You can spend an awful lot of money on sushi in London. If you’re debating whether to pay half a month’s rent or splurge it all on omakase, then your options include the £420 menu at Mayfair’s Sushi Kanesaka and £305 a head at Endo Kazutoshi’s new spot in Chelsea. And while Notting Hill’s Eel Sushi Bar is far from cheap, in the grand scheme of things, £60 for an omakase-adjacent nigiri ‘flight’, makes it a far better deal – and, frankly, lots more fun.
When Eel Sushi Bar opened in the summer of 2025 it was nigh-on impossible to get a table. With room for just 12 diners – six perched on a counter facing the lively open kitchen, the other six peering through the window out onto posh Talbot Road – it’s a surprise anyone made past the threshold at all. Over a year later and the glowing, pine-clad room remains packed. There are more people working in the kitchen than there are eating, which should give you an idea of how dedicated the Eel team are to bringing you the best un-ludicrously priced, non-Endo sushi in west London.
Head chef Nick Xie certainly knows what he’s doing, having been poached from another of west’s best Japanese restaurants, Dinings SW3. Another badge of honour comes courtesy of the produce itself, which is sourced directly from gourmet grocers Notting Hill Fish + Meat (which is run by Eel Sushi Bar founder Chris D’Sylva, who’s also in charge of big bucks bistro Dorian across the road). Sure, it’s all a bit incestuous – if you’re eating at Eel you also have access to the entirety of Dorian’s lavish wine list – but it all works in Eel’s favour; you’re guaranteed first dibs on the very best stuff.
Hampshire-grown wasabi, dollops of caviar and an embarrassment of microgreens
That fish isn’t just plonked on your plate either. A lot of it spends a week travelling through the pink himalayan salt-lined dry-aging chamber in the basement, while sushi rice heads to its very own beauty spa, a small ground floor ‘rice room’ for 24/7 washing, steaming, fluffing and heating. Sign me up for a session, please.
It’s worth the faff. Our nigiri is faultless, from the creamy otoro through to the only slightly alien afterbirth-like sea urchin and titular torched eel. If slamming the table and shouting ‘hit me’ while ordering slice of shimmering mackerel after slice of shimmering mackerel wasn’t deeply offensive, we would. Sashimi too is fabulously fresh and beautifully presented, stippled with Hampshire-grown wasabi, dollops of caviar and an embarrassment of microgreens.
Of the handful of hot dishes, enoki and shimeji mushroom miso soup is polite and delicate but still coats the tongue with a thwack of velvety umami. Hunks of chocolatey miso-braised beef shin fall apart promiscuously. A grilled tuna sankaku skewer is a revelation; crisper than a city boy’s shirt collar on the outside but meatier than their paycheck inside. That said, a school of fried silversides we could have done without – basically pub whitebait but without the all-important mayo. Everything else though? Immaculate.
The vibe A small but wonderfully formed sushi counter in Notting Hill.
The food Sashmi and nigiri made with the freshest fish, starting at £4, and a handful of hot Japanese dishes from £7-16.
The drink Japanese-inflected cocktails (sesame margarita is our choice), as well as access to the entire Dorian wine list.
Time Out tip Chance a weeknight walk-in. If you’re lucky enough to live locally, they also do a flying trade on delivery apps.
