Hannah Restaurant is a traditional Japanese eatery in Waterloo which serves Kaiseki cuisine; a type of Japanese fine dining which includes multi-course Omakase. The restaurant's philosophy is based closely on a reference for the seasons, with its name even meaning flower in Japanese - a symbol which the team use through the food and decor to show the changing botanicals and produce throughout the year.
You can expect incredibly fresh, carefully sourced, seasonal produce, alongside authentic Japanese products, too. For example, the Wagyu beef is imported from Japan, while the dashi stock which is at the heart of much Japanese cooking, was made from scratch to best work with London water, which differs from that in Japan.
The kitchen is led by Chef Proprietor Daisuke Shimoyama who was born near Tokyo and is still inspired by the wildness of the region, noting his love of streams, birds and mountains as a boy. After building a career in Japan, he moved to London to work at Michelin-Starred Umu, served his own comfort food in Brick Lane Market, and now heads up Hannah.
As those who love Japanese cuisine will know, an Omakase offers a large selection of smaller dishes, highlight the chef's favourite flavours of the season. At Hannah, there are two Omakaseoptions: eight and 11 courses, or a seperate six course menu for those looking for something a little lighter.
While dishes change regularly, you can get a feel of what to expect through the sample 11 courses, which include plates like crispy scales Japanese tilefish with thin purple potota chips and smoked N25 caviar, followed by charcoal grilled A5 Wagyu, white crab meat with 72-hours-slow-cooked abalone and finally, smoked Earl Grey ice cream.
You can also stop by for lunch with a five-course option, and be sure to check out the drinks options, too, with a curated sake selection that you'll want to sample.