The long, long, long-awaited Akira Back at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair arrived surprisingly quietly, given the intense fanfare of last year. That isn’t always auspicious but whatever the reasons, the time was well used on the restaurant styling. The entrance to the restaurant is purposely obscured as you enter the hotel, giving everyone that ‘wow’ moment as you walk into a towering skylit atrium and make your way down a suspended green marble spiral staircase. It’s a special moment that not many restaurants in London deliver.
Back is a relatively new face in London but a huge star overseas, particularly in Korea and the USA. The menu at his eponymous restaurant sits on a foundation of classic Akira Back dishes, including that tuna sashimi pizza - three words that could have London’s omakase fans grumbling furiously. It certainly looks the part, and it’s an easy-going, tasty crowd pleaser. Is it going to blow your mind? Probably not, but it’s the beginning of a dive into what we really love about Akira Back - it’s fun, interesting, and surprisingly relaxed.
This is still a hotel restaurant, so there’s clearly a desire on the menu to cover a lot of bases for the variety of guests that will stay here. If you can look past the slightly incongruous nature of that, there’s lots to like. Wagyu bulgogi tacos are a mishmash of influences but there’s no denying the moreishness. Back’s Jidori chicken is at heart, a nicely cooked piece of chicken breast with potato puree, but no-one would be disappointed by it. Whether it’s deeply-braised Wagyu (yes, there’s a lot of Wagyu) with root vegetables, or the gentle spicing of the dynamite lobster, served neatly in its own shell, these dishes are delicious if not always harmonious. A crispy Wagyu sushi roll with coleslaw might have been a slight step too far for us, but if nothing else, Akira Back is doing something different and exciting and we applaud that.
Service is typically attentive, the wine list is stacked with quality and just next door you have the very sultry, sophisticated ABar Lounge with a fresh, fruit-laden cocktail list - we highly recommend the Shochili Mango (tequila and soju, mango, lime and a hit of togarashi). All in all, we reckon Akira Back at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair was worth the wait, and that’s saying something.