Spring in London is in full swing – but while us Brits love the flower-filled season, the Japanese dedicate a whole festival to it.
Sakura is the Japanese term for the cherry blossoms that flood the Asian country in April, turning whole vistas pale pink.
Fans of the phenomenon often engage in Hanami, the practice of enjoying the transient beauty of the flowers, which is frequently celebrated with parties packed with special food and drink.
While we don't have anything to compete with that over here, those with floral FOMO should head to London’s Japanese-inspired restaurants, which are bringing a little bit of sakura season to the capital. From decadent decorations to very Instagrammable desserts, here’s where to go cherry blossom crazy.
Roka
Roka is celebrating its 15th birthday this year, and is doing so Sakura-style at its Charlotte Street Shochu Lounge. The bar’s annual floral installation has returned, covering the ceiling of the space with winding cherry blossom – but this year it will become a permanent fixture. A Sakura sunday brunch has been brought in to celebrate the new addition: running from April 7, weekend revellers can enjoy special dishes, including a watarigani dish of soft shell crab and roasted chilli. The bar has also partnered up with Japanese spirit connoisseur the House of Suntory to create a special cocktail menu to toast the bloom.
37 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RR, rokarestaurant.com
Sexy Fish
The star of Sexy Fish’s Sakura show is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a rather sexy fish. Alongside a mirrored blossom installation at its Mayfair entrance, the glamorous Asian-inspired restaurant is introducing the striking dessert to its menu. In collaboration with Sebastian Wild Cakes, diners visiting before April 14 can tuck into a neon pink cake shaped like a perfectly pouting fish, decorated with cherry blossom branches. Special cocktails also include the Skinny Sakura with Haku vodka, wakamomo peach and pear cider, and the Waka Haku made with vodka, cranberry and bergamot.
Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, W1J 6BR, sexyfish.com
Chotto Matte
Chotto Matte’s Nikkei cuisine is a mash-up of Peruvian and Japanese flavours, but Sakura season will see it really embrace its Asian influences – as well as a plenty of pink food. From March 31, a special menu features a spring maki dish containing chu torro tuna and picked cherry blossom, which arrives arranged like petals of a flower. A “Rain Drop Jelly” dessert includes a perfectly clear orb of jelly inflected with edible flowers, served alongside a cherry ripple ice cream.
11-13 Frith Street, W1D 4RB, chotto-matte.com
Nobu Shoreditch
At Nobu’s Shoreditch hotel, a whole terrace has been dedicated to replicating the sensory splendour of the Hanami celebrations. From April 5, the space will be covered in cherry blossom decorations, perfumed with aromatic scent diffusers, and will host special dishes alongside cocktails that celebrate Japanese spirit brands. The space will also serve a unique afternoon tea, which includes the likes of a sushi rice pudding with pecan candles, a “Samurai” California roll, and a raspberry and ginger flavoured choux bun.
10-50 Willow Street, EC2A 4BH, nobuhotelshoreditch.com
Hush
Hush’s eclectic menu may be a bit of a globetrotter, but the restaurant is blossoming with Asian inspiration this spring. For its Sakura pop-up, the Mayfair spot has teamed up with Sakurao Gin and Franklin & Sons to turn its famously quaint courtyard into a Japanese garden, festooned with pink blossoms. A specially curated gin and tonic menu includes the Strawberry Fields with strawberry liqueur and hibiscus, and a Spring It On flavoured with pink grapefruit tonic water, Italicus and honey.
8 Lancashire Court, W1S 1EY, hush.co.uk
Mei Ume
Mei Ume may be part of the Four Seasons Hotel, but there’s one season it does particularly well. Springtime sees the Chinese-Japanese restaurant come into bloom as part of its Hanami celebrations, with its already elegant wooden interior intertwined with branches of cherry blossom. Until April 22, diners will also be able to tuck into a limited edition menu, with dishes including a grilled miso sake seabass dish served on a tea grill, and sea urchin and scallop fried rice cooked in a hot stone dish.
10 Trinity Square, EC3N 4AJ, meiume.com
Zuma
Sushi sensation Zuma is going all out for Sakura right up until June 23, so diners have months to enjoy the spectacular display of cherry blossoms at its bar, with thousands of flower decorations dropping from its ceiling. The bar has also teamed up with Grey Goose and Bombay Sapphire to create a selection of seasonal cocktails, including a Frozen Hana drink of gin, plum sake, tonic reduction, dry vermouth and martini bitters.
5 Raphael Street, SW7 1DL, zumarestaurant.com
