Culinary Theatre

The UK’s restaurant industry may be facing challenging times, but top-end dining that places just as high a value on the experiential as the gastronomic is bucking the trend. Endo at the Rotunda, Yokohama-born Kazutoshi Endo’s omakase restaurant in London’s former BBC TV Centre, epitomises this. With just ten seats, it has just been voted the UK’s best restaurant by Harden’s – and a recent redesign by Kengo Kuma has made its distinctive interiors even more intimate, with an ethos driven by omotenashi, the art of hospitality rooted in empathy.

The greatest change has been in the bar area, which has been replaced by a waiting space in the spirit of a Japanese machiai, traditionally placed at the entrance to a tea house. “The machiai aims to be a space of rest and relaxation; somewhere for guests to meet and mingle before or after dinner,” says Javier Villar Ruiz, partner at Kengo Kuma Associates. “It creates a sense of expectation as well as serving as a place where the guests can wind down and savour their experience.”

This area is now a wave-like ‘landscape’ of layered cedar, like the contour lines on an OS map made three-dimensional, its swooping curves rising up behind an ordered row of circular seat pads. The undulating shape echoes that of one of the architect’s design features from when the restaurant first opened in 2019, a billowing illuminated fabric installation whose cloud-like form suits the restaurant’s birds-eye view of London.

“Television Centre is an iconic building and is situated in a very urban landscape, but the Rotunda is an escape from all that,” says Ruiz. “As a studio, we tend to stay away from colour and work more with tones and textures of natural material. Wood is very important in traditional Japanese omakase, bringing a sensory element through touch and smell. The wood also creates a softening effect, juxtaposed with the urban landscape seen in the panoramic view.”

Driven by the need to offer an optimum experience to guests, there are now just 10 seats, with the cypress counter slimmed down so that Endo can more closely interact with diners: the cypress “originates from a forest in northern Japan, and brings the soft touch and gentle fragrance of traditional sushi experience,” says Ruiz, a reflection of how all the senses are engaged here.

“Guests are meant to feel as if they are stepping into Endo’s home,” continues Ruiz. “The counter has been designed so that there is no separation between the chef and the customers, holding no secrets, making both sides become equally important protagonists of the sushi spectacle.” More of the kitchen activity now takes place behind the counter, too, giving diners even more first-hand experience of how food is being prepared.

A seasonal 18-course menu is served over two sittings per evening, combining British ingredients with specialist products from Japanese suppliers; Endo is a third-generation sushi master and includes some of his grandfather’s recipes. And if the work of a sushi chef is nothing less than “ephemeral art”, as Endo attests, then it needs nothing less than such a beautifully artful backdrop to complement it.

So, how does London compare with a traditional omakase experience in Japan? “The experience at Endo at the Rotunda is very similar, but with a sense of Endo’s personal style,” says Ruiz. “Endo puts a big emphasis on showmanship and creating a bond with his guests. This means chatting to his guests and being very involved in the process. London is a very fast-paced city and Endo’s guests are invited to slow down and immerse themselves into his world.”