Wagyu Beef @ Tokimeite ~~

So I have recently been craving wagyu beef and came across this newly opened Japanese restaurant called Tokimeite. The restaurant opened last November and is located at 23 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XS. (www.tokimeite.com) 

We were the first customers to arrive as there are separate lunch and dinner opening hours. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a large number of waiting staff all at the same time(felt like a VIP ha-ha). We ordered the "Hotate Gyushi Yaki  ホタテ牛脂焼" for Starter; which was scallop on the shell with cauliflower puree and Wagyu salami costing £7. This dish was tasty, particularly the cauliflower puree which had a very smooth and creamy texture. The dish looked very appetizing with all the pieces carefully placed onto a scallop shell. Although, there were only two small slices of salami and one scallop and at £7, I would say the price is decent for a fine dining restaurant.

For the main, we ordered one of the popular dishes on the menu, "Wagyu Sukiyaki 和牛すき焼き"(£45/150g). On the menu it mentioned that the dish is recommended for 2 to 3 persons, however when we received the dish it seemed much smaller than I had expected(FYI I have a quite a big appetite ha-ha). This dish consisted of simmered slices of Wagyu beef and sliced truffles with onion and watercress indulged in miso dashi as well as a side of truffle sauce. First off, the dish itself looked very appealing; it was heated over a mini stove in a pot. The flavours of truffle slices and wagyu beef was a brilliant combination! The complementary truffle sauce had a creamy consistency and flavour (similar to mayonnaise). However, the beef was a tad overcooked to my preference even before it was heated over the mini stove, but it still had a soft and delicate texture. Next time, maybe I will try the Wagyu rump steak instead! But all in all, it was a very flavorful and enjoyable dish.

We also ordered Wagyu Nigiri Gokan 和牛握り五貫( Five wagyu nigiri). It does not say on the description, but three of the nigiris are seared/grilled and other two were smoked and they were absolutely ahhh-mazing! OMG the seared/grilled wagyu nigiris just melts in your mouth! The dish was £24 which is quite pricey as you only 5 rather small pieces but it was so tasty! The wagyu nigiris were so soft, yet had all the right flavours.

The mocktail (Harmonic Berry)was presented in cute glass jar with the berry fruits layered on top with lots of ice. Sweet and soothing drink but quite pricey at £6.50. The drinks menu is quite large consisting of juice drinks, mocktails, cocktails as well as hot drinks including tea and coffee. There is also an entensive range of premium sake, shochu and whiskies.  

Overall, I would recommend Tokimeite if you are looking for a place serving wagyu beef with a great ambience atmosphere. For me, the downfall was perhaps the service. The waiting staff didn't seem very professional as they were standing around and chatting. We also got the wrong nigiri dish which happened to be a 5 kinds of sashimi nigiri and the nigiris were tiny! (so guys don't order that dish XD). Nonetheless, the quality and flavours of the wagyu beef dishes were amazing so definitely worth a visit if you want to try wagyu beef in London! (My rating 8/10)

By Alison [18/01/16]