Endo At The Rotunda closed in March with its third generation sushi master Endo Kazutoshi chef patron saying at that time that he wanted to create a more ‘personal and immersive’ omakase experience.
In its new incarnation the Michelin-starred restaurant will offer two omakase sittings Tuesday to Friday at 6pm and 9pm. It will also offer a single omakase sitting on Saturday lunchtime.
Upon arrival, guests will be greeted on the ground floor and led upstairs in a private lift. Pre-dinner drinks will be offered for the earlier 6pm sitting, or to round the night off at the later 9pm sitting.
The omakase experience will be informed by recipes and techniques derived from Endo’s grandfather – the first in a family of sushi masters.
The new era of the restaurant will be shaped by the concept of onkochishin, which is ‘a way of looking into the future through the perspective of the past’.
“The Rotunda is my home and I want my guests to have an unforgettable experience that feels authentic to my culture and true reflection of our imagination,” Kazutoshi says. “This space grows alongside me as a chef and as a person. I look forward to welcoming the public with an open heart.”
The omakase experience will be served at a reconfigured sushi counter that now seats only 10 guests to ‘ensure a closer interaction between Kazutoshi and his guests’.
The omakase experience will revolve around a seasonally-driven 18 course menu, combining local British produce and the best of Cornish and Spanish seafood such as mackerel, langoustine, scallops and otoro with rice, wasabi and soy sauce from Endo’s trusted Japanese suppliers.
Dishes will include Endo’s signature ‘business card’ hand roll, as well as a selection of nigiri-style pieces created using his grandfather’s recipes, and dishes from the grill with optional paired wines, tea and sake, including some one-of-a-kind bottles made exclusively for Kazutoshi.
The refurbishment of the space – which is being led by high-profile Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – will see the restaurants bar area replaced with a wooden landscape-like seating area that recalls ‘the materiality of the natural world’.
The newly designed woodscape lounge area will echo the language of the Rotunda’s undulating paper ceiling and bespoke hinoki sushi counter, stacking cedar planks in modulating layers to invite guests to sit on the playful formations.
Bookings will go live on the Rotunda’s website on 17 August.
The refurbishment project has allowed Kazutoshi to focus on launching NIJU in Mayfair and Kioku by Endo at The OWO. Both Japanese restaurant projects are for the Creative Restaurant Group where he holds the role of culinary director.