no surprise to me. Sooner or later, I knew the great chefs would eat there. It is food for the gods, with prices to match its heavenly allure. They source the best and the freshest of everything – from the finest tuna belly and king crab to high-quality fois gras and truffle oil. My favourites…
Sumosan tartar – tuna, avocado, quail egg and seasoned with truffle oil
Three tartars – salmon, toro and yellowtail combination
Yellowtail – truffle tiradito
Oysters with ponzu dressing
Lobster salad
Black cod with miso
T & T (tuna & truffle) roll – my absolute favourite – you will not find this anywhere else as Janina invented it.
All washed down with Champagne and good company, I’d recommend, though they do have an excellent sommelier who will match wines by the glass with each course.
The Jbar downstairs is a great place to party. Whatever the occasion, you will have a superlative time at this ultra-glam venue. For a more low-key taster, try the chi-chi set lunch for under £30 a head.
Lobster salad
Chocolate fondant
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