Sake no Hana Celebrates Sakura By Day And Yozakura By Night

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Sake no Hana, the Japanese restaurant by Hakkasan Group, will be celebrating the arrival of Spring with the return of the sakura cherry blossom garden in the Sake no Hana bar from 21st March to 18th June. By day, the bar will be transformed with intertwining cherry blossom branches, falling petals, a grass floor, and blossom entrances, while by night lights will twinkle within the blossom to create an intimate yozakura atmosphere, yozakura literally meaning ‘night sakura’. A limited edition seven course menu has been created for guests to enjoy whilst being surrounded by moving cherry blossom images projected onto the bamboo behind the bar.

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Sake no Hana will become a beautiful oasis in St James, the stunning blossom taking over the grass-floored bar, and branches weaving throughout the inside and outside of the restaurant. Arched over the iconic escalators, a cherry blossom tree will form a tunnel for guests to ascend into the restaurant, and cherry blossom will be threaded through the wooden ceiling of the upstairs dining room.

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As evening sets in sparkling lights will appear amongst the blossom branches – traditionally the Japanese hang lanterns in the blossom trees during yozakura and socialise by feasting and drinking beneath the blossom throughout the night.

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A limited edition seven course menu has been created for guests to enjoy whilst being surrounded by moving cherry blossom images projected onto the bamboo behind the bar. Many haiku poets were inspired by the cherry blossom and spring as the sakura season lasts only a few weeks in Japan, thus symbolising the fragility of nature and of life. Throughout the day, the cherry blossom will naturally fall onto the grass floor of the Sake no Hana bar, showcasing the fleeting beauty of the blossom, the season, and of time.

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Inspired by hanami, the centuries-old Japanese tradition of celebrating the fleeting cherry blossom, Sakura at Sake no Hana offers guests the chance to enjoy the transient beauty of the flowers in the heart of Mayfair. Hanami literally means “flower viewing”, and it is customary to sit beneath the blossom to read and write haiku poetry. To tie in with this expressive tradition, guests who order the Sakura at Sake no Hana menu will be gifted with a haiku written by one of the famed haiku masters and printed onto a paper petal.

An exclusive menu has been created for Sakura at Sake no Hana featuring a cocktail, a bento box created by Executive Head Chef Hideki Hiwatashi, a dessert and finally macarons. The meal starts with a beautiful Kaori Arpège cocktail.

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The Kaori Arpège cocktail consists of Beefeater 24 gin, yuzu sake, cherry liqueur, peach bitters, grapefruit juice and agave. The cocktail comes complete with three atomisers to spray onto the cocktail, including red cherry, black cherry and cinnamon; elderflower and jasmine; and violet, each completely altering the taste of the cocktail with each spray. Simply squirt the fine mist spray a few times above or around the glass to get the effect; you don’t actually add anything to the drink directly, but the change is amazing.

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A light white miso soup starter is served first, warm and full of the miso flavours so typical of good Japanese cooking.

The main course is served next, consisting of two Bento boxes (wooden based glass fromed platters)

• Bento Box – the bento box contains a selection of sushi and hamachi, akami and salmon sashimi
• Main Bento – a choice of Salmon miso yaki with egg mustard sauce, Sumiyaki chicken with spicy shichimi sauce, and Crispy yasai katsu

The presentation is incredibly detailed with each part of each dish clearly defined, with flavours working as well together as on their own. This is one of the things I really love about Japanese food.

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The two Bento Box’s each and cocktails made for a colourful dining experience. My dining partner chose the Sumiyaki chicken with spicy shichimi sauce with Crispy yasai katsu, so I chose the Salmon miso yaki with egg mustard sauce so that we could compare. Needless to say they were both superb.

The sushi Bento box also included a cooked banana leaf wrapped sea bream, which was eaten by untying the gold string around the parcel and scooping the contents out. The resulting flavours of the leaf infusing with the delicate fish was particularly pleasing, and something I would love to try again. Highlighting the art of Japanese food, it is the clarity of all the delicate flavours, and not overpowering them in sauces and creams that made this such a wonderful meal.

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The Sumiyaki chicken with spicy shichimi sauce, and Crispy yasai katsu was grilled and had kept all the flavours from the crispy skin in with the meat. The salmon flaked apart smoothly, yet was moist and consistent throughout. I added a lot of the mustard sauce to it as added a more peppery edge to the salmon that any hollandaise sauce ever would. Yummy.

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Each element of the Bento Box is prepared with the highest attention to detail and the great use of colour to make it visually exciting. I couldn’t resist this sushi wrap.

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The sushi is exactly as you would expect; perfect. Different fish with unique flavours and textures all seem to melt in the mouth. Server atop of a box of crushed ice, it allows you plenty of time to chat, (or photograph the food), whilst keeping it perfectly chilled so it remains the way it was intended to be eaten.

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Dessert consists of Cherry Chocolate Sake Mousse – Cherry chocolate mousse and a cherry sake mousse, chocolate crumble with sake jelly. On a separate plate are the Cherry blossom macarons – vanilla macarons with cherry blossom tea ganache. The green branches on the plate are made by the chef dusting the plate with lemon green, yet it looks so much like it was painted on the plate it surprises many when it comes off as you eat! The plate is served as in the picture to look like a branch of a cherry tree bearing fruit. Its this attention to detail, even in the serving presentation that make Sakura at Sake no Hana such a wonderful event.

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Sakura at Sake no Hana’s limited edition menu is available for lunch and dinner in the bar and restaurant sushi counter from 21st March to 18th June, Monday to Saturday, for £34 per person. It has to be one of the most wonderful meals and best price you will find In London.

Sake no Hana
23 St. James’s Street
London
SW1A 1HA

www.sakenohana.com
+44 (0)20 7925 8988

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