Tsunami plays a fine tuna

This review was first published in February 2002

Tsunami opened towards the end of 2001, and within weeks the proprietors could have filled a scrapbook with glowing reviews. Which is not entirely unexpected as the prime movers of this new venture include time served at Nobu on their CVs.

The dining room is surprisingly large, and elegant in a minimalist, Japanesey, sort of way. The staff are outstandingly helpful and friendly and the kitchen bustles away in full view through a long serving hatch. The restaurant is at the end of Clapham High Street that is nearest to Brixton, and it is very much an area in transition.

Scruffy shops have given way to trendy bars and these are just starting to be supplanted by ambitious restaurants, of which Tsunami is the perfect example. The food is very good, the presentation on the plate is quite outstanding, and the bill is not over the top.

For once all those pretty-as-a-picture arrangements seem to stem from a genuine love of the beautiful rather than merely being trendy at the expense of the taste of the dish. Order a few starters to share. The butternut ebi with creamy spicy sauce is very good - plump prawns in crispy overcoats. Or there's the mint tea duck with plum and honey miso - slivers of tender duck breast served cold.

Or the agedashi tofu - this is a strange one, cubes of melt-in-the-mouth tofu have been fried for a crisp exterior and each square of tofu is topped with a tiny pyramid of daikon radish - a fascinating exercise in multiple textures. Best of all is the tuna tataki. This is a sashimi made with seared tuna and dressed with a sharp ponzu dressing. Each slice is raw in the middle and firm around the edge - very delicious indeed. The sushi here look good. The tempura is light - lots of interesting vegetable tempura.

An old favourite like grilled marinated eel comes with rice and miso soup. That strange, smooth Japanese curry is well done. The food at Tsunami is worth a detour, and both tuna specialists and the style police will love the place.