Yoshihiro Murata: Fish and chips is ‘British tempura’

The chef, who has been awarded seven Michelin stars, said he thought if Londoners thought of fish and chips as tempura "they would start to taste it differently"
Guilty pleasure: Yoshihiro Murata says he has fish and chips every time he comes to London

AJapanese chef renowned for his “refined and beautiful” cuisine has revealed his guilty pleasure — dining in a London chippy on “British tempura”.

Yoshihiro Murata, who holds a total of seven Michelin stars, including three at his Kyoto flagship Kikunoi, made his surprise admission ahead of the opening of his new Mayfair restaurant early next month.

Mr Murata, whose admirers include Spanish maestro Ferran Adria and the Fat Duck’s Heston Blumenthal, said that he marked every visit to London with a visit to the Seashell fish and chip restaurant in Marylebone.

He told the Standard: “I like fish and chips very much. Every time I come to London I have fish and chips at the same place. If you think about it, it is a kind of tempura. If people here thought of it as tempura I think they would start to taste it differently.”

The Seashell on Lisson Grove, which opened in 1964, is one of London’s best-known chippies, with high-profile fans including Lady Gaga and Bill Nighy. Battered cod and chips costs £15.95 in the restaurant or £9.80 to take away.

Mr Murata’s new 70-seater restaurant on Conduit Street is called Tokimeitē, a Japanese expression describing the feeling of butterflies in the stomach before a big event. It is Mr Murata’s second foray into London following the 2012 launch of Chrysan in the City with dining group Hakkasan. That shut after six months following bad reviews.

The menu at Tokimeitē will reflect the wa-shoku traditions of Japanese cuisine using mainly British-sourced ingredients — apart from Wagyu beef, which will be imported from Japan.

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