Hotori will be led by founders Mike Zheng and Kuangyi Wei and offer a ‘classic yakitori experience’ of grilled chicken skewers and tempura alongside premium sake, Japanese whisky, and wines.
“We’ve been lucky enough to eat some incredible yakitori in Japan and many other countries around the world,” says the founders.
“But having lived and worked in London for many years we were always surprised that this kind of beak-to-tail concept wasn’t more readily available here given how great British chickens are. So, we decided to do it ourselves.”
Hotori will use free range, slow-reared chickens from Fosse Meadows.
Utilising every part of the bird, the menu will feature 17 different types of yakitori, all cooked on the restaurant’s custom 1.4 metre hibachi grill.
Skewers will include engawa (belly); soriresu (chicken oyster); bonjiri (tail meat); kashiwa (thigh); tebamoto (wing); tsukune (chicken meatball); nankotsu (cartilage); sunagimo (gizzard); and hatsu (heart).
The menu will also feature meat and fish skewers such as Japanese wagyu and miso black cod, as well as vegetables like Japanese yam, peppers, and shiitake mushroom. Fried dishes include prawn and vegetable tempura, and chicken karaage.
All the yakitori will be available as individual skewers, but there are also a range of set menus on offer including a full ‘beak to tail’ menu featuring all 17 chicken yakitori alongside five vegetable skewers.
Additionally, a selection of bento boxes will be available to eat in or takeaway at lunchtimes to help cater for local office workers with limited dining time.
The restaurant’s ground floor dining room will include an open kitchen counter.
An open a gallery space for local artists and private dining rooms will open on its lower ground floor level in due course.
