Skip to content
Left arrow
FOUR Magazine logo
Search icon

Mitsuhiro Araki

Chefs
|
24 Sep 2018
|
3 min read

Mitsuhiro Araki is the “oyakata” (sushi master) of 3 Michelin-starred The Araki in Mayfair, London. Bringing “endomae sushi” to London for the first time, the chef prepares and serves his creations according to the historic tradition of “sado” (tea ceremony) hospitality.

Mitsuhiro Araki, arguably one of Japan’s greatest sushi maters, started his star-studded culinary career in Tokyo, where his first restaurant in Ginza, was a celebrated 3 Michelin-starred establishment. On the hunt for a new culinary challenge, Araki closed his restaurant in Tokyo in February 2013 and moved to London in 2014. He did consider moving to Paris, Singapore and New York, but Chef Joël Robuchon convinced him that London would be his best bet. He then subsequently opened The Araki in London, a new gastronomic venture which took him 3 years to get off the ground, where he now invests his sushi master skill, experience and vision.

The London culinary scene brought new obstacles for the chef, as he now had to use mainly European fish, as opposed to the Asian fish he was accustomed to, adapting his technique to to suit the produce, which includes salmon, Cornish squid and langoustines. However, with The Araki London also being awarded 3 Michelin-stars in 2018 – the first Japanese restaurant in the UK to achieve this feat – the risk has paid off.

At The Araki, every one of the nine seats surrounding the 200 year old cypress counter – gifted to him by musician Ryuchi Sakamoto – is a seat the chef’s table. There is also a six-seater private dining room. The only menu available is the 11 course omakase menu, which is made by Araki according to the “edomae” technique, an authentic sushi-making style from Tokyo which dates back over 200 years.

Mitsuhiro Araki was born and raised in Kyushu, the third largest Japanese Island. His grandfather cooked mostly Western cuisine, and so, Araki was accustomed to this style of food from a young age.  Araki finished high school and then made the decision to become a chef. However, during that time, there was not a big market in Japan for chefs specialising in Western cuisine. As a result, Araki had to adapt and cook Japanese cuisine, which was not his ideal choice. He got a job as a chef at a hotel in the mountainous town of Hakone renowned for its resorts, and also trained as a sushi chef while living in Hakone.

Thereafter, Araki worked in a restaurant specialising in tonkatsu (pork cutlets) but he was still not sold on Japanese cuisine at this point. Looking to broaden his horizons, Araki then moved to Australia in 1990 and worked in a Japanese restaurant in Sydney for a year. It was at this point that Araki came to the realisation that Japanese cuisine was gaining stature in the world of gastronomy, and set his sights on becoming a sushi master. Whilst doing research about his new found interest in sushi, he found a book about Izumi, a sushi restaurant in Shimomeguro. Araki went on to work here until 2000, when he subsequently left to open his own restaurant in Setagaya. This was the same year that his daughter was born.

Araki grew from strength to strength after opening his own restaurant, and in the space of a decade, became one of the greatest sushi masters of his generation. With The Araki London being awarded its first Michelin stars only a year after being open, the Tatler Magazine naming The Araki the best Japanese restaurant in London in their restaurant guide as well as The Araki being named as the best restaurant in the UK by the Harden’s Guide, Chef  Mitsuhiro has certainly made a name for himself in the industry.

The sushi master loves his craft, and creating new dishes. For him, sushi is a hands-on job, and a personal job at that – the sushi goes from the maker’s hands to the diners’ mouths. As Araki says, it is this passion for the art of sushi making that gives him the power to generate the kind of aura that allows him to captivate an audience.

Awards
  • 3 Michelin Stars at The Araki London | The Michelin Guide 2018
  • 3 Michelin Stars at The Araki Ginza | The Michelin Guide 2011
  • No. 1 of 100 Restaurants in the U.K. | The Harden’s Restaurant Guide 2018
The Araki

Unit 4
12 New Burlington St
London
United Kingdom
W1S 3BH
Tel. 020 7287 2481
The Araki

World’s best winner 2014     |     World’s best luxury lifestyle media brand 2022

About

|

Editions

|

Contact

|

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Four magazine

|

All Rights Reserved

About

|

Contact

|

Editions

|

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Four magazine

|

All Rights Reserved

four-magazine.com use cookies to deliver an optimised experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all cookies used.
Cookie settingsaccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
__cfduid1 monthThe cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
_abck1 yearThis cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions.
bm_sz4 hoursThis cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. It also helps in fraud preventions
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
ts3 yearsThis cookie is provided by the PayPal. It is used to support payment service in a website.
ts_c3 yearsThis cookie is provided by PayPal when a website is in association with PayPal payment function. This cookie is used to make safe payment through PayPal.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

CookieDurationDescription
akavpau_ppsdsessionThis cookie is provided by Paypal. The cookie is used in context with transactions on the website.
nsidThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
tsrce3 daysThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
x-pp-ssessionThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to process payments from the site.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

CookieDurationDescription
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

CookieDurationDescription
_gat_gtag_UA_120081375_11 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_83740222_11 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_mcid1 yearNo description
ak_bmsc2 hoursNo description
CONSENT16 years 9 months 2 days 6 hoursNo description
ec_store_chameleon_fontsessionThis cookie is provided by Ecwid and it is used to save the font utilised in the website's online store.
enforce_policy1 yearNo description
l7_az30 minutesNo description
LANG9 hoursNo description
x-cdnThis cookie is provided by Paypal and is used in context with shopping transactions on the website's store.