Japanese hand rolls are, ahem, on a roll in London – this year we’ve already welcomed Kumori and Maki Nori to Soho, with Saltwater and Miokuru due later this summer. They all have Temaki to thank for their popularity – the Brixton sensation which earned a devoted following in south London and beyond for owner AM Dupee’s Californian approach to Japanese cuisine. Now, after four years south of the river, Dupee has upped sticks from Brixton to Mayfair to a new and significantly larger home, with an expanded menu to match.
Wallpaper* dines at Temaki Mayfair
The mood: Counter culture
Thessaloniki-based architecture and interior-design studio Adamidis designed the space to feel ‘modern, relaxed and a little bit Japanese-inspired’, says Dupee, who wanted minimalism without coldness in much the same way that the food marries Japanese precision to Californian mellowness. ‘We used artwork and texture to bring some warmth and personality into the restaurant,’ Dupee says, ‘with neutral colour and clean lines to let the produce really stand out.’
Upstairs is a stripped-back wooden chef’s counter for 14 diners, with handrolls passed directly over the oak. Downstairs is more restaurant-in-feel, with a softer, listening-bar vibe, seating gathered around a central counter and a dry-ager displaying the raw materials that end up on the plate.
The food: Roll with it
The restaurant takes its name from te (hand) and maki (roll), the no-chopsticks-required version of sushi believed to have been invented in the 1920s and inspired by American ice-cream cones.
Like all the best ideas, temaki is blissfully simple: pristine fish, vinegared rice and crisp nori, rolled to order and best enjoyed straight from the chef’s hand. The signature Temaki combines akami, otoro and caviar, while fillings such as prawn tempura, baked scallop and barbecued eel demonstrate the breadth of the format. The set menus that built the restaurant’s loyal Brixton following remain a cornerstone of the experience, providing an ideal introduction to Temaki’s Californian-inflected take on Japanese dining.
Also order a couple of rounds of Japanese small plates designed for sharing: some yellowtail sashimi here, some grilled aubergine with sesame sauce there, with some crispy rice topped with spicy trout for carbs, a gyoza of the day if you’re still peckish and, if you really insist on eating with your fingers, an A4 Wagyu slider. After all, who needs chopsticks?
Temaki Mayfair is located at 11 Maddox St, London W1S 2QF, United Kingdom