Evernight

London’s newest neighbourhood opened with plenty of noisy fanfare, but in Evernight, Nine Elms has a destination restaurant that is quietly going about its business, delivering truly outstanding contemporary Japanese cooking.

An unassuming chalkboard outside reads ‘sharing plates, skewers, select wines and sakes’ and that - though accurate - doesn’t remotely tell the story of the genius at play inside. The sleek dining room is made up of pale timber counters and tables, whilst ridged wood panels streak across the ceiling, weaving between a series of translucent cuboid lampshades. It’s lowkey, but still elegant and sophisticated - a nice change from the capital’s more Insta-bait interiors.

We nabbed a seat at the counter and got stuck into crisp, juicy morsels of chicken karaage, fat oysters with tosazu (a light bonito dressing) and a sweetbread curry katsu bun that was every bit as good as it sounds. 

The struggle at Evernight may well be working out what to order - among the starters and fish-based dishes alone, there’s enough good stuff for a whole meal. In the latter you’ll find a rich, fatty, umami bowl of smoked eel, chawanmushi (a Japanese steamed egg custard) and pumpkin miso, which is easily one of the best things we’ve eaten all year. We advise you to save room, because all the skewers are must orders (the grilled beef tongue with black garlic and burnt apple is exceptional), and as we sipped on a glass of ‘Dreamy Clouds’ sake, we considered whether Evernight might be in the very highest echelons of London's restaurant stratosphere.

After all that, you still have to find room for a big claypot of rice and aged beef rib - chiselling away the crisp rice from its outer edges is a worthy labour of love. And what better than a miso creme caramel to finish, set with the perfect wobble.

Highly accomplished from start to finish, Evernight sets the bar phenomenally high for this sort of dining, and to do it with such understated elegance is all the more impressive. If you were looking for a reason to jump on that swanky new bit of the Northern Line, this is it.

Evernight is a Japanese izakaya serving inventive and progressive small plates alongside an extensive wine list of low intervention wines. Evernight describes itself as a modern izakaya - it serves a menu broadly designed around the traditional izakaya concept of food made to eat whilst drinking, but the dishes are a more inventive take on classic Japanese techniques and flavours. Born from the mind of Lynus Lim - a Singaporean chef who trained under Tom Angelsea at the Laughting Heart - the restaurant showcases a progressive izakaya philosophy that utilises ingredients and produce from the British Isles.

Evernight has been widely acclaimed since opening in 2022, thanks to its exciting, innovative Japanese cooking. Simple nibbles like pickles and senbei (a type of Japenese rice cracker), come as a fantastic accompaniment to the intriguing and extensive wine list. Definitively global, the list features mainly low intervention wines from across Europe, introducing diners to new examples of fine reds, whites, rose and sparkling wines. For those wishing to pair their small plates with a beverage with an Asian origin, the menu also boasts a huge range of sake and sochu. 

On the food menu, you'll find snacks like turbot and shiso spring rolls, potato cakes liberally topped with dashi mayonnaise and Petrossian trout roe, and prawn and tsukune-stuffed chicken wings. That's before you get to a selection of small plates, sushi and sashimi, yakitori skewers and a sharing, seasonal rice donabe bowl.

The menu is created in a way that plays with traditional, regional and progressive techniques, allowing guests to experience new and exciting flavours without going too far from their comfort zones. A familiar chawanmushi dish takes on the strong, smokey flavour of smoked pork and is served with beans and trompette mushrooms.

Diners experience this progressive offering in a contemporary, stylish dining room, designed by Italian architect Ettore Tricario. Featuring plenty of wood and dark, natural colours, the restaurant is laid out in a traditionally communal way with diners seated on long tables or at the counter below bright, feature lights. 

Photography: Josh Croll