The black cod quest ends at Zuma

Dear friends,

As some of you may know, I was in London over the weekend. My main goal was to go check out the Frieze Art Faire, which I did. But then, I also took some time to enjoy new restaurants, and bars…and clubs.

On the Saturday, I had the pleasure to be invited for lunch by Paulina and Harry. They are very good friends of my parents and I always have great fun with them. Knowing my love for food, they decided to invite me to Zuma, one of London’s top Japanese restaurants. I love Japanese food and, over the years, I heard so many great reviews about Zuma, that I was just really happy to finally discover the place.

One funny thing is that I, the Swiss guy, managed to arrive fashionably late at the lunch to realize that three Greek girls were actually waiting for me!  I say three because Paulina (who’s Greek) and Harry also wanted to introduce me their two nieces, Maria and Mathilda. They are really nice and sweet (and beautiful …since most male readers must be wondering at that point) and I can only look forward to future lunches in London!

So, now that I explained the situation, let me talk a little bit about the food (which is, in the end, the main purpose of this blog…though I kind of enjoy talking about myself). We decided to order many different starters in order to have a bite of everything. We enjoyed some crispy fried squid, which came with a sweet spice that was incredible, some great tuna and beef tataki as well as an assortment of sushis, a salad and some legen…wait for it…dary soft shell crab ! (Probably the best “ssc” I ate in my life!).

We then ordered an individual main course, which didn’t stop us from sharing and trying everybody’s dish. We enjoyed some fried sole filet (with a killer dish presentation) and grilled jumbo shrimps that were perfectly seasoned and cooked. But my order, as well as Maria’s, was the black cod. As some of you may know, I really enjoy a good black cod from time to time. I’ve been already talking in this blog about some cod I tried in Paris (Orient Extrême) or in Milan (Nobu),  or even in Asia and it has probably even became an obsession (pathologically speaking). Well, Ladies and Gentleman, stop the search, call off the dogs, and surrender your chopsticks, because I found the best caramelized black cod on planet earth so far! I am sorry, because it is mainly a Nobu invention, but Zuma’s black cod is just playing in another category. If you know a black cod that is better than this one, please comment on this post.

After that, we had some nice sorbets and a weird chocolate parfait (I have to admit, although it was objectively good, it was not my favorite). And please look at the amazing sorbet dressing below:

Zuma is a great restaurant and I can only recommend you to go try it at least once in your life. On top of everything, it is located less than a 100m from Harrods. So you can actually go grab some spiced Christmas tea on the way to bring back home (and butter cookies and teddy bears and…well you got to love Harrods). I cannot thank Harry and Paulina enough for this fantastic lunch. As some say, and I believe they are right, happiness is all about sharing some nice food with some nice friends.

From my Milanese’s living room (aka my office when not in class) with love,

Mr. Nico

Zuma

5 Raphael St
London SW7 1DL
+ 44 20 7584 1010

Métro : Knightsbridge

www.zumarestaurant.com