Atami

I have to admit from the outset that I decided to go here after reading an Urban Junkies review. They accurately described it as an exciting newcomer to the culinary wasteland that is Westminster. What they didn’t say was that its in the middle of f’ing nowhere. We were running late so caught a cab. The cab driver hadn’t heard of the street. We find the street. We couldn’t find our from the restaurant to the tube and were reduced to getting another cab there.

Now, we were really running late, but arrived to find absolutely no one, ok maybe 5 people in the whole place. Its got stunning decor, properly modern and luxurious but not particularly welcoming. Really lovely staff including the maitre d who was Australian, not Japanese.

We kept almost exclusively to the sushi - soft shell crab and spicy crispy tuna rolls - skipping over the mains. This may have been a mistake because as prices were reasonable, portions were quite Japanese and on the small side. Classics have been reinvented a little, but not so much to as obscure or be really innovative. Spinach with sesame sauce comes as five hors d'ourve sized logs of spinach with a teensy bit of sauce each. Likewise treatment for the Agedashi Tofu, which was homemade and luscious. The sushi was not quite California style, but certainly a cut above west end standards. The mains of noodle, chicken and salmon though looked thoroughly satisfying and we felt a pang for sticking to our raw fish guns when our neighbours tucked in heartily. Oyster sashimi selection was ordered late in the piece and filled the corners and a suprisingly good dessert of chocolate fondant & strawberry sorbet rounded off the experience nicely as did my fresh mint tea.

Definitely somewhere to come back to, if I can ever find it again or have a friend move suddenly into the area.