Chotto Matte Soho

Japanese, Peruvian·
££££
·
Silver Award
·

SquareMeal Review of Chotto Matte Soho

Silver Award

Light-hearted and fun, this Soho champion of Nikkei cuisine (a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian) pulls out all the stops. Chotto Matte is a large two-floor venue: a neon-splashed nightclub of a restaurant where colour-pop murals are juxtaposed with low lighting and comfy cushioned seats in shades of mustard yellow.

The best thing we ate from an occasionally inconsistent menu was a tray of five springy gyoza parcels concealing Wagyu foie gras, served with a citrusy pot of ginger sesame ponzu. Every dish is presented with bravado; brightly coloured sushi arrives fanned out on a platter, with the signature Sato maki rolls (named after the head chef) flambéed at the table with a blowtorch. Platters are available for dessert too, featuring the likes of mango flavoured mochi balls and an indulgent banana parfait topped up with husks of popcorn. 

Chotto Matte doesn’t always deliver on its promise of big flavours, and high prices for small portions make this an expensive prospect, so if you’re on a budget, we’d suggest one of the better-value set menus. Do be sure to explore the inventive cocktail list though, with our favourite being the Flor De Manzana – similar to a Pornstar Martini, this is a fruity mix of mango-infused vodka, saké, passionfruit, apple and elderflower.   

If you’re after a more energetic alternative to the fine-dining likes of Hakkasan, Chotto Matte’s boundless energy and slickly presented dishes should satisfy your cravings.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £50 - £79
Cuisines
Japanese, Peruvian
Ambience
Cool, Fun, Lively, Unique
Food Occasions
Late night dining
Perfect for
Dates, Group dining [8+]
Food Hygiene Rating

About

Now with six locations across the world, Chotto Matte Soho is the original site from founder Kurt Zdesar offering creative and authentic menus of Nikkei cuisine: a contemporary blend that mixes together the tastes and techniques of both Japanese and Peruvian cooking.

More than your typical restaurant, each of Chotto Matte's sleek restaurant spaces come with a rather artistic flair: from the vibrant coloured-seats to the signature murals that have become the group's calling card. The Soho site is no different with black and white striped zigzag floors, neon-lit wall decor, and electric mustard and purple seating, all surrounded by vibrant foliage that help bring the dining room to life.

Chotto Matte aims to make fine-dining more accessible with creative menus from executive chef Jordan Sclare who helps to bring this vision to life. You'll find signature sharing menus as well as traditional a la carte offerings, divided into sections for the raw bar, the sushi bar and even a robata grill where fish, meat and veggies are all freshly cooked over hot coals.

The Soho menu showcases how varied and interesting Nikkei cuisine can be. Smaller options see Padron peppers in miso, and edamame in rocoto chilli dressing, as well as rosemary and salt jumbo crackers with guac. Sushi nibbles see the likes of soft shell crab rolls and sato maki with sea bass, salmon tartare, romano pepper and homemade soy sauce. Moving to the larger appetisers, there are Peruvian-style gyoza, featuring pork and prawn, but with sweet potato purée and red pepper ponzu, as well as spicy tuna crispy sushi with tuna tartare and Peruvian chilli. The Robata grill, meanwhile, turns out delights like slow cooked braised beef with a teriyaki jus and apple honey glazed ribs with a coriander crumb.

Desserts offer fruity concoctions like Mochi ice cream with mango, coconut and green tea or passion fruit creme brulee with sake poached pineapple. Be sure to wash everything down with one of the signature cocktails or something off the extensive sake menu.

This venue also offers

Chotto Matte Soho
Private Group Dining

Chotto Matte Soho

Chotto Matte Soho
Event Party Venue

Chotto Matte Soho

Chotto Matte Soho
Christmas Parties

Chotto Matte Soho

Location

11-13 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4RB

020 7042 7171 020 7042 7171

Website

Opening Times

All day
Mon 12:00-01:30
Tue 12:00-01:30
Wed 12:00-01:30
Thu 12:00-01:30
Fri 12:00-01:30
Sat 11:00-01:30
Sun 12:00-00:30

Reviews

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15 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Anon

19 February 2023  
Food & Drink 4
Service 3
Atmosphere 5
Value 3.5
Lovely restaurant but not recommended for anyone with dietary or allergy needs

Lovely restaurant - good food and friendly staff. 
However they seem to struggle with allergy information. After telling them I was gluten free 3 times, I was still served two courses with gluten in. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant for anyone with allergies. 

Zoe L

01 April 2019  
Buzzing vibe, great food and great atmosphere. The food tastes great and makes a perfect night out.

Rebecca W

27 June 2018  
Delicious food, fun environment & location and great service.

Joanne P

21 March 2018  
Everything is great and more importantly I can usually get a table when I want to, unlike so many other popular restaurants in London.

Anna B

22 December 2017  
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 0.5
Atmosphere 2
Value 2
Food is amazing but wait for deliveroo to cover it and or go to Sushisamba
I had wanted to eat at Chotte Matte and when my friend suggested Sushi or something like that I thought, I know the perfect place. Sadly, I made a mistake and should have ventured to Sushisamba. The food is truly amazing, a fantastic menu which features the Tostaditia Moradas ( classic was best out of the trio), luxurious sushi and sashimi platters, the 12 piece sashimi was to die for. My favourite dish was definitely the beef tataki as the mix of flavours really complemented each other perfectly. The California roll was perfect. So Food wise, I give it 9/10, I believe that every restaurant has room for improvement. The atmosphere is very cool and trendy with tables within 30cm close of the next table. So if you don’t like being very close neighbours, this isn’t the restaurant for you. The acoustics in there don’t lend themselves to being heard very well. However, the service was what let’s this restaurant down in a monumental way, you feel like you’re on a conveyer belt, if they could feed you and get you out in 45 minutes they would. On the night I went they had a catastrophic technical meltdown, no wifi. So sadly, the waiter looking after us tried to make the payment system work but due to the wifi down, the computer officially said no. We were found a seat downstairs and continued to have a further drink. We wanted to leave, I needed to get a train home (which I missed), I no longer live in London, after several requests to pay the bill from upstairs and the bill for the drinks, in frustration, we left. Something I have never done before and hope never to do again in the future. I duly called the restaurant in the morning to request to pay and to explain my frustration and was told the Manager would call me back. I never complain but my evening was somewhat ruined. The manager did duly call me back finally on Saturday night and apologised. He kindly advised me that they had indeed charged my card later that night (lovely to be have been notified of that) he offered me the 2 cocktails free and was told that I would be looked after and or possible drinks on my next visit. I personally feel that if I’m going to spend over £160 for dinner and drinks, I wouldn’t be looking to spend my money there. So yes food great but everything else rather poor in my opinion and your money is best spent in an alternative establishment. I’m disappointed to finally write a review recommending people not to dine here.

Chris H

10 August 2017  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Another great visit
I first visited this restaurant 2 years ago, firstly for a showcase event and then another two times with friends. Last night we had the pre-theatre bento box including a glass of prosecco which was £25 plus we ordered pisco sours (delicious) and another glass of prosecco each. The service was impeccable. The pre-theatre dinner menu was excellent. I highly recommend you try Chatto Matte. Great location in Soho.

Abhishek M

28 May 2017  
Superb food, great service.

Beatrice B

09 May 2017  
Awesome food and great staff. Fun and buzzy atmosphere and great location for a night out.

Alex G

13 October 2016  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 4.5
Value 2.5
Classy – but, wait a minute, check the prices
Chotto Mate ticks many boxes – it is cool, serves excellent food and wines and has enthusiastic and engaging staff. The catch, however, is the cost. The menu is somewhat bewildering in its complexity, the dishes are small and the bill can therefore rack up quickly. Even if you opt for one of the sharing menus – and at least have the dilemma of knowing what to choose taken away – this hardly comes cheap, at a minimum of £50 a head. On a Wednesday night when a group of five of us dined there recently, the place was certainly buzzing, suggesting good things, but also many deep pockets. Chotto Mate (which means ‘wait a minute’ in Japanese) is spread over two floors and is certainly not the place to go for an intimate meal; rather, expect a hip set of tunes, graffiti murals on the wall and a lot of people and dishes constantly on the move. The inspiration for the food – in that very on-trend sort of way – is a cross between Japanese and Peruvian. It’s been done many times before, most famously at Nobu, but it does continue to work, and the two cuisines are natural bedfellows in many ways. There is no shortage of options from which to choose and we also noted that the restaurant was very accommodating for one member of our group, who required gluten-free options. Between us we sampled some 20 dishes, a range of cold and hot options. All credit to the restaurant that I do not recall one failure among the selection. Chotto excelled in both the quite simple (such as Padrón peppers) as well as the notably more complex. In particular, we rated the dishes from the Anticuchería barbecue, namely meat/fish chargrilled over hot coals with a marinade of Peruvian spices. Stand-out options were the pork belly, beef heart skewers and octopus, all full of flavour and cooked pitch-perfect. The wine list was also intelligently compiled and we especially rated a fine New Zealand Pinot Noir (Huia), which paired well with the food. My advice – go, but get someone else to pay if you can.

Piglet

09 May 2016  
Food & Drink 4
Service 5
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Peruvian/Japanese!
We sat outside on a sunny day in Soho drinking pisco sours and watching the world go by. We were very well looked after by the manager and waitress, they were attentive, friendly and helpful advising us on the menu. We shared - Yellowtail sashimi, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno and coriander with yuzu truffle soy (I am salivating just thinking about this), Prawn spring roll with shitake and ponzu salsa, Corn, green bean, avocado, spring onion fritters, with daikon sauce –I ate most of them. Tuna sashimi tostaditas, and lastly, Chicken Yuzi teriyaki which was very succulent and quite a large portion, and was more than enough for two. Getting to the toilets was a bit of an ordeal, coming in from the sunshine, it was a very dark walk downstairs to the bathrooms, all black walls and low lighting, it took a while for my eyes to adjust and find the button on the wall to open the doors, but that could just be my age! Will definitely re-visit.
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020 7042 7171 020 7042 7171

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