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Heroine In Heels is a top 10 London lifestyle blog aimed at the modern day woman. Covering things to do in London, restaurant reviews, hotels as well as where to go in the world when you want to escape London

Kiru, Chelsea

Monday 25 April 2016
Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

I've found a little hidden gem among the craziness of restaurants in Chelsea. Perfect for a date night, or a fun filled night with your girlfriends, it's Chelsea enough that the food and drink is fantastic, yet without all the pretentious nonsense you usually find along the King's Road. A gorgeous little restaurant called, Kiru, Chelsea. 


Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

Kiru, Chelsea is a fairly new Japanese restaurant just tucked off the King's Road. Whilst it's new in bricks and mortar, it's got some well established names behind it. Head Chef Taiji Maruyama, was the sushi chef at Nobu in Mayfair and the Cocktail bar is run by Exec. Beverage Director, Christian Pulido, who used to head up the bar over at The Bulgari hotel. Some heavy weights then.

Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

I never quite know what to go for when it comes to Japanese food, so in my books it's always best to go for the tasting menu. Plus the greedy pig in me loves multiple plates!

Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

We started with deep fried ramen noodles topped with salmon and crispy rice topped with tuna.

The tuna and salmon were both incredibly fresh, and with the tuna seemingly fined chopped, it sort of melted in my mouth which was fantastic.

I didn't love the deep fried ramen noodle part for flavour if I'm being honest, but I did love the contrast it gave, with crunch and then the soft silkiness of the salmon.

Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant
Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

Whilst we munched on our first bites, we ordered a round of drinks. Now if there is one thing I can't rave about enough, it's Christian and his drinks.  Each drink comes with a story about its inception. When you go, flag down Christian and ask him to tell you the one behind your drink. He might hate me for saying that as he'll be constantly telling the same story over and over, but it's worth it.

I went for the Takamine Rose Martini which had sake, Kettle Citron, lemon juice, maraschino liquor , rose water, argue syrup and orange bitters. Incredible.


Dan's drink was a little more unusual. It was called Salsa Verde. Yup. It had tequila, cucumber, jalapeños, cilantro, parsley, lime juice and elderflower. Sounds very very odd. But Dan loved it and said yes, it was different to what you usually expect from a drink, but that it was very refreshing.

Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant
Kiru Chelsea Japanese Restaurant

Then came the yellow tail with smokey aubergine. I loved this so much. Again, the fish was incredibly fresh, but paired with the smokiness of the aubergine was a real winning combination, and a must if eating at Kiru, Chelsea.


Mmm I love truffle so much. If you have never had truffle before, it is definitely an acquired taste. Dan hates it and so this salad really is loaded with the stuff, but for me, it was fantastic. The mushroom and truffle together was so good. It was a big surprise for me as mushroom salad written on a menu sounds a bit dull, but it I was very surprised at how much flavour it had. 


Whilst we waited for the next course, we ordered a carafe of plum sake on recommendation from Christian.

If you have never had it before, it will change your life. OK, maybe not quite that, but it is hands down the best drink I've discovered in ages. I could have quite happily drank it all to myself... and then some.


With the plum sake, it was 3 days koji cured Chilean sea bass. Don't worry I had zero idea what koji was before eating at Kiru, and to be honest, the explanation isn't exactly appetising, It's the fungus that grows on rice, barley, soybeans. Mmm delightful. Although to be fair mushrooms are fungi too so it's perfectly safe.

Personally this was my least favourite dish as the sea bass is very mild in flavour but the spicy tosazu sauce with it just overpowered it.


However something very special came my way next. Kobe beef. Kobe beef is only Kobe beef if it comes from the Tajima strain of Wagyu cattle, raised in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture. Kobe beef is revered for its fatty, well marbled texture and incredible flavour, which comes from the grass the cows eat and the fact that they are hand massaged everyday. Pretty nice life. 

The taste is fantastic, and not to be missed.


Carrying on the meat theme was the Genghis Khan lamb. I love that name. A gorgeous smokey onion marinade made for very delicious, if not graceful eating.


Finally we had to have sushi. After all that is where the chef made his name.

Having come from Nobu, it was never going to be plain stuff now was it?

Tuna with truffle, foie gras, and salmon with spicy miso. All delicious, although there is just something about their tuna here which is fantastic.


We ended the night with a few desserts. The most delicious chocolate melt in the middle pudding, which just flowed with chocolate when cute.


But really it was these that were awesome. Ice cream wrapped in a sweet, rice paper. Small enough to just pop into your mouth between sips of plum sake and mumbles of appreciation of the food.

I came to Kiru not really sure what to expect. Chelsea is not one of my favourite areas as usually I think it a little up itself. Yet here, honestly, the staff are fantastic and the customers seem to have an appreciation of good food, and not just dinning to be seen.

So next time your in the mood for Japanese, I'd highly recommend Kiru, as one of the best restaurants in Chelsea. Don't forget to tag me in your posts if you go. I'd love to see what you order.

Chelsea Green,
London, 
SW3 3NS

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4 comments:

  1. Love this food ♥♥♥♥

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  2. I'm not a big fan of sushi but the little desserts and the cocktails look fantastic!

    Laura // Middle of Adventure

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  3. It's always such a joy to find a hidden gem. It's kind of like a wave of accomplishment. Ending the night with a few bits of dessert sounds pretty perfect to me. :]

    // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲

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  4. Wow, great post! Next time I'm in London, I know what spot I'll be trying :) Everything looks absolutely delicious and the Kobe beef just makes me want to take a bite off my screen.

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