Damn! Sexy Fish, Mayfair

As a little birthday treat to myself I decided that I would snap up the chance to book a table for the one and only, and oh-so-trendy, Sexy Fish restaurant on the corner of Berkeley Square. 

What I actually did was try to book a table four months in advance, and then set myself a little reminder to go back exactly a month before my birthday to book a table. I was determined to get a table at the Asian fish and seafood restaurant. Oh yes. 

Luckily my precise planning paid off, I did get a table, and I didn’t have long to wait when 20 June came round. After a slight hiccup (I was flying back from Amsterdam that day - both my flight and the train from the airport were delayed) I got there, albeit half an hour late. The staff were very accommodating however, as my friends arrived on time, and explained the situation. Note, you’re given a two hour table time. 

So, finally, I could relax and we got stuck in! The dishes work in the new trendy way - which is small plates to share tapas style. The waiter recommend three dishes each but we were informed that if we ordered too much he would let us know which was awfully helpful of him. It was a very difficult decision as we wanted to order one of each dish, alas our wallets would not allow it. I was also very envious of the table next to us who had the whole ice platter with sashimi shebang thing in the middle of the table. 

To start:

Octopus Carpaccio with lime and ginger vinaigrette, pickled shallots

Don’t underestimate this dish - who would know that you could describe octopus as delicate? The very, very thinly sliced octopus actually made a great start to the proceedings. Matched with the sharpness of the vinaigrette and the crunch of pickled shallots, it was very moorish. 

Tartare of Beef with sour plum, pickles and squid ink crisps

This plate was an all round winner with our 4-piece diners. I’ve personally never had raw beef (and usually would not appeal to me) but this was so fresh and so well-seasoned that we all agreed we could have our own plate. This was simply superb. I have no faults with this. Give me more. 

Wagyu Beef Gunken with white miso, truffle

This was a bulkier plate of treats which to be honest was good, every ingredient could be tasted, but compared to the rest of the plates, was a bit nondescript for me (sorry).

Grilled Avocado, crispy tofu, lime dressing and baby herbs

At first I was a bit like ‘can I really come to Sexy Fish and order some of the most basic foods like avocado and tofu?’ Yes is the answer to that. Light and creamy (applies to both), you can’t not like avocado really, but probably would recommend you to order something a bit more ‘out the box’ - you are in a restaurant called Sexy Fish after all. 

The middle section:

Prawn Gyoza - soy and ginger dressing

The dressing perfectly matched the prawns. Bonus points too for not just giving one each to the diner (as you sometimes get at restaurants like this) - there was an extra one we all fought for. 

Crispy Soft Shell Crab Nuoc Chan dressing

I’m a big fan of soft shell crab so this was a great choice. I also liked that it was already cut into portions - little details like that make a big difference. 

Maple Glazed Pork Belly Skewers - Yuzu ranch

Wherever I go, pork belly has to be ordered. That’s the way I roll. I could have done with a few more skewers, but it was meaty and fell off the skewer so tenderly. The maple glaze added an extra ‘oomph’ to the meat which complimented our choice of dishes perfectly as until now, we hadn’t had anything too meaty.

Octopus skewers with potato

Unlike the carpaccio - this is the typical octopus I think of. Bouncy and full of personality. Potato was an odd choice but I ate it all the same. 

The big stuff:

Miso glazed Chilean Sea Bass - artichoke three ways

This was one of my favourites of the night. I love sea bass anyway - it’s one of my favourite fish but teamed with miso it was always going to be a winner. Cooked to perfection, flaky and soft on the inside, full of flavour on the outside. I only wish there was more. 

Whole Lobster 700g - Ponzo and Smoked Bernaise

Already snapped and meat out, we were raring to go. We had three sauces served with it, unsure of the other one, but it seemed like a barbecue flavour oil/dressing. Whatever it was, it was delicious and went well with the lobster. 

Dessert:
This was when the night truly made a turn for the even better. We were four happy, greedy piggies. We almost ordered all of them on the menu (not kidding), but we decided we would order extra ice creams to go with it as the flavours were just so unique and tantalising. 

My Birthday White and Dark Chocolate Tofu with candied cocoa nibsOk, so the birthday bit isn’t actually part of the name, but it was a very welcome surprise when my tofu dessert came with a candle and my name written in chocolate (forget about your name in lights - this is what real dreams are made of). To be honest, I only ordered this dessert because it was different and not your average joe. I was a bit worried that it would be a bit ‘moussey’ which I don’t like, but luckily the tofu is more sturdy and had a substantial texture. The white and dark chocolate wasn’t too sweet and worked with the candied cocoa nibs - which was a bit like granola. 

The layered tofu dessert

Mango Mochi with mandarin and jasmine sorbet
Caramelised Pineapple and Coconut Cake
Gariguette Strawberry and Mint Panna Cotta with milk snow

I can’t personally comment on the other desserts but everyone gave their thumbs up. I must say the panna cotta looked very pretty. 

We also went for a range of Granny Smith and Sake sorbet; Rice crispy and green tea, soy & caramel and malted milk and honeycomb ice cream which all came on a freezed bowl and wafer in the shape of fish tail. Safe to say we were all rather excited when the desserts arrived. 

Away from food, the service was great. We had a really friendly and helpful waiter and also topped up our wine with efficiency but not too over-enthusiastic (the white wine we had was also very splendid - not that I remember which one it was). We had a nice little table in the corner by the window and looking back into the restaurant, it’s not as zany as you would imagine, but the fish hanging above the bar is a rather extravagant to the red and golds which creates for a dramatic look. 

Our bill came to over £330 including a bottle of wine and beer for four people, making it roughly £84 per person, which is way above my normal spending. The plates are fairly small but I think this place is more about the quality of food and you just have to overlook the quantity somewhat. To be honest, I personally would pay that for Sexy Fish - the quality of each dish was superb and I was talking about it for days after. I think this was a birthday meal I won’t forget. 

After gathering a combined score from all four of us - RATING: 4.25 out 5 (I personally give it 4.5)