Upscale Japanese omakase restaurant Hannah, in the former County Hall building on the South Bank of the Thames, has relaunched as Donabe Hannah – London’s first Japanese claypot cooking specialist – with a new wood-fire concept to follow in Stratford, East London.
Hannah won increasing recognition over a seven-year run for its Kyoto-style tasting menus under former Umu head chef Daisuke Shimoyama, with FT critic Tim Hayward hailing it last year as “the best kaiseki in London”.
‘Donabe’ is the Japanese word for a clay cooking pot, and the restaurant announced the switch via brief messages on its website and Instagram, drawing attention to the role of rice as the basis of many food cultures, both across Asia and in parts of Spain and Italy.
“Influenced by the popularity and good quality of various rice dishes such as paella and risotto, we have now turned our focus on properly introducing our Japanese seasonal rice culture to London,” it said. “Explore with us a fun yet authentic Donabe experience that’s rare to find in London.“
Donabe cooking is more informal and homely than kaiseki – and considerably less costly. Prices at the former Hannah ranged from £55 per head for a 5-course lunch to £185 for the full 11-course experience.
The second phase of the switch follows on May 1 with the launch of Kokin at The Stratford hotel near Olympic Park, in the seventh-floor premises formerly occupied by the highly praised restaurant Allegra, which closed last summer after five years.
Kokin is billed simply as ‘woodfire x Japanese’, but is expected to incorporate the sushi element from Hannah.
