Source: NAKIMUSHI
August 2026 – NAKIMUSHI, the new Japanese townhouse restaurant from the team behind Michelin-starred Dorian, EEL Sushi, Supermarket of Dreams and the Notting Hill Fish+Meat Shop, will officially open on Monday, 7th September 2026.
Located just moments from Notting Hill Gate, NAKIMUSHI is a dual-format Japanese townhouse led by Chef Yuji Shimokawa Kelly and Chef Robin Kosuge. Bringing together their hugely popular Urchin and Robin's Ramen residencies under one permanent roof, the three-storey restaurant offers two distinct yet complementary experiences, united by a shared commitment to exceptional produce and traditional Japanese techniques.
Spanning three floors, the ground floor is dedicated to a fast-paced ramen bar centred around an open kitchen and communal seating, serving Tokyo-style ramen alongside a concise menu of snacks and cold starters. Upstairs, a more intimate 25-seat restaurant and bar explores a broader approach to contemporary Japanese cooking while keeping ramen at the heart of the menu. Together, the two spaces reflect the chefs' distinct expressions of Japanese cuisine.
The Interiors
Set within a narrow, three-storey listed Victorian townhouse on Kensington Mall, NAKIMUSHI has been carefully restored to balance Japanese design sensibilities with the building’s original architectural character. Guests enter beneath a custom-made noren, through a deep oxblood shopfront set against the original brick façade.
Inside, the townhouse is enveloped in pale timber, extending across panelled walls, cabinetry and gridded ceilings. Parquet flooring, satin-finished brass, and hand-glazed Japanese Kit Kat tiles in varying shades of oxblood create a restrained, warm atmosphere with the deep red colour theme carried throughout all three floors.
The open kitchen dominates the street-level dining room, where steaming broths, smoking robata grills and shelves of carefully organised ingredients create the lively energy of a traditional Tokyo ramen shop. A long communal table and individual stools run through the centre of the dining room, with additional seating at the window counter.
Upstairs, the daylight-filled dining room provides a calmer setting, with timber tables and chairs framed by leather banquettes, brass table lamps and softly reflective metalwork. The bar sits within the dining room, with a richly coloured tiled counter backed by mirrored, temperature-controlled wine cabinets. Above, a suspended brass rack holds rows of fine glassware.
The top floor is home to the chefs’ preparation kitchen and a temperature-controlled showcase larder, allowing guests a glimpse of the restaurant's produce before it reaches the plate.
The Menu
The ground-floor dining places ramen at the centre of the experience, with guests able to enjoy dishes at the communal table, at the window counter, or to take away.
Signature bowls include Robin’s celebrated Lobster Ramen with Seafood Paitan and Komatsuna, and Charshu Pork Belly Ramen made with Basque Chicken Broth and Ajitama. Alongside the ramen is a concise selection of snacks and cold plates, including Wild Hamachi with Yukari Ponzu and Nori Oil; Namayasai Salad, Shio Koji Dressing; and Corn Tempura with Fig Leaf Salt. Service is intentionally energetic, inspired by the pace and atmosphere of Tokyo’s back-street ramen shops.
On the first floor, the menu broadens to explore hot Japanese cooking using carefully sourced ingredients from trusted producers. Smaller dishes include Red Prawn and Courgette Gyoza with Umeboshi; Quail Tempura with Jerk Tendashi and Apricot Purée; and Chicken Karaage with Chive Oroshi and Ponzu.
Larger plates, designed to share, include line-caught Steamed Turbot with Red Vinegar An; Grilled Ibérico x Duroc Pork Loin with Red Almond Miso; and Grilled Tuna Kama with Padrón Pepper Dashi and Kimizu. While the offering expands beyond the ramen bar below, ramen remains a defining feature throughout NAKIMUSHI, connecting the restaurant’s two distinct experiences.
The Drinks
Within the first-floor dining room is a bar serving a succinct list of well-crafted cocktails built around Japanese spirits, ingredients and flavours. These include the Shochu Highballs – the popular Japanese drinks combining shochu and carbonated water. Available in both full and low-alcohol versions, these include the Midori-Hai, made with shochu, Midori, Miso Sherry and Shiso, and the Hato-Hai, a shochu take on the Paloma made with Maraschino and Grapefruit – its name taken from hato, the Japanese word for dove.
The drinks list continues with a wide choice of sakes and nama sakes – unpasteurised sakes with bright, fruit-led and punchy flavours. To finish the meal, a selection of aged, full-bodied sakes is available by the glass, including Shirayuki Edo Genroku, a dark amber Junmai brewed by Konishi Shuzo using a recipe dating to 1703, and Hayashi Honten Golden Amber, a rare 12-year-old Junmai Koshu.
The wine list brings together an extensive collection with a particular focus on Burgundy and Italian wines, alongside the carefully selected sake and cocktail offering, chosen to complement the cooking across the restaurant.
Bookings from the 7th September onwards can be made via Sevenrooms HERE (https://www.sevenrooms.com/explore/nakimushi/reservations/create/search/)
Notes
Website: nakimushi.co.uk (https://nakimushi.co.uk/)
Yuji Shimokawa Kelly
Yuji Shimokawa Kelly is a Japanese-British Chef who began his culinary career as part of the opening team at Dinings SW3. Born and raised in London, he spent a year and a half travelling and working in Japan, predominantly in the Japanese Alps. When he moved back to London, he joined the 2-Michelin-star restaurant Umu in Mayfair under the tutelage of Yoshinori Iishi for four years. During lockdown, he was introduced to entrepreneur Chris D’Sylva and Chef Robin Kosuge at the Notting Hill Fish + Meat Shop, before joining the team at Dorian, helping to achieve their first star. Due to Yuji’s expertise and years of training in Japanese fine cuisine, Chris offered him the opportunity to open URCHIN, which began as a 10-seat counter in Sifnos, Greece, and later became a 12-month pop-up in Supermarket of Dreams. He now leads NAKIMUSHI alongside Robin Kosuge as joint Head Chef.
Robin Kosuge
Robin Kosuge was born in London to a Polish mother and a Japanese father. He trained at culinary school before gaining early experience at an okonomiyaki restaurant in Leicester Square and later at Kouzu, in Belgravia, where he was first introduced to the fundamentals of pastry. He went on to work in pastry at Selfridges and in a boulangerie in Paris before moving to Tokyo to join Dominique Ansel, where he spent two years. After returning to London in 2019, a chance encounter led him to train in sushi alongside Yuji Robertson at Chris D’Sylva’s Notting Hill Meat+Fish Shop. Following further travels across Asia and Europe, Robin joined the opening team at Dorian in 2022. Having spent years researching ramen in both Paris and Japan, he introduced Robin’s Ramen – a one-day pop-up at EEL Sushi in the summer of 2025, before expanding the concept into an eight-month residency at Supermarket of Dreams, which ran from October that year until May 2026. He now leads NAKIMUSHI alongside Yuji Shimokawa Kelly as joint Head Chef.
Chris D’Sylva
Originally from Melbourne, entrepreneur Chris D’Sylva began his career in brand strategy before moving to London to pursue ventures in food. In 2019, he opened the Notting Hill Fish+Meat Shop, followed in 2020 by the Supermarket of Dreams, a community-focused retail space created during lockdown to support both local residents and London’s independent food businesses. He is also the owner of the Michelin-starred Dorian in Notting Hill and the owner of EEL Sushi on Talbot Road. Chris continues to develop projects that blend hospitality, retail, and collaboration.
