Ichi Sushi & Sashimi Bar

Booked afternoon tea with a friend as both were down in London. Easy to find in Park Plaza and a very intimate restaurant — I would advise booking ahead! I chose White Apricot tea, really lovely. The afternoon tea looked lovely — a nice selection of sushi, cakes and scones. Sushi was nice — not the best I’ve had but it was good. Cakes were delicious.
If anything, to keep with the unusual style of afternoon tea, I would say it would be nice to have more sushi and perhaps some miso soup and some Japanese-​style deserts instead!
All the same a lovely place with a great view of Big Ben!

eh?
First off, I’ve seen better sushi selection at bodegas and airports.
Second, although well-​constructed and proportionate, it’s just ok. not completely unfresh but not very fresh either. i do like the black sesame seeds/​chives on the outer part of the roll– nice touch but not enough to call this good sushi.
The edamame was terrible. And it’s all overpriced.
if you’re staying in the hotel and must have sushi then ok, but i wouldn’t venture from beyond the park plaza for this.

I’ll give 5 stars for the food which was awesome, but the service deserves 3 max.
Fresh wasabi is awesome — and not very common

Unremarkable.
Tuna was not too crisp/​fresh, salmon was not much better & service was average. And, it is fairly pricey.
It’s a good location for this hotel in terms of business & tourist guests, but the neighborhood (walking distance) is incredulously lacking on the restaurant & pub aspects.

A group of us (some from Canada, some from Scotland, some from the US) got together and one of my fellow canucks suggested sushi. «Sushi?! Not in London!» replies the knowing Scot. The Scot then went to do some research, as the naturally hospitable host that he is, and said Ichi has some good reviews, so off we went.
In this tiny tiny restaurant that seats about 15 people max, located in the Park Plaza lobby, there were 4 – 5 people supposedly working there. What they were really doing is beyond me. We waited about 5 minutes, despite the almost empty restaurant, before one of the servers looked up and decided to seat us. Once we were seated, it took us about another 15 minutes before we were able to wave down one server to take our order (and I repeat, this place is TINY). We ordered a large sashimi platter, large nigiri platter, and large maki platter. It took about 10 minutes before our miso soup (3.50 EACH) and edamame arrived. And it took about 20 minutes for the first sashimi platter to arrive to arrive even though we were the only group in there and they had two chefs at the sushi bar and it doesnt take that long to cut raw meat. Another ten minutes later, our other two platters arrived.
Each platter were about 25 quid, but the portions were pretty small so the three large platters did not fill the five of us, so after the first round, we ordered another two platters. This time, it took ONE WHOLE HOUR. At this point, we’ve been at this restaurant for about 1.5 hours already so it was pretty ridiculous that after 1.5 hours we had to wait for another hour. By the time the food finally came, none of us were hungry anymore.
What about the quality, you ask?
Miso soup was ridiculously salty.
All the tuna that were server was fishy tasting (definitely not fresh).
The rice for the rolls were not sticky and fell apart pretty fast.
The sake was the only redeemable thing for this place, so I guess it was our fault for trying to have sushi in the middle of London.

The food ranges from just okay to really yummy (if on the pricey for hotel guests with expense accounts side of things). The main reason to escalate up to this first floor resto with the rather nice south of the river view of Parliament is the opportunity to take in the architectural grandeur of its Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London hotel setting without having to dish out the room and. Tip: if you’re planning to dine here make a reserve for a table near the window.
Still, serving sizes are ample and the sushi and sashimi are fresh at this sleek Japanese eatery with a Lost in Translation feel about it.

YUMMMEEE.
Perhaps it’s because I live in the sticks where it’s impossibly impossible to find anything remotely resembling decent sushi. Or maybe it’s because I’m from California where the sushi is undecidedly prolific and incredibly fresh. Either which way, Ichi stacks up against some of the best from the US west coast.
I stumbled across this gem when staying at the Park Plaza Westminster during a recent business trip to London. It was snowing something awful and combined with the student protests in Trafalgar, I didn’t want to venture outside. Imagine my delight to find that the hotel was home to this little treasure. Score! I wouldn’t even have to leave the building!
Tucked away behind the busy lobby bar, you’d miss it if you didn’t know it was there. It’s teeny; and with just 10 two-​person tables and 7 seats at the sushi bar, reservations are highly recommended. I can see why. Small stature aside, the sushi is melt in your mouth delectable. While the menu is is also relatively small, it’s blissfully straight forward without the brouhaha of «special» rolls that you find at the plethora of trendy Japanese restaurants popping up across the globe (translation: nary a roll with cream cheese on this menu). And they don’t need it– the sushi speaks for itself. And while they do offer a small «chef’s special» menu, it is still wonderfully unassuming, with just the freshest catches of the day. You can also order off the menu– a quick query revealed they had fresh uni (not a standard menu item) that just melted in my mouth. The perfect balance of sweet with a teeny bite of salt. I could have eaten a plateful.
Aside from the uni, I’d highly recommend the scallop with jalapeño starter. The jalapeño is ground into a sauce that has just a slight bite, without the pain of an untreated pepper in your food. Its accompanied by a simple salad treated with a delicious mango-​vinegar dressing that has the most wonderful balance of flavour– I was tempted to drink the sauce, but decided that it might be uncouth (although didn’t hide my desire from the amused waitstaff). A delighful bonus: fresh wasabi, which is hard to find even in the best California establishments. It’s a completely different taste– less of the nose wrinkling heat; instead just a subtle hint of spicy and a whole lot of flavour. You can request the standard stuff, but don’t leave without a try of this tasty treat.
It’s a business and travel crowd– but not bad stop for locals either. Plus a crazy amazing view of Parliament and Big Ben across the river. Whilst not cheap, as a sushi lover starved for good sushi, I’d come again and again.

Das ich ein Sushi Liebhaber bin mag der eine oder andere schon bemerkt haben, und heute durfte ich das Ichi im Park Plaza. Hotel probieren. Das Lokal ist klein und fein und entsprechend dem Design des Hotels sehr stilvoll angelegt. Da passt alles, vom Scheitel bis zur Sohle, soweit man das bei Restaurants sagen darf…
Ich habe dort die Ichi Selection probiert und muss sagen, dass mein bisheriges bestes Sushi meines Lebens geschlagen ist. So toll wie das Ichi hat Sushi bisher noch niemand hinbekommen. Und ich wusste bislang nicht dass man auch frisches Wasabi bekommen kann, mit Stücken darin…
Preislich ist das Ichi gehoben, wobei mich die Qualität davon überzeugt hat, dass jedes Pfund gut angelegt war. Sehr nahe an der Perfektion!
Fazit: Sehr gutes Sushi zum gehobenen Preis!