MARU

Tucked into Shepherd Market, one of Mayfair's oldest and most discreet corners, MARU is an eight-seat omakase built around a single maple timber counter. Third-generation sushi chef Taiji Maruyama shaped almost every element of the room himself: the interiors, the seasonal flowers, and the ceramics the food is served on, which he throws by hand. Dry-ageing cabinets sit in full view behind the counter, where whole fish rest beneath a canopy of draped fabric and a wall of Japanese calligraphy.

The format is a twenty-course omakase that leans on British waters as much as Japanese tradition, with Cornish catches and native shellfish read through the counter's technique. Two dinner sittings run Wednesday to Saturday alongside a single Saturday lunch, and because everyone is seated at once the meal moves in step from the first course to the last. It holds a place in the MICHELIN Guide.

For a private occasion the whole counter can be taken exclusively, turning the room over to one group for a chef's-table dinner that stays close and unhurried. Restaurant takeovers are arranged directly with the team. It is the room to reach for when the brief is an intimate, food-led evening rather than a large party.