London's Matsuri St James's to close after 23 years

Matsuri St James's in London is to close after 23 years of trading ahead of a £2.5m renovation and rebrand, its owners have announced.

LEOC UK, which operates the venue will reopen as Onodera early next year.

The company said that a refurbishment and rebrand was "vital" for the restaurant which specialised in teppan-yaki, in an industry where "food trends change at an alarmingly fast pace".

Onodera will have space for 120 diners and promises a more modern approach to Japanese cuisine, moving away from teppan-yaki and focusing on more refined Japanese dishes with an extensive wine and sake list offered in a "smart casual" setting. It will be designed by Yosei Kiyono.

Masahito Hori, general manager, said: "We felt that we needed to really consider what direction we wanted the restaurant to go in. With new restaurants popping up in London every day we recognised that to be successful in such a competitive industry we would need to up our game. We're extremely excited to bring you Ondoera in Spring 2017."

Japanese restaurant Wazen opens in King's Cross, London >>

Matsuri >>

Latest video from The Caterer

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs >>