In the Spotlight

RAI is perfect for an occasion dinner, especially when you’re looking to impress. We can’t imagine anyone being met with this standard of innovative food and being disappointed.

The hand-picked Maldon rock oysters are a brilliant example. Carried on an under-sea rock formation, a single oyster is decorated with five-year aged soy sauce and fresh wasabi, grated from its pure, original form in front of you. Fresh-as-fresh and full of flavour, it will get you excited for what’s next.

As a concept, omakase is spenny; and at minimal new Fitzrovia opening Rai, we’re talking special-occasion spenny. Here, dinner is art, with each plate – nope, we’re not even talking food yet – made from eye-catching recycled materials and worthy of a ’gram post on its own. As is the interior: arriving at opening time, my friend and I bagged two coveted spots at the stylish, rose-adorned counter so we could watch the chefs calmly at work.

It is hard to ignore the young couple at the next table, who seem to alternate between rowing furiously and scrolling through their phones in grim silence, only occasionally pausing to eat. Add to that the hubbub caused by the chatter of two large groups competing for sound space and at times it is difficult to concentrate on the exquisite dishes being placed before us.

The previous incarnation of RAI earned rave reviews in the 2023 Harden’s guide for its “melt-in-the mouth Wagyu and exemplary sashimi“.

The restaurant is sourcing prime Japanese ingredients such as Kobe beef from Hyogo prefecture and A5 Kogoshima wagyu; Sanpuku nori from the Ariake Sea; Koshihikari rice, and rare 38-year-old aged soy.

Dishes include Ikijime seabass garnished with yuzu beurre blanc, kombu and citrus oil; Hand-dived Scottish scallops with yuzu, shisho pesto & British caviar; and Unagi & ethical foie gras with English truffle.

If you like your sushi with a side of ‘the grandparents of this scallop like Beethoven and long walks on the beach’, then you’ll like Rai. A serious omakase operation in Fitzrovia, everything here leans towards expensive and theatrical.

RAI is an intimate restaurant in Fitzrovia that holds just five tables in its beautiful dining area, which is filled with cherry blossom trees, stones and dark furniture. There’s also an omakase counter that seats 10 people at a time, where you can watch chef Padam whipping up selections of their most delicious dishes.