Sushi Tetsu | Mind Blowing Sushi in Clerkenwell

Sushi Tetsu | Mind Blowing Sushi in Clerkenwell

• July 31, 2014

Tetsu. There is so much to say about this little gem in Farringdon. The sushi is just mind blowing, and possibly the best I've ever eaten. The quality of fish is outstanding & the ambiance of this tiny 7-seater restaurant transported us right back to Japan. 

There is nothing overly creative or outrageous about the food, but it is traditional in every sense. Chef expertly uses a combination of ingredients and techniques to bring out the true flavours, and due to Chef’s aversion to fish (yes, he really did say that!) the fish is well prepared without a trace of fishiness.      

Prior to Tetsu (& Shiori) I'd eaten sushi in many different Japanese restaurants in London & Hong Kong, but Tetsu is just on another level. It makes me feel all the sushi I’ve eaten until now was below par. 

What made it extraordinary for me was the temperature of the fish and rice. The fish is served at room temperature and the rice is just warm (body temperature).  The extra few degrees meant that the fish oils were ever so fragrant and melted into the rice with each bite. The flavours are much more pronounced at this temperature and so much better than the cold fish and cold rice I was used to! On my first visit, I encountered a sardine nigiri that was so beautiful, it’s etched into my taste memory forever. Never have I tasted sardines this good. I was gutted that there was no sardine this time round, Chef said the sardines were no good this year.

Each piece is designed to be eaten whole with the perfect fish to rice ratio, and as soon as it is served so that it is at the optimum temperature. Fresh wasabi is used, which is a real treat as opposed to the usual processed wasabi paste and there is also no need for the soya sauce and wasabi dipping action, Chef adds these to the sushi as he sees fit.

Getting a reservation here is not an easy feat, so when I managed to get one, it almost felt like I'd won the lottery! This is the system for getting a reservation:

This is my second visit and we pre-ordered the Omakase (chef's choice). On my first visit, we went for A la carte and found out that certain items were not available on the A la carte. In Chef’s words “we have to keep something special for the omakase”.  Now you know. However, the Omakase set seems to be a lot more expensive than the A la carte option for roughly the same amount of food. Omakase for 2 people including drinks came to £212, and A la carte was £65 per person.

Sea bream. So fresh and sweet.

Razor clam. Nice bite with a sprinkle of sea salt and drizzle of lemon.

Soya marinated tuna. My highlights of the evening were surprisingly all 3 types of tuna. I'm not a big fan of tuna sushi but they were exquisite here.

Seared scallop. Plump, succulent & juicy.

Medium fatty tuna. This is the perfect fatty ratio, full on fatty tuna usually makes me gag a little.

Snow crab. This tasted like it just came out of the sea. The light tasting yet intense sweetness on this meaty snowy crab was heavenly.

Yellow tail belly. I need to eat this more.

Jumbo shrimp.

Fin of turbo with monk fish liver. Very muscly and chewy, but with each chew, more and more flavours are released. This was a revelation!

Seared fatty tuna. This was my favourite of the evening! When fatty tuna is seared like this, it melts the initial layer of fat and harmonises the greasiness. It almost tasted like Wagyu beef and literally melted on my tongue. I might have let out a small yelp eating it...

Ikura. Lots of sweet popping action.

Mackerel.

 

Chef knew I preferred salmon over tuna and made me this. He made G the regular chopped tuna hand roll.

Tamagoyaki. A supposedly savoury light egg omelette that tasted more like a moist egg cake. YUM. 

This dish signifies an end to our meal. No doubt Tetsu is the BEST sushi restaurant in London in my humble opinion. For a bite of real Japan, the price is worth it without paying for a flight to Japan. Good luck with getting a reservation!

I thought I would also share photos of my first Tetsu meal back from September 2013:

Sweet prawn.

Black bream. Better than normal sea bream with a sweeter and cleaner taste.

Razor clam.

Turbot with yuzu. Loved the zing from the yuzu.

Scallop slightly seared. Obvious this is how chef likes to serve scallop.

Squid.

Ikura.

The amazing seared fatty tuna.

Mackeral with thin wakame sheet.

Jumbo prawn.

Clam skirt and cucumber & salmon and avocado.

Snow crab.

Sardine. Wow! I have never had raw sardine before, the taste and fish oils were just incredible. I am so glad we asked Chef for recommendations and he said to try this one.


Eel. Really well cooked eel and no earthy tones which I dislike.

Ending with Tamagoyaki.

Address:

12 Jerusalem Passage

London  
EC1V 4JP