The sunshine menu at Aqua Kyoto

Sushi seems to be de rigueur lately but I never warmed to it. It’s the fish. I don’t like fish too much so eating it raw is my idea of a nightmare. So, the only sushi I actually eat is the lame prawn or salmon ones which is arguably not real sushi at all. So, how come I ended up in Aqua Kyoto?

Well, first of all I had heard amazing things about the venue. Second, for a while they have introduced a sunshine/ vitamin D set menu which sounded good even for a sushi-phobe like moi.

Let me tell you. The space itself is really great. Especially the outside. An open terrace with great seating. No lovely views but hey, you can’t have it all. Inside it is black, sleek, naughty chic. Too dark for my tastes but all in all very well thought through.

The food is also beautifully presented – the photos don’t do justice to the presentation.

I started with the spinach rolls wrapped in yuba skin with ginger sesame sauce which were… spinachy. I mean there is no other way to describe it, it was a roll stuffed with raw (or maybe lightly steamed) spinach. The ginger sesame sauce was super yummy though.

For my main I chose the baby chicken with yuzu egg sauce, wild herbs and roasted soya. This was very yummy, tender chicken and the balance of flavours was just right. The yuzu egg sauce should be googled before you try it. That’s all I’m gonna say on that one.

I did have a sneaky bite from a mate’s grilled salmon glazed with unagi & Japanese mustard soy and it was exceedingly good. I’m not one for fish generally but this was very well done.

My favourite part of the menu (close second to the chicken) were the desserts. I had the egg custard cream & yuzu meringue which was really good (keep in mind I don’t like meringue). The tamago with Japanese knotweed sorbet look great, a little work of art! I couldn’t bear to ask anyone else to allow me to have a taste.

It’s a shame that I was so exhausted on the day we went and felt so under the weather. But the food was lovely and I really liked the space, so a clear win there. I can see how Aqua Kyoto would be great for a bit of an occasion or a date where you just have to impress.

Can’t wait to try Aqua Nueva now.

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Disclosure: We went to Aqua Kyoto on 18 August 2014 and paid for our meal in full. No prior discussion with the restaurant took place. Header photo kindly provided by Aqua Kyoto, after the publication of this post.
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Aqua Kyoto
5th Floor
240 Regent St
London W1B 3BR
T: 020 7478 0540
aqua-london.com