RFK Cuisine · Sushi · London
Best Sushi Restaurants in London 2026
Sushi · London · 6 counters ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
Nine seats in a Mayfair basement, a master who trained in Tokyo, and a fish bill that rivals anything in Ginza — The Araki is the reason London now belongs in any serious conversation about sushi outside Japan, even though Michelin took back all three of its stars when its founder went home. The city's sushi map is short and steep: two tiny edomae counters that take months to book, a one-star Kyoto kitchen that also slices superb fish, and the trio of glossy modern rooms — Roka, Zuma, Nobu — that taught London to eat raw fish in the first place. One of the great counters, Endo at the Rotunda, sits dark after a fire; we note where it stands below. These are the six sushi rooms worth booking now, ranked on the cooking, the room and what the bill buys, with what to order at each.
1.The Araki
London's most ambitious sushi counter; book The Araki for a £310 Mayfair omakase that once held three Michelin stars.
The Araki is a nine-seat counter on a Mayfair side street where chef Marty Lau — trained under sushi master Mitsuhiro Araki — cuts an edomae omakase of around £310, the most serious sushi in the country. Michelin awarded the room three stars under Araki himself, then removed all three in 2020 when he returned to Tokyo and handed the counter to Lau; the cooking did not fall off, the chef simply changed. Across a handful of seatings a day, Lau works imported and British seafood through the classic edomae techniques — aging, curing, the nikiri brush — in near silence. It remains London's hardest, most rarefied sushi seat. Book a week or more ahead and surrender to the omakase.
Reserve direct; the full omakase, and let the counter pour the sake pairing.
2.Sushi Tetsu
The cult seven-seat counter; chase a Sushi Tetsu booking for the purist's edomae omakase at a fraction of Mayfair prices.
Sushi Tetsu is a seven-seat counter in a Clerkenwell alley where Toru Takahashi — who cut his teeth at Nobu and Matsuri — and his wife run what is, seat for seat, the most coveted sushi in London. There is no Michelin star and no marketing; the room's reputation is built entirely on Takahashi's edomae nigiri, cut and brushed to order in front of you, and on how nearly impossible it is to book. Prices are gentle for the quality, roughly £90 to £130, which only sharpens the demand. The booking windows open in short bursts and sell out in minutes. This is the purist's London sushi. Set a reminder for the next release and take whatever seating you can get.
Reserve in the booking window the moment it opens; the omakase nigiri, start to finish.
3.Umu
A one-star Kyoto kitchen that also slices serious fish; book Umu for kaiseki and sushi in a discreet Mayfair mews.
Umu, on a discreet Mayfair mews at Bruton Place, has held one Michelin star continuously since 2009 and is the rare London room that does both Kyoto-style kaiseki and a genuinely serious sushi program. The kitchen sources superb fish and treats it with the same restraint it brings to the seasonal kaiseki menus, so a meal can run from a delicate broth to a run of precise nigiri without dropping a beat. The room is hushed and grown-up, the sake list one of the deepest in the city. For a diner who wants sushi inside a broader Japanese fine-dining experience rather than a pure counter, it is the booking. Reserve a week ahead and ask whether the counter is available.
Reserve direct; a kaiseki menu with a supplement of the counter's nigiri.
4.Roka Charlotte Street
Rainer Becker's Fitzrovia original; book Roka for a buzzy contemporary room where the sushi counter holds its own against the robata.
Roka opened on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia in 2004 as Rainer Becker's sister to Zuma, and it built a global group on the formula: a central robatayaki grill, a sushi counter alongside it, and a loud, design-led room that made modern Japanese dining a London default. It is not a silent edomae temple, but the sushi and sashimi are far better than the energy of the room suggests, and the format suits a group that wants raw fish, grilled skewers and a long sake list at one table. For a lively dinner where sushi is part of the spread rather than the whole point, it is the smart pick. Book on Resy a few days ahead and ask to sit at the counter.
Reserve on Resy; a sashimi selection, the maki, and a round off the robata.
5.Zuma
The Knightsbridge room that set the template; book Zuma for polished contemporary sushi in the city's most glamorous Japanese dining room.
Zuma opened on Raphael Street in Knightsbridge in 2002 and effectively wrote the playbook for upscale, izakaya-style Japanese dining in London, spawning a worldwide group in the process. The sushi and sashimi counter is a serious part of the operation — clean, well-sourced, precisely cut — even if the room is better known for its glamour and its scene than for silence and ritual. It is the table for a celebratory night in Knightsbridge where the sushi needs to be excellent but the evening is about more than the fish. Book on Resy ahead of a weekend, and request the sushi counter if raw fish is the priority.
Reserve on Resy; the sashimi platter, the signature maki, and a cocktail to start.
6.Nobu London
Europe's first Nobu; book the Old Park Lane room for black cod miso and the new-style sushi that conquered Mayfair in 1997.
Nobu London, on Old Park Lane in Mayfair since 1997, was the first Nobu in Europe and remains the reference point for Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese-Peruvian style — the black cod miso, the yellowtail with jalapeño, and a sushi list that bends edomae tradition with the new-style flourishes Matsuhisa made famous. It is not a purist's counter, and it never claimed to be; the appeal is a polished, buzzy Mayfair room doing crowd-pleasing modern Japanese at a high level, with sushi as a strong part of the menu. For a first date or a lively dinner with reliably good raw fish, it is the booking, at roughly £60 to £100 a head. Reserve a few days ahead on Resy.
Reserve on Resy; the black cod miso, the yellowtail sashimi, and a run of new-style nigiri.
How London eats sushi
London's sushi divides cleanly into two worlds. At the top sit the tiny edomae counters — The Araki and Sushi Tetsu — where a single chef cuts nigiri to order, the fish is aged and brushed rather than dumped on rice, and a seat is measured in weeks of waiting. Below and beside them are the modern Japanese rooms — Roka, Zuma, Nobu — that brought raw fish to the London mainstream in the early 2000s and still do it well, even if the room is louder and the format is à la carte rather than omakase. Umu bridges the two, a Kyoto kitchen serious enough about its fish to belong on either list.
Geography concentrates it. Mayfair holds The Araki, Umu and Nobu within a short walk; Fitzrovia has Roka; Knightsbridge has Zuma; and Clerkenwell hides Sushi Tetsu. The great absence in 2026 is Endo at the Rotunda in White City: a major fire at the former BBC Television Centre in September 2025 closed Endo Kazutoshi's one-star rooftop counter, and while he is running a Mayfair pop-up at Annabel's from February 2026, the original room has no announced reopening date. Book the edomae counters as far ahead as their windows allow. For everything beyond sushi, the London dining guide maps the city by neighborhood and occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious sushi in London
The conveyor-belt and high-street chains. The kaiten-belt and grab-and-go Japanese chains across the city are fine for a quick lunch, but they are a different product entirely — pre-cut fish on cold rice, not edomae nigiri. Do not judge London sushi by them; book any counter on this list instead.
Endo at the Rotunda, for now. The one-star White City counter is closed after the September 2025 fire and has no reopening date. The Annabel's pop-up is excellent but members-club-gated and sells out in a day. Until the original room returns, point yourself at The Araki or Sushi Tetsu for the same calibre of omakase.
Frequently asked
What is the best sushi restaurant in London?
The Araki, the nine-seat Mayfair counter where chef Marty Lau cooks an edomae omakase trained under master Mitsuhiro Araki, is the most ambitious sushi in London, with a roughly £310 menu. For the purist's experience, Sushi Tetsu's seven-seat Clerkenwell counter under Toru Takahashi is the cult favourite and the hardest table to book. Choose The Araki for the grand omakase and Sushi Tetsu for the tiny, exacting one.
Does The Araki still have three Michelin stars?
No. The Araki held three Michelin stars under founder Mitsuhiro Araki, but Michelin removed all three in 2020 after he left London and handed the counter to Marty Lau. The room is no longer starred, yet it remains London's most ambitious sushi counter and an extremely hard reservation, with a roughly £310 omakase. Its loss of stars reflected the chef change, not a drop in the cooking.
Is Endo at the Rotunda open?
Not at its White City home. Endo Kazutoshi's one-Michelin-star Endo at the Rotunda was closed by a major fire at the former BBC Television Centre in September 2025 and remains shut while the building is repaired. Endo is running a five-month pop-up at Annabel's in Mayfair from February 2026, but no reopening date for the original rooftop counter has been announced. Watch for news before planning a visit.
How much does omakase cost in London?
London omakase runs a wide range. The Araki is about £310 a head and Endo at the Rotunda was around £290 for eighteen courses before its fire closure. Sushi Tetsu is far gentler at roughly £90 to £130. Umu's kaiseki and sushi menus sit in the £150-plus range, while Roka, Zuma and Nobu are à la carte and let you spend anywhere from £60 upward. Drinks and service are extra at all of them.
How far ahead should I book sushi in London?
Sushi Tetsu is the hardest table in the city — it takes bookings in short windows that sell out in minutes, so set a reminder. The Araki and Umu need a week or more for a prime time. Roka, Zuma and Nobu fill their best Mayfair and Knightsbridge tables days ahead on Resy or their own sites, more on weekends. For the Endo pop-up at Annabel's, releases have sold out within a day, so book the moment they open.
More sushi, by city
More from RFK
Browse the full London dining guide, compare the global picks in the best sushi restaurants worldwide, plan a first-date dinner at Nobu, find an impress-the-client table in Mayfair, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.