FORGIVE us a certain amount of cynicism when hotel chains make bold switches in their restaurant offerings. Especially when it involves arbitrarily yoking two quite different cuisines in one all-singing, all-dancing menu package. Well, the Mexicans dance on their hats (we are told), while the Japanese focus their vocal chords on karaoke.
Which leaves us with Peter Street Kitchen, a revamp of Opus One inside the Radisson Edwardian, opening on Saturday, October 13. Fine dining was always hard to recognise in Opus One’s penumbral, rouged-up interior, so ToM welcomes a change. The more casual Steak and Lobster round the back surprisingly survives.
Elswhere it’s all change. We are urged to “ Unwind in our Rikyū Bar, with one of our Shokuzen Shu aperitifs. Expertly created by our mixologist, the Rikyū Bar cocktail menu has been inspired by some of the most iconic ingredients from Japan and Mexico alike.”
Then it’s on to the Peter Street Kitchen, replacing Opus One, which closed quietly in June. It’s the fourth such Jap-Mex Kitchen rolled out by Edwardian Hotels.
How does the collab work? We are promised yellowtail sashimi with spicy yuzu soy, shredded crab with spicy ginger mayo tostadas, and robata Mezcal-glazed smoked paprika ribs.
Staff have apparently been put through 'an intensive seven-week training period including an immersion into Japanese food and drink, culture and etiquette’. Without access to Mexican drug cartel’s armouries or ritual Samurai swordplay, we hope.
Peter Street Kitchen, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Peter Street, M2 5GP, opens on October 13.