Dai Chi to open this November, bringing Japanese ‘Kushikatsu’ dining to London

22 October 2021

This November, Joshua Owens-Baigler and Amar Takhar - the founders of Italo-Japanese Dalston restaurant Angelina - will launch Japanese-inspired kushikatsu restaurant, Dai Chi, in the heart of Soho. The restaurant will open with a soft launch, exact dates to be announced soon.

Dai Chi will bring Osaka’s famous kushikatsu dining culture (kushi = skewer, katsu = deep-fried) to London for the first time, with a menu centred around fried skewers of the highest quality meat, fish and vegetables. Offering an elevated interpretation of the Japanese speciality (also known as kushiage), Dai Chi will serve it’s kushiage omakase-style as a nod to sister restaurant Angelina, with the option of a simple or more complex tasting menu, both centred around precisely fried, panko-breadcrumbed skewers that elevate seemingly simple foods to new levels.

The Omakase set menu will consist of two crudo courses to start, followed by the main event - the kushikatsu - exploring the art of deep frying vegetables, fish and meat on traditional kushi skewers.

Drinks are headed up by Haruka Hisata, JSA sake and wine sommelier, who has curated at Dai Chi a unique international wine list and extensive sake offering to be paired with kushiage. The drinks-led offering mixes sake and wines from across the globe for a playful and elegant pairing that recalls kushiage’s origins in Osakan bars, from Elegant, Floral Barbaresco to clear, smooth Junmai sake.

Guests can be seated in the intimate 28-cover restaurant on Soho’s d’Arblay Street, or at the 6-seater counter to reflect the dining experience at quintessential kushikatsu restaurants. The elegant, pared-back interiors mirror Angelina’s sophisticated, pared-back design that mixes Japanese minimalism with Italian marble accents, softened by dried floral arrangements and with the addition of a vinyl record player as a focal point to the restaurant, bringing a curated yet unobtrusive soundtrack to the space. For group dining, Dai Chi will also offer a private dining room seating 12.

Launching in mid-November, at 16A D'Arblay Street W1F 8EA