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Kokin at The Stratford review: A delicate, sophisticated triumph

Chef Daisuke Shimoyama’s new restaurant delivers beautiful food cooked exactingly over flames, venerating the depth of bluefin tuna

The platter of starters at Kokin - image by Jon Massey
The platter of starters at Kokin – image by Jon Massey

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Hiraeth, a Welsh word, has no direct translation in English.

It’s used to express a deep longing for a home or place that’s become idealised in the mind – a kind of yearning nostalgia tinged with melancholy. It expresses connection.

 Last year I was lucky enough to travel to Japan and experience just a few of its wonders.

The trip included a visit to an area riddled with hot volcanic springs – onsen – that the locals bathe in and use to gently boil eggs. 

These are left bobbing in specially built pools by the side of the path with passers-by welcome to take one and pay via an honesty box system. 

The memory was just one of a heap of glittering jewels from that trip, but one that rose to the surface sat in a recently opened restaurant in Stratford upon seeing the words “onsen tamago” as part of the accompaniment to its wagyu beef.

The trip to Japan was taken in the wake of my mother’s death and in grief we look for signs.

The flash of hiraeth came both from the recall of place but also that the meat’s place of origin – Miyazaki – is the surname of the director who made one of her favourite animations, the joyful My Neighbour Totoro.  

While these are deeply personal coincidences, I mention them because the dishes of chef Daisuke Shimoyama at Kokin are so beautifully put together, so finely honed in fire that they are more than capable of living up to the kind of perfection hiraeth expects.

Miyazaki wagyu beef with tamago at Kokin - image by Kokin
Miyazaki wagyu beef with tamago at Kokin – image by Kokin

simply perfect

On the plate – a piece of fine white porcelain softly glistening with a pattern based on ice crystals – the wagyu is simply perfect.

A delicate huddle of flesh and vegetables bathing gracefully and butter-soft on the tongue, it’s deep, rich and savoury.

This really is cooking of the very highest quality and, like any restaurant at that end of the scale, Kokin has the power to dance with emotions – and dance it does.

Our meal actually begins not with beef but with extraordinary joy – quite probably the prettiest platter of starters available in east London (or perhaps the whole city).

This tray of wonders includes oysters snuggling under a blanket of apple and jelly, single bites of steaming tofu, grilled tuna with egg yolk curry sauce, smoked mackerel sushi and chawanmushi – a wonderful savoury custard.

The tastes and flavours are as bright as the garland of flowers decorating the tray. 

It’s a thrill of a platter, each little bowl revealing new dimensions to the world, different textures and colours.

Daisuke is a subtle chef.

His dishes are simple on paper, beautiful to look at but astonishingly complex on the tongue.

While the presentation may appear chaotic at times, there’s little doubt that every ingredient, each little ferny leaf of garnish, is present intentionally and is part of the palette in a wider painting.


Three types of tuna plus salmon roe waiting to be made into sushi by diners - image by Jon Massey
Three types of tuna plus salmon roe waiting to be made into sushi by diners – image by Jon Massey

celebrating the tuna

Wild bluefin tuna from Portugal is the star of the show.

We eat it as sashimi, on the bone in a dish of the fish’s collar and in Temae – a make-your-own sushi course with three cuts blended in a kind of salad with the orange pearls of salmon roe.

Time and again we’re transported as plates arrive.

Flavours and smells evoke memories and stir feelings of fun and excitement that confound the expectation of straight-laced fine dining.

Wood-fired ice cream bamboozles the senses in a lake of fermented raspberries.

A tray of “chef’s desserts” land somewhere between afternoon tea and jelly for a kid’s party. 

Throughout, the staff are faultless, rapid and smooth delivering these culinary wonders with accuracy and dedication.

Kokin is not cheap, but it is exceptional value, so worth saving up for.

Set lunch menus start at £26, but with cooking of this quality it’s worth setting aside a budget and really going for it.

With an open heart, you won’t be disappointed. 

5/5 *****

The collar of tuna served on the bone at Kokin - image by Jon Massey
The collar of tuna served on the bone at Kokin – image by Jon Massey

key details: Kokin

Kokin is located on the seventh floor of The Stratford hotel in east London and is open from noon-2pm for lunch and from 5pm for dinner every day except Mondays.

Find out more about the restaurant here

Read more: Boisdale Of Canary Wharf launches Tropical Garden Terrace as the venue celebrates 15 years serving east London

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Kokin at The Stratford sees chef Daisuke Shimoyama play with fire

From Kanagawa, Japan, to London via Tokyo and Michelin stars, east London has a new restaurant on the seventh floor of Stratford’s most striking tower

Chef Daisuke Shimoyama has opened Kokin at The Stratford - image by Jon Massey
Chef Daisuke Shimoyama has opened Kokin at The Stratford – image by Jon Massey

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The calm interior of Kokin – a restaurant recently opened on the seventh floor of The Stratford hotel in E20 – somewhat belies the elemental forces at work in its kitchen.

The soft light that streams through full height glazing falls on the gentle greens and greys of its furnishings.

There’s a lot of exposed wood and playful music in the air.

But sit with chef Daisuke Shimoyama for a while and it quickly becomes clear this is a place of contradictions.

It’s a space tailored to fine dining, but one he’s determined to make accessible and welcoming to locals.

His food is exacting, but honed on primal flames, smoke and charcoal.

He’s softly spoken and polite, but there’s passion smouldering beneath the surface.

“I started working in my uncle’s restaurant in Kanagawa, Japan, when I was 13 years old, washing dishes,” said Daisuke, whose family were widely involved in the hospitality sector, selling kitchen equipment.

“In the beginning I wasn’t really interested in cooking. I watched my uncle and my family making food, but I was more into playing computer games. 

“At the start I didn’t like working in the restaurant.

“My uncle was very strict and would wake me at 6am to go to the fish market. I didn’t like the smell, but gradually I got used to it.

“Then a few years later, I found myself really beginning to enjoy it.

“I went on to work in many different kinds of restaurant – big hotels, small places – and when I was 27 years old, I joined Ryugin in Tokyo, which completely changed the way I thought about everything.”

The restaurant is located on the seventh floor of the hotel - image by Jon Massey
The restaurant is located on the seventh floor of the hotel – image by Jon Massey

from Umu to Hannah and now, Kokin…

Now recognised by Michelin with a maximum three stars, Ryugin had Daisuke working gruelling shifts that would begin on Saturday mornings and finish on Sunday evenings.

He relished it. While on this fresh path, he immersed himself in Kappou and Kaiseki cuisine, mastering intricate techniques such as processing massive eels and filleting poisonous puffer fish.

He also trained as a professional sake sommelier, before setting out to explore the world.

That journey eventually led him to London where, 14 years ago, he joined Michelin-starred Umu in Mayfair as sous-chef, before rising to become the restaurant’s head chef. 

“I learnt a lot, working in Japan – not just about food, but also about mindset,” said Daisuke.

“While I was at Umu, I also decided to pursue my own vision of street food on my days off via a venture in Brick Lane.

“This was selling Japanese comfort food, katsu, tempura and rice and I did that for six years, before launching my own restaurant, Hannah, at County Hall in central London.”

The venue combined a wide range of influences from Daisuke’s experiences growing up in rural Gunma to his time in Tokyo and London.

“I really loved cooking there,” he said.

“But we were serving Omakase tasting menus at £125 or £185 for eight or 11 courses.

“Sometimes that can take three hours.

“It’s wonderful, but it’s a commitment.

“With this opportunity at The Stratford, I really want to make something more approachable.

“I’ve completely changed my style again – it’s something I’ve always done, actually. 

“Kokin serves food that’s in some ways similar to Hannah, but it’s more approachable and here I’m using fire and charcoal really as ingredients in the cooking.

“These are primitive things.

“For me, fire reminds me of when I was a child, it’s full of memories.

“It really adds something aromatic to the food.

“We’ve only just opened so there hasn’t really been time yet, but I want to be out on the floor talking to guests at their tables about the food – I love to make customers happy.

“I want this to be a place where local people feel comfortable coming and to welcome them as friends.

“Of course, business is important, but community is essential.”

Daisuke uses fire and smoke as key ingredients in Kokin's cuisine - image by Kokin
Daisuke uses fire and smoke as key ingredients in Kokin’s cuisine – image by Kokin

dining at Kokin

As for the food, dishes are available a la carte or via set lunch menus.

There’s a strong focus on seafood, but with the smoke of apple and cherry wood running throughout the creations.

“There’s a clear drive to offer twists and unexpected combinations to keep everything fresh too.

“We serve bluefin tuna from Portugal, for example,” said Daisuke. “In fine dining, chefs generally only use otoro, the fatty belly of the fish.

“But we also present akami, leaner cuts and chutoro, which both offer different, subtle flavours.

“We’re also using the kama, the collar of the fish, cooked for around three hours at a low temperature – it’s similar to a steak in some ways and comes bone-in.

“I want to introduce people to unusual cuts – we also deep-fry the tail.”

Ably supported by long-term colleague, Shukyee Chow, Daisuke and the team are as quietly stoked as their fires to welcome as many people through Kokin’s doors as possible.


Dishes are cooked by eye over the flames before being served - image by Kokin
Dishes are cooked by eye over the flames before being served – image by Kokin

from the past to the present

The restaurant takes its name from the Japanese terms for past and present – an intentional reference to the comparatively “primitive” fire that sears its way through the venue’s menu and the modern techniques found in its dishes.

“We have many modern pieces of kitchen equipment in the restaurant world – convection ovens, for example,” said Daisuke.

“It’s very easy for chefs, there’s no need to spend three hours cooking something on a flame. 

“But using fire in this way, for me, gives greater depth to the dishes.

“I’m always working with the smoke and the heat and watching because every piece of fish is different and needs to be carefully observed.” 

Daisuke is keen to welcome locals to the restaurant - image by Kokin
Daisuke is keen to welcome locals to the restaurant – image by Kokin

key details: Kokin

Kokin is located at The Stratford hotel in, well, Stratford.

The restaurant is open from noon-2pm for lunch and from 5pm-10pm for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays.

Find out more about the restaurant here

Read more: Brother Marcus opens its doors in Canary Wharf

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life