The dining experience at Sushisamba is carefully curated. Photo: Steven Joyce

FOR millions of children, it’s the last gasp of a carefree summer – but we all face some tough months ahead.

On the search for fun, I took my young girls for an afternoon in Covent Garden.

The piazza is heaving with tourists again; the buskers are in full cry. Our destination was Sushisamba, a restaurant gloriously designed for carefree fun.

Taking the stairs up is like a mini-break in itself, as you twist past vivid murals from Brazilian street artists. There’s a Carnival soundtrack, too, to get you in the mood.

If you have not heard of Sushisamba, this is a restaurant with outposts across the world. There’s a branch in the City, high up in Heron Tower. Another in Las Vegas and Dubai.

The food here is a fusion of cuisines from Japan, Brazil and Peru – think sushi and maki rolls, picanha and ceviche, in a menu described as “edible art”.

The décor of this Covent Garden branch is breathtaking. It’s a long, heavily styled room with a zig zag of black and white floor tiles and an enormous glass roof. On one side, floor-to-ceiling windows offer vertiginous views of the piazza below.

One section has a ceiling of writhing greenery and trailing plants, with exotic species from South America and Japan. Another is decorated with countless petals or perhaps fish scales of shimmering bronze.

At the far end is the open kitchen and robata grill, where chefs slice, twist and roll fillets of sparkling fresh fish.

The dining experience here is carefully curated. Dozens of smiley staff, keen and highly trained, nip between each table. Dishes are designed for maximum visual impact.

We started with Samba Rolls – a riot of texture from soft shell crab, bonito flakes, squishy fish eggs and slippery avocado.

Edamame beans arrive on a shiny banana leaf, with half a charred lime and a pile of flaky sea salt.

You can order skewers of pork belly with a butterscotch miso; pricey Wagyu steaks sizzling on hot stones; a Samba Salad with spinach, grilled kabocha squash, honey truffle ponzu, shavings of carrots, radish, apple and a mango dressing.

The cocktail menu is memorable, too – the drinks are brash and brightly coloured, with clever shake-ups of Thai basil syrup, shiso leaf, coconut cream and lychee water.

Pudding is a highlight. One option is called Welcome to the Rainforest, which looks like a mini lake of dusted with cacao and coffee, with blossoms of pea shoots and nasturtium.

This is the kind of restaurant where you could spend a small fortune. We watched men in suits work through vast platters of sashimi on expenses.

But if you’re smart you can enjoy a fun-filled time that’s well within reason. We all need some warm memories to fuel us through autumn.

Sushisamba
35 The Market Building, WC2E
020 3053 0000
www.sushisamba.com