Umu

Umu is rated very highly by those who profess to know the real thing. Attention to detail and a willingness to cast convention to the winds seem to be two of the factors that separate Umu from the rest. The décor is a feast of slatted wood and leather luxury, with Japanese precision to the fore.

A number of menus are available, starting with the traditional Kaiseki, an à la carte, sushi and sashimi, and a good value set lunch. Taken from the carte menu a meal for two could include a tempura of prawn and asparagus and Umu's own mixed salad. Sashimi might yield thinly sliced fillet of turbot or the classical three fish, thickly sliced, the best of the day's market, followed by simmered rock cod with tofu and Japanese root, together with Wagyu beef served with two Japanese sauces.

For desserts there is good interplay between the essentially Japanese nature of the place and the vagaries of a multi cultural customer base. So steel yourself for homemade brown tea ice cream, a Japanese dessert of the day, or a Sudacti sorbet.

Guessing that their customers will want to drink sake with their meals, there are over 70 from which to choose. There is a far better than average selection of both wines and sake by the glass and every indication of a well-tutored nose at work in the purchasing department.