INÉ: Team Behind Taku To Open In Hampstead

The team behind Michelin-starred Taku Mayfair, announces the launch of their new restaurant, INÉ, in the cobblestoned streets of Hampstead. Set to open October 24, INÉ, a direct Japanese translation for rice, will offer a premium sushi and a contemporary Japanese à la carte menu alongside a 15-course omakase menu with speciality sakes and wines. 

Spreading over two levels in four distinct spaces, INÉ will feature a main dining room with booth-style seating for à la carte dining, an eight-seated omakase counter, a semi-privatised lounge space offering a selection of unique sakes and wines which will also be available in an upstairs bar with light bites.

The kitchen will be headed by Head Chef Meng, who has trained in the Taku kitchen (under Chef Patron Takuya Watanabe) and brings with him 23 years of experience as a Master Sushi Chef. Offering a contemporary Japanese menu with French influences, some of the highlights from the à la carte menu include: Lobster with cauliflower and sudachi jelly, Grilled Iberico pork, Wagyu beef katsu sando, Saba Bousushi, Somen, Grilled Yuan chicken, and Futomaki as well as daily fresh sashimi. 

The eight-seater omakase counter will see Chef Meng prepare 15-courses echoing the Michelin-starred Taku’s ever-changing menu that uses the freshest ingredients in edomae style. Considered to be the most traditional form of sushi making, the edomae method involves curing the fish in salt or kombu and dates back centuries to when sushi in Japan’s capital city of Edo – now called Tokyo – was sold by street vendors as a snack. Today, leading sushi chefs continue to use this technique to preserve the fish when it’s at its freshest and allows them to gently bring out the umami flavours and tenderness of the cuts. 

 Lucas Leong, the Co-owner of INÉ says: “INÉ is designed to be the perfect showcase of true contemporary cooking whilst respecting edomae traditions. We want to make INÉ a destination restaurant in the heart of Hampstead with a menu adept for couples, solo diners, friends, and family gatherings”.

The interiors follow the minimalistic design ethos of Japanese fine dining, to place emphasis on fresh produce and delicate flavours. Guests can expect natural woods and white interiors, as well as scattered bonsai trees for a space of stunning simplicity and serenity that effortlessly blends in with the surrounding green heaths of the Hampstead borough. 

Geoff Leong, the Co-owner of INÉ, added “Our mission is to provide an experience that captures the essence of authentic Japanese cuisine with contemporary twists and traditional omakase cuisine, in the heart of North London. We have always pushed the boundary of the UK’s perception of Asian food through the creativity of our chefs, and we will be applying this same ethos to INÉ in the same way we did with Taku Mayfair” –