Review: New Kanpai Classic puts the spotlight on Yakiniku Wagyu beef

Just opened on Wardour Street in the heart of London’s Soho, new Japanese restaurant Kanpai Classic offers a high-end Wagyu experience. Presented in Yakiniku style — meaning small bites of beef prepared on gridirons — I was thrilled to sample the restaurant’s impressive 14-course Omakase Menu. 

Executive chef Masatada Ogata and head chef Nicolo Bolognesi (the latter formerly of Nobu Hotel London Portman Square), have also now unveiled a complete a la carte offering that will sit alongside the restaurant’s Omakase menu (curated by the chefs), and the new six-course Moriawase (sashimi) menu, thereby allowing diners to indulge in the full Kanpai Classic experience.These menus – together with their Wagyu bites, salads and snacks offerings – are testament to Kanpai’s nearly two-decade domination of first Taiwan’s and then China’s Wagyu scene. In 2016, the brand’s Shanghai Bund Store restaurant became the first ever Japanese Yakiniku restaurant to win a Michelin star. Now, Wardour Street is home to the Kanpai Group’s first London branch. 

Upon entering Kanpai Classic, we are immediately greeted by the mouthwatering smell of meat being cooked over open coals — which is just outstanding. Soft lighting draws us in to where a busy open kitchen faces the bustling street; a large glass wine cellar stands in the entrance, bracketed by dark tables inset with charcoal grillers. We take our own seats in the downstairs dining room, ready for our adventure through the versatility of quality Wagyu beef.

WAGYU WONDERWe begin with a truly luxurious Wagyu tartare. The subtle flavour of the tartare and distinctive taste of the Vostok Royal Baerii caviar is perfectly paired with a sweet and silky celeriac puree.

This is promptly followed by a trio of small but incredibly punchy bites. Wagyu carpaccio with walnut vinaigrette, truffle vinaigrette, baby leaf salad and beautifully salty Parmigiano Reggiano; Wagyu sushi of the day, complemented by rice already dipped in soy sauce; and, completing the set, another Wagyu tartare, this time with raw oyster and lemon-flavoured foam. 

We press on to the next phase of this extensive tasting menu – the Waygu Yakiniku section. Red hot coals are added to the drum set into our table, ready for us to start with Yakiniku Mizoreyaki with grated Japanese daikon (a type of radish), which is grilled at our table. Next, we sample beef tongue – a dish that may divide opinion. Here, the middle and most tender part of the tongue is grilled at the table with a salt and lemon juice accompaniment. As you’d expect, it has a slightly chewy texture but is far from unpleasant, and wonderfully flavoursome. Paired with a white La Giustiniana from Lugarara from Piedmont, is it superb.Next on the grill is a Sugataytaki tri tip, with beautiful marbling running through the raw cut before it hits the searing hot grill. Served with a subtle barbecue and garlic sauce, with Nanatsuboshi rice from Hokkaido, the meat is incredibly tender and, when it comes to flavour, does all the talking. Especially when paired with a stunning pinot noir from Spy Valley in New Zealand — the temperature so perfect that you can barely feel this wine pass your lips. 

A Moriawase (assorted platter) follows with three more cuts of Wagyu – Negiyaki with green onion, Karubi A5 short rib with shio konbu (dried kelp), and Wagyu Geta served on a lovely crisp lettuce leaf, accompanied by two types of miso sauce – the original flavour and a gloriously spicy version. Seeing different cuts of Wagyu cooked up close in this way just adds to the incredible theatre of this stunning restaurant. Next up, the Wagyu bite of the day is a lovely Gyuza, served with tomato Surinagashi soup with Japanese yam noodles. 

Then, the pièce de résistance of the menu: the Wagyu steak section. Diners may choose between a Wagyu A5 Katsu Sando, A5 steak of the day, or an order-cut Wagyu steak ribeye. We opt for the A5 steak of the day with fresh wasabi and rock salt. Prepared medium rare, this steak simply melts in the mouth and, even though we are having to adjust our belt buckles at this stage, we don’t want to leave a scrap. Truly incredible. The drink pairing is also amazing:  an exquisite sake from Masuizumi, aged in French oak barrels that previously held champagne produced by Maison Henri Giraud.As a nod to traditional Japanese dining, we are served a Kamameshi rice dish before the dessert course. A beautiful pistachio ice cream, with fresh peach and dried raspberries makes for a great way to round off this extraordinary three-hour dining experience. 

Kanpai Classic’s Omakase Wagyu menu is a truly remarkable way to experience world-class Japanese cuisine. The staff are passionate, knowledgeable and completely ingrained in the culture, allowing for everything to be prepared and served with such elegance and precision, and showcasing a true sense of pride at what is being achieved at this remarkable establishment. It is sure to be a mainstay of London’s dining scene for many years to come.

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