Ellie & I were recently invited by Hot Stone, a Japanese restaurant in Angel, London, to check out their culinary offerings. They are currently celebrating their sixth anniversary with a £30 three-course dinner deal (check out our social media for the link). The regular price is £85. For the avoidance of doubt, we had additional a la carte food orders and drinks adding up to around £130 for the two of us, on top of the two three-course meals. We were held free of cost for those too.
A COOL BUT NOT A FANCY PART OF TOWN
I regularly pass by Hot Stone on my morning runs, when I run along Regent’s Canal (which flows underground on this section), and I like the neighbourhood. Chapel Market, where the eatery is located, is very working class, and a far shot from the fancy boutique shops, cafes, and restaurants in Camden Passage, a stone’s throw away.
HOT STONE CONTINUES TO RECEIVE EXCELLENT REVIEWS FROM WELL-KNOWN CRITICS
Hot Stone has received glowing reviews by many of the best-known London food critics. Fay Maschler, for example, called it her favourite restaurant in that part of town. Tripadvisor is ranking it around #800 out of 15,000 London restaurants.
ONE OF ONLY 8 UK RESTAURANTS CERTIFIED TO SERVE KOBE BEEF
Many of the ingredients are sourced directly from Japan. This includes the wasabi as well as the Sanpuku nori, which is considered to be the finest nori in Japan. Moreover, Hot Stone is one of only eight UK restaurants certified to serve Kobe beef. The restaurant offers a fine selection of soy sauces (aged between 2 and 20 years).
THE NEPALESE CHEF TRAINED WITH THE BEST
Interestingly, the chef, Padam Raj Rai, is not of Japanese descent. He is from Nepal and has spent the fist part of his professional life working at Kotetsu, at the time Katmandu’s best Japanese restaurant (but on a downward spiral since Rai’s departure). After a relatively brief stint in Osaka, Rai moved to London almost 15 years ago. For the next few years, he did stints at Nobu, Roka, Zuma, Sake no Hana, and the now closed, but then highly regarded Tsukiji Sushi.
TWO BROTHERS
6 years ago, he joined forces with his brother Shrabaneswor Rai to open Hot Stone at the very location it is now. There is a second Hot Stone restaurant in Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, which has just re-opened after a lengthy closure and is currently only offering Friday and Saturday dinners.
A COSY RESTAURANT WITH PLEASANT VIBES
The first thing that struck us when we entered the premises of the main venue in Angel, was, how small and cosy the place is. Like an old-style Asian family-run restaurant.
Truth be told, maybe a little bit more space around each table wouldn’t do any harm. But the same could be said for plenty of restaurants. Perhaps we would have also preferred if the heating would have been turned up, but no one else seemed to mind.
The whole vibe is very pleasant. Fake cherry-blossom covered tree branches and twigs on the far end, next to traditional shoji screens.
THE OYSTERS AND THE COCKTAILS ARRIVE
After only five minutes’ wait or so, the two oysters with yuzu dressing and edible viola garnish arrived and set the bar very high for the remainder of the dishes. The two cocktails, that arrived with the oysters, were delightful and each had an unusual twist on the standard version.
FATTY TUNA NIGIRI SUSHI
Fatty tuna nigiri sushi was fattier than any fatty tuna I remember eating. My good wife, despite her usual inclination, to avoid too much fat, absolutely loved it. For me, it was almost a bit too oily, but that’s just weird old me.
SASHIMI BENTO BOX
Moments later, a lovely sashimi bento box arrived with one more double-set of fatty tuna, two other types of tuna, swordfish, and mackerel. It came with freshly grated wasabi from a plant that took three years to grow, and soy sauce that had been aged in cider barrels for three years.
IT MATTERS HOW THE FISH IS CUT
Rai is a master in inflicting all kinds of different cuts on the fish he prepares. There is a noticeable difference in flavour (and texture, of course), depending on the type of cuts.
DON’T MISS THE GRILLED AUBERGINE
Next up was a vertical wooden carrier mini-shelf, which contained several highlights of the evening. The grilled aubergine with saikyo miso, watercress and sesame was unexpectedly large. A wholesome, very pleasant dish. William Sitwell from The Telegraph called it “so good that I would fight you for it.”
ORKNEY SCALLOPS, SPICY SALMON, TUNA TARTARE AND MORE
The Orkney scallops with ponzu & umeboshi faced no struggle in getting our full approval. Equally, the spicy salmon, the six salmon avocado sushi rolls, and the tuna tartare impressed. The tempura snacks were not for me, but that’s just personal preference.
MORE SCALLOPS, SOME EEL, AND SIDES
Last time we had had grilled scallops with spicy creamy mayo had been some ten years ago at Doyle’s at Sydney’s fish market, so it was lovely to be able to have another shot at this tasty dish. Safe to say that you’ll always have a winner with grilled unagi (eel). The spinach with sesame dressing made for a nice side, as did the selection of tsukemono (pickled vegetables).
ENTER THE MAIN ATTRACTION: THE HOT STONE
After a few more delicious snacks courtesy of the kitchen, the main attraction arrived: the hot stone. These slabs of volcanic lava rock are being heated to 450°C in a specially designed and purpose-built oven, before they are brought to your table. Diners are advised not to let the rock get cold. Ideally the whole cooking process should take just a few minutes and the rock will still be sizzling hot when all the food has been cooked.
WAGYU BEEF, SALMON, TUNA, SCALLOPS & PRAWNS
In addition to the 4 strips of wagyu beef, 2 bits of salmon, 2 chunks of tuna, 2 scallops, and 2 large king prawns (for the two of us), we had a XXXL king prawn of truly epic proportions to share between us.
COOKING EASIER THAN EXPECTED
Cooking the wagyu was more straightforward than anticipated. You simply sear it for 20 seconds or so on each side, then serve immediately. We did two strips at a time. The name for this cooking method is Ishiyaki. Well, at least when done by Japanese experts. Once cooked, you season to taste. You will have homemade sauces of yuzu-soy and jalapeno salsa, freshly grated wasabi and salt & pepper at your disposal.
“JAPANESE BEEF”
Wagyu literally means “Japanese beef” and is not a protected label. That said, what Japanese chefs usually mean by wagyu, is top quality, highly marbled, extremely fatty beef, from one of three breeds of cattle, which must have been raised in Japan. (Officially, four breeds qualify. But one of the breeds doesn’t have highly marbled meat. So it’s not really attractive.)
EXTREMELY LOW MELTING POINT OF THE FAT
The melting point of the fat of this ‘proper’ wagyu beef is at around 15 to 25 °C. That’s 12 °C less than butter, and 25 °C less than regular beef fat. The beef we enjoyed, was, I believe, A5-certified Japanese sirloin wagyu sourced from Kagoshima in Southern Japan.
KOBE BEEF
For wagyu beef to be certified as Kobe beef, it must come from Tajima Japanese Black cattle raised in Hyogo prefecture. A mere 3,000 cattle are bred each year. There are also a million other criteria for the meat to pass as Kobe, relating to the quality, the marbling, the diet, and so on.
THE DESSERT
The matcha cheese cake and the mochi ice cream we had for dessert were delightful, too.
THE BIRTHDAY DEAL
Did we manage to whet your appetite? Well, then don’t be shy and have a look at Hot Stone’s £30 Birthday Deal on their website. If you book before the end of March, then you secure the deal, even if the dinner reservation is for anytime later in the year.
The Birthday Menu is subject to change, but the website gives you an example, which is the version served during the first few weeks of the offer:
1st course: Choose one of the following:
Prawn tempura and wagyu tartare roll
Mackerel and lychee carpaccio
Seared butterfish, truffle ponzu sashimi
Seared salmon, ginger sesame carpaccio
Truffled grilled aubergine
2nd course, the signature hot stone experience:
The highest grade Japanese A5 Wagyu beef & seafood platter
3rd course, homemade dessert
As you would expect, there are plenty of upgrades with additional courses available as part of the discount deal. Additionally, you are always free to order more dishes from the A La Carte Menu.
CONCLUSION
Ellie & I will certainly be back for more delicious Japanese food. 4 out of 5 in our book (5 out of 5, if you get the birthday deal). Next up on our list: check out the other London venues run by chef Rai and his team. Watch this space.
Looking for more posts about food? Check out our articles about French fart sausage (andouillette), about how peasants’ food became fancy, our recipes for monk fish liver and Sierra Leonean potato leaf stew, or our reviews of two-starred Helen Darroze, two-starred Lafleur, or the amazing Gruvelageret restaurant near the North Pole.
