The Araki Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Easily one of the best sushi places in the world!"
• "The food is delicious, and served exquisitely."
• "The varities of fish were all sourced fresh (same day), some from the mainland and others from Europe, namely France and Portugal."
• "The sashimi and sushi was, for the most part, delicious. The tuna in particular was superb."
• "All I can say is that the food was fabulous."
• "The best sushi I had in my life (including some of the best restaurants in Japan)."
• "Everything was very fresh and tasted incredible."

Cons:

• "The soup starter and the matcha desert were a tad lacklustre."
• "The quantity is very small."
• "The smallest pieces of fish I've ever had anywhere."
• "We’ve had similar or better quality in Tokyo for less money."
• "The food was average, almost 50% of the food was tuna in different parts, so overrated."
• "Expectations are very high when you pay this amount of money and I’m sorry to say that we were a little bit disappointed."
• "The food mostly cannot be faulted."

Service Experience

Pros:

• "Marty Lau is not just a world-class chef but also a wonderful host and entertainer."
• "Everyone from the Chef down was very nice and accommodating."
• "The food and service were truly world-class and worthy of a special occasion."
• "Good vibes and a warm service."
• "The entire team were professional, courteous and accomodating."
• "Service is top notch and chef is very knowledgeable about his food preparation."
• "Impeccable service."

Cons:

• "Almost silence through the whole service, which was awkward."
• "The atmosphere was very awkward and felt like everything we did was done wrongly."
• "Somewhere during the meal, Araki called my serving chef to the back and yelled at him in Japanese."
• "Get treated differently because of the color of my skin."
• "Despicable customer service. Very rude and unpleasant."
• "The staff were so strict, uptight, rude, and simply looked down on us."
• "One of the chefs used his mobile phone to show videos to some customers, which was unprofessional and shattered the sense of ceremony."

Atmosphere & Setting

Pros:

• "You are part of a working kitchen, you see, hear and smell everything that goes on."
• "Only 9-10 seats available and you get the most exquisite, satisfying and fulfilling Japanese sushi meal ever."
• "It's the combination of spectacular food, with a format that has you seated at an intimate counter, able to chat to the chef while he is making the food in front of you, that is just so special."
• "It is really intimate, you are part of a working kitchen, you see, hear and smell everything that goes on and service is impeccable."
• "The atmosphere in the small wood panelled nine seat room is peaceful, yet relaxed."
• "The ingredients are extremely fine and everything is expertly prepared in front of you - a fine piece of theatre."
• "Tremendous experience - Japanese omakase at a small counter setting with detailed explanation of the composition of each dish in English."

Cons:

• "The restaurant is tiny and only has a single toilet, so you have potentially 9-10 people queuing up to use it."
• "The end of the meal was also a bit chaotic."
• "Dishes and sake were great. Atmosphere and plating takes too long."
• "I somehow ended up in having a very American, loud experience - not a Japanese one."
• "Standard high end experience but unmemorable."
• "Incredibly expensive, and don't think that it is worth double the price of some of the other 3 star restaurants we have dined in."
• "It's quite expansive. It would be nice, if water would be inclusive at least."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The cost of the evening is totally justifiable considering the rarest quality of ingredients and unsurpassed level of personal service."
• "It’s not an inexpensive meal, but definitely worth it for a special occasion and I would love to go again."
• "If money is no object then it's a no brainer: you should go!"
• "Yes, it is quite pricey.. but it is worth every single penny."
• "Top quality sushi, amazing wine unforgettable experience!!!!"
• "One of the best meals I've had in my life."
• "You would have REAL SUSHI made of local ingredients in London."

Cons:

• "They took almost $1100 just like that."
• "So.....so disappointed. Not worth the price."
• "At £300 plus service you are looking at £30 per small bite which is extortionate by any standard."
• "Overrated reviews in many newspaper and magazines."
• "Definitely not worth the money."
• "We feel a fair price would be ~£150-£200/head based on the true value of the wine/sake."
• "The place is costly."

Customer Treatment

Pros:

• "To his credit the chef prepared some more Tuna sushi for us."
• "The chef's passion for his craft were evident in every dish that graced our table."
• "The chef and his team are really friendly!"
• "Many thanks to Chef Lau and his charming, committed team for persevering through this difficult year."
• "Absolutely phenomenal experience for foodies like me and my partner."
• "The place boozes with respect and great energy."
• "Araki san and his staff are absolutely wonderful hosts and make your visit a very pleasant one."

Cons:

• "The restaurant ushered us out within 2 hours due to another booking after us."
• "The restaurant denied any reimbursement or accommodating us for Saturday night or even reimburse partially."
• "Most racist restaurants I ever been to in London."
• "We ended up paying over £800 for 2 as drinks are not included in the £600 prepayment."
• "We practically had to beg them."
• "Came with a cold answer NO NOT POSSIBLE because its BUSINESS LOSS for us."
• "Due to my late reply to their dietary requirements I was refused service and blatantly asked not to come to the Restaurant."