Roji is London’s newest omakase counter

A new ten-seat omakase counter opened in Mayfair last week. Roji is led by husband-and-wife duo Tamas Naszai (ex-Sake No Hana) and Tomoko Hasegawa, and is backed by the group behind the casual Japanese restaurants Chisou and Sushi Atelier, both known for their authentic but accessible menus. 

Tamas told CODE the project has been in the works since the pandemic and is a ‘long-time dream’ for the couple, who met while working at the wagyu-specialised Mayfair restaurant Tokimietē. 

‘We do everything together,’ Tamas said. ‘Creating the menus, cleaning up, organising, ordering, curating the drinks list. Obviously, we have a bit of help from the operations manager, but quite a big part of it is us’.  

The vision for Roji, meaning ‘hidden path’, is to apply Japanese techniques to seasonal produce, using fresh British seafood, locally farmed vegetables and ‘foraged herbs and mushrooms.’  

What makes Roji’s counter unique? Tamas explained: ‘It’s hard to say, because I’ve never been to another omakase place in London. Partially because it’s hard to book and partially because they have the same opening time as every other restaurant’.  

The emphasis at Roji is on process and chefs make use of all five main ‘aspects’ of Japanese cooking: grilling, frying, steaming, simmering, and cutting. 

Tamas told CODE: ‘We try to try to use all of these Japanese techniques. I’m not sure if everybody does that – like I said, I’ve never been to them. But it seems to me like they mostly focus on sushi, which we do as well. But quite a big part of the menu is the technique; not sushi only’. 

His favourite course, for instance, is eel grilled over charcoal using the ‘Shirayaki’ method, which is uncommon in London restaurants.  

‘Tomoko’s heritage is from Shizuoka – she’s from Hamamatsu city, where there is a huge tradition of eel eating. This is what she said she needs to have on the menu. It’s not the one everybody would be familiar with; it’s not that sort of soy-grilled style, but it’s really delicious.’ 

The current sample menu features chawanmushi, a Japanese egg custard, served with cod roe; turbot and sakura shrimp mochi; sea urchin soba with buckwheat noodles and an apple caramel dessert made with sakekasu, a by-product of the sake-making process.  

A selection of ‘hard-to-find’ sakes are on the menu, as well as biodynamic wines and a cocktail list populated by ‘bespoke highballs’. As in all omakase experiences, dishes are made and served by the chefs themselves in front of diners. 

A question remains: how many small, intimate omakase counters need to open before it becomes possible to get a reservation in reasonable time, and without going through a secret ritual?  

Impossible to know. But Roji, open for two dinner sittings from Tuesday to Saturday, is almost fully booked for August. The 14-course menu is priced at £150 per head and paid for upfront.  

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