Saki is just opposite Smithfield market, it was surprising how quiet it was on a saturday evening. I’m sure the area is heaving with suits and media execs during the week. There’s a little deli upstairs closed weekends though so i couldn’t have a nosy through the goodies on offer. There’s a fair sized dining room with some benches around a sculpture that looks like a stalagmite and a bar downstairs.
Some deliciously fruity saki based cocktails didn’t make the menu easier to deal with so we opted for the 6 course chefs menu with flowers (it was Chelsea flower show week). The little morsels were damn tasty, i’m such a glut and feel cheated by the small portions. The vego was well catered for with an equivalent vegetarian dish and the sushi was suitably creative. A “main” of miso baked black cod nods to the chefs time spent in Nobu kitchens but the little prawn balls were probably the highlight of the night. Sam’s aubergine risotto was a delicate dish of aubergine and some small grains we couldn’t make out. Deserts were a bit of a let down whilst green tea ice cream can never go wrong the cake it was served with just didn’t inspire.
It got rather noisy when a large group of americans descended on the venue. Food was pretty darn good, amience was lacking but the cocktails were absolute winners. Small selection of wines, saki and umeshu. Not a cheap meal but good quality and you might get better mileage chosing a la carte i was incapable of making any decisions this night (just for a change). It’s around the corner from Fabric not that it’d be a winning combination for a night out though!
Saki Bar & Food Emporium
4 West Smithfield
London EC1A 9JX
T: +44 (0)20 7489 7033
