RAI to reopen in Bloomsbury next month
The restaurant was previously located on Windmill Street in Fitzrovia but is relocating to a site nearby on Bayley Street in Bloomsbury.
With only five tables, the main dining room will seat a maximum of 10 people. It will also have a separate sushi counter that can seat up to eight guests.
Food will be served omakase-style in a multi-course menu using top-end ingredients such as the highest-grade Hyōgo Prefecture kobe and A5 Kagoshima wagyu beef; Sanpuku nori, which the restaurant says is the finest nori from Japan’s Ariake Sea; Koshihikari rice, which is considered to be one of the best sushi rices; fresh Japanese wasabi that takes up to 3 years to grow; and ‘extremely rare’ aged soy sauces up to 38 years aged in 100 years old cedar barrel.
Dishes on the tasting menu will include homemade tofu and natto gyoza accompanied by traditional dashi broth; ikijime seabass garnished with yuzu beurre blanc, and kombu and citrus oil; hand-dived scallops from Scotland with yuzu, shisho pesto and British caviar; unagi and ethical foie gras with English truffle; and sushi and sashimi with koshihikari rice, sanpuku nori with aged soy sauces and freshly grated Japanese wasabi.
The tasting menu will be priced from £130 per person. For diners at the sushi counter there will be an a la carte menu as well as omakase sushi set menus, which start from £75.
RAI was launched by executive chef Padam Raj Rai and director Shrabaneswor Rai in January 2002, replacing the duo’s sushi and steak restaurant brand Hot Stone. The duo also run a Hot Stone restaurant in Islington's Chapel Market and Kibako Restaurant in Fitzrovia.
RAI Bloomsbury is due to open on 7 February.
