Sticks’n’Sushi now has 25 restaurants in England

MOST London summers involve a jaunt to Covent Garden – with hungry friends or family in tow.

Nerves may begin to fray. There are hordes of dawdling tourists; whining children tugging on your arm; and a mind-boggling number of places to eat out.

In Henrietta Street, for example, there’s the Avo Bar – serving trendy twists on the superfood including an Avo Truffle Egg Croissant. The Oystermen is too fancy, dishing out tempura oysters with champagne aioli and smoked herring caviar. Across the road, Frenchie is dauntingly experimental, serving raw sea bream with strawberries and a smoked bacon ice cream.

A safer bet is Sticks‘n’Sushi, an outpost of a quietly successful chain that launched in Copenhagen back in 1994.

Their restaurant concept is finely honed, well priced and supremely family friendly. Children can easily navigate their large menu, illustrated with immaculately styled photos of each dish.

The drinks list is fun and creative, with colourful cocktails and non-alcoholic options such as a fizzy blend of mint, yuzu and lime.

We slid into a booth in the middle of the long dining room. The surprise here is the décor – best described as super modern Scandi chic.

The website describes the chain as a blend between a Japanese traditionalist and Danish anarchist. We saw scant signs of anarchy in the interior. The ground-floor dining room is a minimalist mix of exposed brick and polished plaster.

It was packed when we visited, with well-drilled staff flitting around the room with admirable efficiency – and dishes arriving lighting fast from the kitchen downstairs.

Sashimi, nigiri and maki rolls are a speciality. They also major on a range of “sticks”: yakitori skewers cooked on the grill and threaded with combinations such as scallops and bacon or salmon, teriyaki and spring onion.

The children got stuck into the edamame beans, served here with three choices of dressing.

The Ebi Bites are just as addictive: prawns cooked tempura style with a crisp coating that resembles Rice Krispies.

The clever thing at Sticks’n’Sushi is the large number of set menus, which range from the lavish “As Good As It Gets” to our more budget “Mixed Emotions.”

For a touch under £30, we enjoyed several platters of small dishes – all bursting with colour and texture.

The Chirashi, for example, are slivers of seared fish served with snow peas, ginger, chilli, pickled red onion and a spicy sauce.

The Pink Alaska is striking: a maki roll of vivid green avocado and pink salmon encrusted with bright pink fish roe.

Sticks’n’Sushi now has 25 restaurants in England, Denmark and Germany. Purists may quibble with their unorthodox take on Japanese cuisine. But on a sweaty Saturday in Covent Garden that’s the least of our concerns.

Sticks’n’Sushi
11 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8PY
020 3141 8810
coventgarden@sticksnsushi.com
www.sticksnsushi.com