I had enough. I just had enough of constantly going to restaurants that everyone had already been to, I am an Aries after all and we certainly don’t like playing sheep.

‘New Japanese restaurants in London’ I typed into Google and tada, Sticks ‘n’ Sushi appeared. Sticks ‘n’ Sushi was founded by three half Japanese, half Danish brothers taking inspiration from their rich cultures. Saturday night 7pm, booked. I will post how great this place was, people will love it and I will once again become the shepherd! That was the plan anyway until I found out that Mr.N’s sister had also booked the restaurant for her and her boyfriend that same evening! Their booking was later. Phew!

The restaurant was fashionably dark with the black tables, dim lights and brick walls. I could hardly see much to be honest, it’s the sort of place that’s probably quite good for a blind date just in case the other person turns out to be a right minger.

We were ushered downstairs to a narrow passage and led to our seats. Our seats were high up on a wooden bench directly in front of the chefs. Thing is that if I wanted to eat on a school bench I would have just gone to Wagamama. The waitress smiled and left.

“We need to move, it’s too small, let’s go back upstairs” I said. Mr.N is not one for confrontation, he thinks that I make too much of a fuss in restaurants, in fact, sometimes he pretends he’s not even with me. “Let’s just sit here, there is enough room” he replied. “But I want to be upstairs in the dark, let’s just tell them it’s our anniversary and see if they move us, no harm in trying”. Well, I didn’t exactly lie, it was our anniversary….in about 7 months. It worked and we soon got moved upstairs. To the dark side it is.

We ordered the delicious tuna tartare consisting of avocado, shiso mix, pine nuts, nori chips and spicy miso dressing. The sashimi mix was salmon, tuna and Hamachi. Hamachi is another name for the Japanese amberjack fish which is usually a winter delicacy in Japan. To be fair, it’s not rocket science to get sashimi right. The miso marinated black cod was a must, it was silky, flaky and sweet just as I had hoped. I could happily live off black cod; it has one of the highest omega fatty acids content which is why it is so notoriously silky. For the sticks, we opted for the beef with miso butter, lamb chops, scallops wrapped in smoked bacon and the duck hearts in teriyaki sauce. Each one tasty, the only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of it!

For rolls we had the mini maki deluxe and what a visual treat this was. In this selection you get the hell’s kitchen, ebi panko, shake aioli and salmon ceviche. Our favourite was the hell’s kitchen which is prawn tempura wrapped in avocado and tuna with a yummy blob of bbq sauce. Some people criticise this place for being a bit “gimmicky” but it isn’t any more so than Sushi Samba which we have been to but unlike Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, probably won’t return to. Sushi Samba is nice enough, don’t get me wrong, but you are paying a premium for the swanky interior and picturesque views of London, it’s the novelty-not so-novelty trend after all.

Considering how close we were to Leicester Square, I had made the executive decision that Haagen Daz would be our end destination. It is my guilty ‘tourist London’ pleasure. Little did I know what was just about to happen. I saw our waiter very slowly walking in our direction, one hand holding a mysterious small plate and the other trying to conceal a flame. Oh dear god. “Happy anniversary, I hope you enjoy it”, gleefully chirped the waiter as he placed this lovely little chocolate cake topped with green crumbs in front of our guilty little faces. The guilt, oh the guilt. “Thank you so much, this is so nice, you really didn’t have to” I responded trying my hardest not to burst into a fit of laughter. Mr.N skillfully hid his cheeky chortles behind his hand. I was just looking for a better seat, not a freebie dessert, honest! We obviously did the honorable thing and polished it off.

The bill came and this was no cheap meal coming in at around £90 (imagine if we had actually paid for dessert) but it is no more expensive than other reputable sushi joints in the capital. The first time we went the place was full of trendy twenty-something-year-olds but now you go back, you’ll see a few families, couples, the whole lot. We have been back several times and we’ve always had a great time. A key differential for me is the service, even when we haven’t been faking our anniversary it’s been top notch service from a team of really enthusiastic staff.

Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, if you are reading this…is it too late now to say sorry?!

Food: 8/10  Atmosphere: 8.5/10  Value: 7.5/10