Yumi Izakaya

An unassuming hidden den of grown-up booze and affordable, appetite-sating Japanese bar food tucked onto Shaftesbury Avenue and open until 1am seven days a week.

Yumi Izakaya’s menu mixes up traditional izakaya small plates with more unusual umami-filled options. A selection of small sharing dishes from £4 include chilli fried cauliflower with yuzu and gochujang; sweetcorn tempura; pork and ginger gyoza; aubergine braised in sake, mirin and soy, and panko day boat fish, fresh from Cornwall.

From an open robata grill comes a choice of skewers using various cuts and parts of the free range herb fed chickens from Philmoor Grange Farm, Yorkshire. Wings (with sea salt and shichimi), liver (with tare sticky soy glaze and sansho pepper), breast (with tare and lemon) or thigh (with tare and spring onions). Meatball skewers come in the sticky soy tare with a raw egg yolk, and tender beef ribeye has a spicy miso sauce. For that salty pub grub hit, don’t overlook the selection of bacon-wrapped vegetable skewers either, including asparagus and Shimeji mushroom.

Larger dishes include caramelised pork belly with a tempura’ed egg and okonomiyaki Osaka style (a Japanese pancake with cabbage, eggs, pancetta and okonomiyaki sauce). An entirely gluten free menu is also available.

Behind the bar you’ll find a carefully chosen selection of beers including Yumi Dry, their house brew, Long Arm Brewing Co’s IPA-OK and Japanese Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale. Sake features heavily on the drinks list, with eight to choose from, including the unusual sparkling Fukuju Awasaki, and are available by 100ml, flights of three, or the bottle. It wouldn’t be an izakaya without a selection of Japanese whiskey and, despite their increasingly rare nature, Yumi has seven to choose from including Yamazaki 12 year and the rich Nikka Coffey Grain – the ideal way to round off a meal.

If cocktails are your thing, their Japanese twist on a Bloody Mary made with kimuchi juice, sriracha, a dash of wasabi  and garnished with a golden globe of Sweetcorn Tempura is a must, along with the classics and some daily changing specials.

Although new to London, Yumi Izakaya has its roots in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Londoner Caspar von Hofmannsthal relocated to the Cambodian capital in 2009 having previously managed London restaurants such as Quo Vadis, Smiths of Smithfield and Rotorino. Drawing on his experience and entrepreneurial spirit, Caspar launched Yumi Izakaya, bringing his idea to life in a converted garage in Cambodia. The restaurant became very popular, particularly with the city’s ex-pat community, and attracted international attention. In 2014, Caspar made the decision to return to London, closing the doors in Phnom Penh to bring Yumi Izakaya home.