Uni is a Japanese Peruvian fusion restaurant in Belgravia. I used to be a sushi fiend, but then I ran out of sushi restaurants on our list and also got somewhat tired of sushi… heresy, I know ☺️. Shiima isn’t a fan of sushi but really enjoys Japanese cuisine and it was her idea to have Japanese last weekend. I chose the Japanese restaurant at the top of our list… Uni.
Uni is really close to Victoria station, but in a quiet spot on a quiet street. The relaxed vibe continues inside. There’s a stylish bar surrounding an open sushi kitchen on the ground floor, and downstairs where we were sat is rather cosy. The service is attentive and prompt, although it lacks that friendly touch.
Now, the food…
Starters
The menu is split into several distinct sections, but for starters we ordered from “tapas” and tempura sections.
The Wagyu and prawn gyoza was okay. The pastry was fried but wasn’t oily or too crispy and the filling was good, although fairly bland and I couldn’t quite make out the Wagyu taste. The ponzu jelly was a tad odd, but it was okay and certainly a nod towards creative cooking.
We really enjoyed the popcorn shrimp tempura. Perfectly crunch, lightly seasoned, and very moreish. The only issue was that it wasn’t enough! 😝
Sushi
The unagi nigiri was just perfect. Everything from the fresh and succulent eel, the delicate and not overly sweet sauce, and the rice to eel ratio 😁. Even the rice was really well cooked.
The dragon maki was really delicious as well. The flavours combined really well, and like the unagi nigiri the sauce wasn’t overly sweet and allowed you to enjoy the taste of the avocado, prawn tempura, and eel. I wanted more. Not just more dragon maki, I wanted to try more sushi, but I’ll save that for next time.
Robata
The grilled baby lamb cutlets were excellent for me because the miso, although sweet and flavourful in its own right, had not steeped into the lamb, which allowed me to enjoy the natural delicious taste of medium roast lamb cutlets. Shiima didn’t enjoy the lamb for this exact reason as the prefers the lamb steeped in marinade to reduce that natural taste.
The teriyaki chicken kushiyaki was good, although we would’ve preferred it much more had it been a thigh piece as opposed to breast which was dry in parts. The teriyaki sauce was awesome though.
The baby chicken robata, on the other hand, was a thigh piece which was very succulent but the “spicy miso” sauce wasn’t spicy (for us, at least 😄). The grilled corn was really good though.
Dessert?
No, we just didn’t bother for some reason.
Verdict
We enjoyed our dinner at Uni. The restaurant has a homely cosy vibe, the service is commendable, the Japanese Peruvian fusion food was somewhere between good and really good, and the sushi was excellent. We recommend for a relaxed date and a meal with friends or family (max 6). Uni is moderately expensive so do bear that in mind.
Cuisine: Japanese Peruvian Fusion
Dress Code: Casual
Shiima’s Star Dish: Popcorn Shrimp
Amen’s Star Dish: Unagi Nigiri
Price: £30-£40pp (excluding alcohol)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Uni
18A Ebury Street
London SW1W 0LU
Book at OpenTable,
Or call 020 7730 9267
