Defune

I loved everything at this restaraunt, the sushi, teriyaki, sashimi and rolls were unbelieveable!

The sushi was generous and warm which went really well the soy sauce. I recomend fatty tuna, octapus and eel.

The teriyaki was delicious the chicken was very tender and the beef was absaloutely perfect.

The rolls were so good I had ordered 5 then I asked for 15 more! The eal & cucumber.

The sashimi was so good because it was warm and and my taste buds the happiest things alive.

This is definately the best restaraunt in the world!
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Sebastian Foss
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Sushi: The sushi was amazing perfect and went well with soy sauce.

I recomand octapus,salmon,sea bass and tuna.

Sashimi: Sashimi brilliant it had had every single taste bud of mine happy.

Teriyaki:The beef teriyaki was amazing the chicken was very tender and had a very tasty sauce.

Rolls: The eel and cucumber was one of the most tastiest things I have ever eaten.

Overall this is the best restaraunt I've ever been to!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I had lofty expectations of Defune when I heard from a fairly reliable source that it served better sushi than Ikeda. Having read the reviews on this website, it appeared prudent to try out the restaurant during lunch as a decent dinner at Defune would cost around £100 a head. We decided to drop in during lunch on Saturday, the restaurant was full (at lunch!) and not having made any prior reservations, we were offered seats at the sushi bar. I had even loftier expectations of the food by the time I sat down - a fully booked Japanese restaurant in the middle of nowhere (Marylebone, to be exact) on a Saturday during lunch was certainly promising..

We ordered the chef's special set lunch (£25 for salad appetizer, agedashi tofu, tempura, miso soup, 4/5 pieces basic nigiri sushi) and a sashimi set lunch (£23, 4 kinds sashimi, 3 pieces each). As it turns out, the sushi was a let down. It was certainly above average, but the sushi rice was a tad too warm for my liking and wasn't 'compact' enough, meaning that each piece of sushi basically fell into bits when picked up with chopsticks. And I didn't feel that the lunch set was particularly of good value (although it may have been for the restaurant). The sashimi, though fresh and in generous chunky slices, certainly wasn't the best I have had in London too (at similar pricing). Given all the positive reviews, and feeling somewhat unsatisfied from what we had ordered, my partner and I felt compelled to give the restaurant a fair chance. We proceeded with ordering a greater variety of sushi from the ala carte menu that we did not have a chance to sample - £12 negitoro rolls (chopped fatty tuna, 6 pieces), £5 (per piece) for anago (sea eel), £6 (per piece) king crab, etc. These were pretty good, but again out of this world that would command the sort of prices charged. The anago in particular was disappointing, possibly the worst I have tasted - it was more like unagi (eel), a cheaper variety. In the end we spent about £60 per person, considered a fairly expensive lunch for our standards, and left the restaurant thinking that we wouldn't really head back again, even if we were dining on someone else's money. To be fair the restaurant was very pleasant, and the service was polite and fairly attentive. However we concluded that whilst the restaurant is certainly above average in terms of quality of food (London standards), it is definitely over-priced. For me, there remains only one place in London to go for sushi...
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CPT
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Friday, March 09, 2007

I eat at defune regularly more often for lunch than for dinner. For £20 to £25 pounds you can choose between a selection of fantastic value set meals. The dinner time menu is less good value and you can easily end up paying £80 per head but still worth the expense. The service is an absolute delight incredibly pleasant and unintrusive. The food is excellent but if there's any criticism it's that it lacks some of the artistry that one might anticipate for such a restaurant and that some of the dishes can miss.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, December 08, 2006

The best sushi I've ever tried in London and, probably, in my whole life. The fish is unbelievably tasty and fresh, and the rice is cooked to perfection.

The stuff is very attentive, respectful and friendly.

The decor is beautiful, authentic Japanese, and many Japanese people come to the place (which is usually the sign of good cuisine).

Overall, truly recommended for lovers of Japanese food and sushi in particular. It's not cheap (be also prepared for 15% service charge), but really worth "every penny".
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Natalya
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 13, 2006

Best Japanese in London and definitely best sushi ever!! worth every penny...
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Gov
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 09, 2006

I come here as often as I can, I love it, the sushi is mighty fine and consistent. I thoroughly recommend it. On the negative sde I'd have to say, it's not the best looking restaurant around, downstairs looks a bit like a private jet and upstairs still retains the feel of what the place once was - a pub. Personally I prefer to sit at the sushi counter. It's also where you get the best service. Which is also a weak point, the waitresses are very sweet, but sweet and useless on the most part. You'll get what you ordered but for the price the front of house should be much slicker.
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simon, london
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Friday, September 01, 2006

Perfect in every respect.

The sushi is mouthwatering. You pay good money for it, but you expect to.
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Stephen
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, May 08, 2006

I have been going to Defune for 20 years and never had a bad meal. It is always fun and friendly staff make it a great place to come back to
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Alan Freedman
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, December 17, 2005

What can I say? I totally agree with Federico. Defune is divine. We didn’t have any cooked food except for the chawanmushi (which was equally as good) and just had a la carte sushi & sashimi at the bar. There is nothing more to add – this is definitely one of my top 3 Japanese restaurants in the world (and believe me, I have had a lot, expensive and cheap). My partner who lived in Japan for 5 years said the same thing.

The chefs are very professional and have preserve tradition in their sushi making. The only disappointment I had was they ran out of ‘uni’, I could only imagine how good it would be at Defume. However, there is a price to pay, but if you’re a foody like me, it is worth every penny.
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Sun
Thursday, November 17, 2005