Restaurants: Urchin, Holland Park, London
Website: https://urchinjapanese.com/
Urchin is unusual but brilliant. It’s a Japanese restaurant that’s a sister to Dorian, and technically it’s a pop-up, because it is only open in the evening in a space that’s a supermarket by day in Holland Park.
In truth, the supermarket is actually a high end artisan food shop (The Supermarket of Dreams), also owned by Dorian’s Chris D’Sylva, and in the evening they turn it into a restaurant. But such has been the success of this place that soon Urchin will have its own space and will be a pop-up no more.
On my visit, the initial encounter with Urchin was a bit off-putting. It looked a bit more like a hip disco space than a restaurant. But once inside, it worked, and the staff were excellent at making us feel at home in this slightly unusual space. Most of the diners are seated on a large high-seating table in the middle of the restaurant, with some smaller tables around the periphery. It filled up pretty quickly. At the back of the space is the kitchen. This is staff-heavy for the number of covers, which shows the attention to detail represented here.
The wine list is relatively brief, quirky, and excellently chosen. Without too much trouble we found three excellent bottles that we really wanted to drink, without breaking the bank. If you want to go spendy on fancy stuff, well it’s here. And you can go very spendy.
Overall, highly recommended.
