GINZA ONODERA

I recently attended a bloggers’ event at Ginza Onodera, a fine-dining Japanese restaurant in Mayfair where we were treated to a masterclass in teppan cooking. Previously Matsuri, it re-opened as Ginza Onodera in March 2017 following a major £2.5m refurbishment. As Ginza Onodera, it is now part of the world-renowned Onodera Group, which includes sites in Tokyo’s Ginza district, Shanghai, Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York and Paris. 


Teppanyaki refers to a style of Japanese cooking that uses an iron griddle to cook food, with teppan meaning iron, and yaki meaning grill. The teppan grill at Ginza Onodera was state of the art, allowing for even cooking throughout the central part of the grill, and on hand to show us how to teppan grill were Head chef Ryosuke Kishi and Teppan chef Marvin Gatus.

Seated around the teppan grill in a private dining room, we were firstly treated to a Seasonal Zensai, three bite sized mouthfuls of fresh seafood deliciousness. Starting with the top left in a clockwise direction, we had the kampachi carpaccio with yuzu, pomegranate truffle, shimesaba mackerel with marinated rice vinegar and kelp, and scallops kobujime with a wasabi herb dressing. The kampachi was wonderful, singing with an interesting mixture of acidity, sweetness and aromatic truffle. The vinegar offered a balance with the oily mackerel, and the scallop was just lovely with a tinge of wasabi kick and fresh aromatic herbs including some delightful shiso.

Ginza Onodera -The zensai

The zensai was followed by the pièce de résistance, a cooking demonstration with Chef Marvin who took us through cooking Canadian lobster, egg fried rice and Kobe beef. The demonstration was a theatrical spectacle and very engaging. Chef Marvin used his teppan tools with extreme grace and flair, a skill which he has mastered over a number of years.

Ginza Onodera – Chef Marvin

The lobster, pre-cooked, was heated on the teppan grill to give it added caramelisation. Chunky and meaty, it proved to be wonderfully juicy. Chef Marvin also cooked the lobster brains which was really tasty and with a robust flavour. The lobster was served with a citrusy dressing.

Next was the egg fried rice. First to the grill were the onions which Marvin cooked through gently. He then added rice to the grill. Once allowed to warm through, he then cracked whole eggs on top of the rice. And once the eggs were cooked, Marvin demonstrated his marvellous teppan chopping and mixing skills by bringing all the different elements together. Some seasoning to finish and then voilà!!

Ginza Onodera – Egg fried rice

The next dish was my favourite, the A5 grade Kobe beef from Japan. It was cooked to perfection, medium rare, with each side of the beef being seared to a beautiful caramelised flavour. The beef was divine, fatty and rich with an intense flavour and marbling. The beef was served with teppan grilled vegetables and wasabi, grated in front of our eyes from wasabi root, and at £1 per gram (£1000 per kilo), this was an incredibly refined accompaniment to the beef.

Ginza Onodera – London food blog – A5 grade Kobe & fresh wasabi

Ginza Onodera -Vegetable cooking

Our experience at Ginza Onodera was wonderful and really showcased what a fabulous experience proper teppanyaki cooking can be like.

Website: https://onodera-group.com/ginza-onodera