Sticks’n’Sushi, Covent Garden

Sticks’n’Sushi has been popping up all over my Instagram feed for months now; tempting me, begging me to visit. I’m never one to deny myself a sushi craving, so when my friend Amy came to visit on Friday I knew exactly where to take her.

We visited the Henrietta Street restaurant, just a short walk from Covent Garden and Leicester Square. It looks modest from the outside, but opens up to two surprisingly spacious levels; modern and elegant in design with ambient lighting and rugged exposed brickwork. The atmosphere is buzzing – as you’d expect for a Friday night in London – but the surroundings make it feel more subdued and intimate. We were seated downstairs at the sushi bar, with a front row seat of the food being freshly prepared.

The menu is like a work of art in itself, filled with photos of each item, which made picking a sensible amount to share quite difficult – I could have happily sampled the entire menu. However, our stomachs and budgets determined a selection of four types of sushi, a starter and a couple of sticks would suffice. They also have a variety of platters to choose from if you need help making a decision. Trust me, it’s tough.

We started with the ebi bites; crisp tempura fried shrimp with red chilli and a creamy, umami rich miso aioli, followed by a sushi platter with some classics; delicate salmon nigiri and avocado hosomaki, and two special rolls; a fiery spicy tuna roll uramaki, with cucumber and rolled in furikake, and ebi panko kaburimaki, a breaded shrimp roll topped with buttery slices of avocado, sesame seeds and a sweet, syrupy drizzle of tsume soy. To top it all off, we had to try a couple of the sticks, so we opted for the meltingly tender scallops in teriyaki and the panko breaded duck; like a seriously decadent meat lollipop served with a tangy wasabi caesar dressing to cut through the richness.

Sticks’n’Sushi pride themselves on quality and freshness, whilst still being affordable, and although it’s admittedly a little pricier than your average sushi chain, it definitely delivers in taste – it’s no wonder they are one of the most successful restaurant groups in Denmark. Overall, it’s an exciting and innovative take on sushi and yakitori, and a new personal favourite.