The Araki
London, UK
The Araki is a sushi restaurant in Mayfair, London, at 12 New Burlington Street, W1S 3BH. Its official site identifies it as a London restaurant operated by Araki London Limited, and the dining room is arranged as a specialist counter rather than a broad à la carte room. The setting is in the West End, but the experience is shaped by the counter, the sequence of dishes and the close contact between guests and the kitchen. The restaurant serves a single set tasting menu built around raw and cooked fish and shellfish, presented in a controlled sequence. Dinner is listed Tuesday to Saturday, with two sittings at 18:00 and 20:30, and guests are seated at the chef’s counter for a close view of preparation. That format points to a tightly focused service style, with limited scope for adjustment to dietary requirements and a strong emphasis on pacing. Capacity is intentionally small. The counter takes up to nine guests per sitting, and the website also notes a separate private room for up to six guests, which can suit meetings or family gatherings. The house style is described as Edomae sushi, made with locally sourced ingredients and presented with traditional Japanese hospitality. Together, these details suggest an intimate restaurant built around technique, precision and a very direct relationship with the chef. Official and established restaurant listings place The Araki within London’s specialist Japanese dining scene, with its Mayfair address and sushi-counter format clearly identified. The venue is therefore best understood as a compact, reservation-led restaurant where the fixed tasting sequence, limited seating and chef’s-counter arrangement create a structured meal. It is a place for closely observed sushi craft rather than a flexible neighbourhood dining room.