What: Mayha is the latest high-profile omakase restaurant to launch in central London, following hot on heels of Roji, RAI and Taku, which have all opened within the past year. Located on Chiltern Street in Marylebone, Mayha’s daily changing tasting menu combines a range of Japanese-inspired meat and seafood dishes including a wide selection of nigiri.
Who: Mayha is the first opening on UK shores for the Lebanon-based Nothing But Love group, which operates a number of other restaurant concepts across Beirut and Lebanon including Meat the Fish, Maryool, and The Backburner. Mayha originally launched in Beirut, but closed following the 2020 explosion that caused extensive damage across the city. The London restaurant is being led by head chefs Jurek Wasio and Yuichi Nakaya, who previously led the kitchen at Mayha in Beirut.
The food: The daily-changing omakase menu is overseen by Wasio and Nakaya, and combines elements of traditional Japanese cuisine including raw fish and sea urchin with more contemporary-leaning flavours like pine, wasabi leaf and truffle. Dishes to feature on the restaurant’s launch menu include venison steak with mushroom and forest fruits; raw mackerel served with fig and grated hard cheese; and chawanmushi – a Japanese egg custard dish – with shrimp and mushroom and topped with trout roe. The main course includes an extensive selection of nigiri sushi including sardine, red mullet, eel, Bluefin tuuns, and sliced wagyu with caviar. Similarly to other omakase experiences in the capital, Mayha offers an early and late seating each evening, as well as a seating at lunchtime. Coming in £220 per person for the full tasting menu, Mayha is pitched competitively against other omakase experiences in the capital, which may help it stand out in what is becoming an increasingly competitive field.
The drink: The menu can be accompanied by either a dedicated sake or wine flight. Guests are also able to order from a list of ‘rare spirits and niche beers’.
The vibe: With interiors designed by Beirut-based studio MARIAGROUP, the ground floor restaurant space features a curved wooden counter that can hold up to 11 covers per seating. It’s a dark and intimate space. Suspended above the counter is a custom-crafted light installation created in Lebanon by Spockdesign using traditional Japanese handmade methods. At the far end of the restaurant is wrought-iron spiral staircase, which has been restored and hand-painted, will lead guests to the downstairs bar area where guests are able to grab a cocktail prior to or after their seating. The soundtrack is varied and echoes the modern approach to this traditional style of restaurant, moving from calming Japanese music at once instance to Massive Attack the next - and is all the better for it.
And another thing: Keep an eye out for more London projects from the Nothing But Love group, which could even include the opening of a second restaurant on Chiltern Street.
43 Chiltern St, London W1U 6LS