Yashin Ocean House

Yashin Ocean House is one of two Yashin Restaurants in South West London. The restaurant is located between Gloucester Road and South Kensington and the entrance is not obvious to a passer by. I met my friend at the bar and we were surprised at how quiet the restaurant was.

It soon livened up and was filled with "regulars" who greeted the waiting staff and chefs on arrival. This was a refreshing sight at a restaurant in the centre of town and it added a homely feel to the oh so fancy décor. 

There's a beautiful, sea blue glass sashimi counter which is the focal point of the restaurant. Diners can watch the chefs at work and their preparation and presentation is a real work of art. 

The idea behind the menu is to sample the fish from head to tail and the menu depicts this.

Although Ocean House is a Japanese restaurant, there is hardly any sushi on the menu. If you want top quality sushi, check out Yashin Sushi - it's only a short trip down the road and my friends rave about it constantly!

We were given an amuse bouche - a mushroomy something or other. It was a bit like a cold miso soup and it came with a piece of smoked tuna. 

We were then given a choice of sesame or squid ink bread rolls. A Japanese Bread Roll seems rather nouveau. They came with seaweed mayonnaise and after a gruelling week at work, the rolls didn't last very long! 

The menu is a mixture of sashimi and cooked main courses and everything is designed for sharing. We ordered the Yellow Tail with Orange Soy. It was lovely and fresh and delicately flavoured which allowed us to taste the excellent quality of the fish.

Next up, the Tuna with Truffle Ponzu Jelly. This dish was a burst of flavour. The jelly was very pungent and tangy which worked really well with the buttery tuna.

 My favourite dish of the night was the Cornish Wild Sea Bass with Dried Miso Flakes. The only time I've had raw sea bass in the past is in sea bass ceviche. The citrusy flavours of ceviche tend to drown out the fish so I was excited to try sea bass sashimi a la miso. It was incredible and I could eat plates of this all day.

We ordered one main dish to share; the restaurant's signature Teriyaki Yellow Tail in Beef Net. Unfortunately, my friend and I weren't too keen on this one. It was quite meaty and tough and the taste wasn't dissimilar to any other teriyaki fish. However, I have read a couple of other reviews on this dish which have been very complimentary so no disrespect to the chefs whatsoever!

The stand out features at Ocean House were:

1. The absolutely excellent quality of the "Yashimi." The fish is the freshest on offer and I would go so far as to say that the quality rivals my favourite restaurant of all time, Nobu. Cliche and you know it...
2. The service. Our waiter was extremely attentive. He took the time to explain the menu, the chefs' experience and the restaurant's most popular dishes.
3. The sea blue sashimi bar.

Ocean House is perfect for a romantic and quiet evening out. It's fairly pricey but the food and service makes it perfect for a special occasion or a "treat yourself" evening out. 

Enjoy!

Rating: 4/5

http://www.yashinocean.com/