Oliver Maki - Soho , London

Oliver Maki sounds a little too strange to be true when you first hear about it - a sushi restaurant founded by Lebanese-Canadian brothers who decided that they wanted to incorporate olive oil, grown on their family estate in the hills of Lebanon, into contemporary Japanese fare. As strange as it sounds, the results were impressive. Much of this can be chalked down to executive chef Louis Kenji Huang, formerly head chef at Nobu Las Vegas, a skilled mind when it comes to organising a menu and a force of nature behind the santoku knife. 

The restaurant is located in the beating heart of Soho on Dean Street. Guests pass through a cosy six seater bar to reach the dining room, a very intimate affair split over two levels with a smaller room upstairs. Like many Japanese ventures, the watchword at Oliver Maki is minimalism. The walls have been painted a neutral gunmetal grey colour with brown wooden tables lining the walls. There's nothing loud or garish here - the design seems to have been orchestrated to put the food in the limelight.  

When we visited early on a Tuesday evening the dining room was already percolating with conversation. The clientele was notably elegant, enjoying sake or white wine with their food. There was a lot to choose from on the menu but we settled on bluefin tuna carpaccio and spicy shrimp tacos from the 'Shots & Bites' section. The former were packed full of tempura shrimp that detonated under tooth, alongside a tart lime which really boosted the fishy flavours. The tuna carpaccio demonstrated Oliver Maki's penchant for mashing up Mediterranean and Japanese, the bright red fish was dressed with the Zeitoun brothers' olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic and a handful of rocket. 

The starters were similarly excellent. A nest of golden, perfectly al dente calamari was complemented by a ponzu sauce spiked with black olives. Chicken plum sauce was fried karaage style, drizzled with plum sauce and crowned with a nest of brilliant vermillion coloured amaranth. Wagyu fried rice was a luxury take on the standard side dish. However, the kitchen really hits its stride with its sushi and sashimi. The Oliver Maki roll is case in point, comprising of eight different rolls with over thirty different ingredients, it's an apt demonstration of the sushi itamae's skill, with a whole host of technical cooking processes going into its creation. 

Oliver Maki may have come by way of Kuwait and Bahrain, but its soul seems to reside in London, as it's a wonderfully cosmopolitan restaurant. The prices may be dear, but if you want to eat delicious Japanese cuisine, it's certainly on offer at Oliver Maki.