Sushi On Jones delivers authentic yet affordable for London omakase experience including the two express menus. You can be in and out in 45 minutes with either 12 or 20 course menu.
Omakase, means ‘chef’s choice’, it’s a form of Japanese dining where guests leave themselves in the hands of the chef.
In the case of Kings Cross it’s in the hands of Head Chef, Mattia who hand selects all his ingredients on the day and brings to life items from Uni to Toro and Botan shrimp to Wagyu and beyond.
The Omakase experience is set in a traditional humble small venue on a first floor with 10 high chairs around the bar. Due to the nature of the concept it needs booking and only operates Wednesday to Saturday between five and ten o’clock.
The restaurant serves 2 express menus, plus sushi items from the a la carte menu. The dishes can be paired with traditional Japanese teas, a range of sakes, a few cocktails, Japanese whiskey or wines from across the globe.
Since it’s a Japanese establishment, I went for sakes. Intrigued by the cloudy fermented milk like appearance my first choice was Kikusui Junmai Ginjo.
It’s opaque with fruit and citrus like notes, it’s perfect chilled as sipping or with sushi. Although I actually realise it’s milky texture was due to a few tiny pieces of fermented residue.
While my guest sips fruit Riesling and sake, we’re explained the concept of the 12 course express menu. It’s nigiris mostly, the guests are served light fish first making the fish richer and denser both in colour and flavour as we progress.
We’re encouraged to have pickled ginger each time as a palate cleanser. And I have to note in all my years of sushi consumption I always avoided ginger, lesser known as gari, but this omasake experience changed it.
Perhaps it was the milder more authentic version of ginger, but another sushi later I’m still consuming gari between different varieties of sushi.
Our first course is a halibut nigiri with lemon zest, the chef prepares everything by hand, craftly slices the fish, grinds the wasabi root and forms the sticky rice into the shape.
Authentic wasabi, which is what Sushi On Jones, uses is finely ground in front of us because wasabi root starts to lose its sharp flavour after fifteen minutes making it impossible to preserve it in its pure form.
And the real deal is incomparable. It’s milder than its packaged or ground cousins, which in most cases are mixed with horseradish.
Once the sushi is formed into shape it’s handed to the guest. This is the important bit as it’s a traditional part of omakase. We eat and repeat, eleven times more after the halibut. Each piece is perfectly flavoured with soy and wasabi already.
Our 12-course contains scallop, yellowfin, sweet grey prawn, seabass with truffle, trout with fresh shredded cucumber, shrimp tartare, mackerel, two types of tuna, including the fatty one, before completing with the final nigiri of Wagyu beef.
The fatty tuna and Wagyu are also blow torched in front of us, which creates a bbq feel and an amazing aroma. Since I’m the fish person I ask about the origin of the fish is it farmed or wild caught? to be precise. We are told that most are wild caught and the menu changes regularly depending on the season and what was caught.
We complete our meal with slightly sweet and acidic at the same time Tamanohikari Junmai Ginjo, give thanks to the great team and depart.
My guest and I liked Sushi On Jones. We left neither too full nor too hungry. 12 course is a filling lunch, or a light dinner. Of course it’s not the typical lunch grab café because obviously it’s not trying to be.
Yet it’s quick and something different. Everyone should try omakase at least once in their lifetime. And Sushi on Jones provides a good option without the need to get on a 12 and a half hour flight to Japan.
Sushi On Jones, 11 Goods Way, London N1C 4PW